Syracuse's Gift to NYC

I'm still in awe at discovering this nugget of history:  the great Union Square Greenmarket in NYC is indebted to Syracuse.  It's true.  I read it in The New York Times.  No, really, it is true.  Actually I read it first it David Kamp's Book, The United States of Arugula:

Recognizing the error of their ways in the seventies, Syracuse's civic leaders took the radical step in 1972 of closing off a city block to traffic once a week to make way for a European-style-open-air market in which farmers could sell their wares directly to consumers...This was the scenario that motivated [Barry] Benepe, who was so inspired by Hess' report, he says, that "We originally modeled Greenmarket on Syracuse."

John Hess, then food writer at The New York Times, wrote his piece in October of 1973:

Food lovers should raise a fork today in salute to the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce.  Last spring, it got the city to turn a street over to farmers every Tuesday and presto! the village fair was resurrected.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs and flowers, cheeses and home baked goods and handcrafts drew even suburbanites from their dreary shopping centers.

That Syracuse was the inspiration for what has to be one of the most successful regional farmers' markets in the country just awes me.  And, to be honest, it frustrates me.  I watched Union Square evolve from drug den to foodie heaven and now I wonder why our own market hasn't inspired the same downtown renaissance. 

I'm also frustrated because some of the farmers that make the Union Square market so great are from Central New York but don't come to our market--it isn't as worth it I suppose.  And I also know that what helped get Union Square going was a young Danny Meyer who began shopping there for the ingredients that turned into amazing meals at his Union Square Cafe.  His staff still shops there.  I'd love to poll our local Armory Square restaurants to see if any regularly source ingredients from our Regional Market on Tuesdays or Saturdays. 

I'm glad for New York City--I shop the Union Square Greenmarket every chance I can.  But I wonder when Syracuse will stop being known for its exports and get folks looking at our city once again for the dynamic things that are here. 

I mentioned in my reply to a comment on the Market Saturation post that I'd open up one of the businesses I listed if I had an investor.  I was only half kidding.  The potential here is unreal.

Comments

[Stefanie Noble]

Wow... that is really neat to learn. If just a few people made the decision to take a chance up here, I think a lot could happen.

[Jill Hurst-Wahl]

BTW the owner of Anthony Road winery drives to NYC nearly every weekend for the Union Square farmers market. (I am assuming that he still does it.) He goes to Albany on Friday to make deliveries, then to NYC to sell wine in the market on Saturday. I've seen him there (when I've visited NYC and the market). Evidently the trip is think time for him as well as helping to spread the message of wines from the Finger Lakes. I'm sure, too, that gets a lot of energy from the market.

I wish there were more farmers markets in Syracuse. I know you want one in the Westcott area. How about in other areas, too? Maybe a weekly farmers market in a store parking lot. There is a Mennonite grocery store outside of Seneca Falls that has a farmers market in its parking lot in the summer. (BTW this is a neat Mennonite store with something you can't find elsewhere like Lebanon balogna!)

[Heather]

Thanks for sharing this delightful bit of local trivia. I agree with your frustration about the slowness of CNY to embrace and celebrate its local bounty, espcially in terms of restaurants not only using, but making a dedicated committment local foods. Yet I remain hopeful that there is a movement building, with much help from you and other dedicated local foodies, to show and share this potential. I have long had the notion that the movement needs to start with us - people committed to this city and region - and would like to issue an invitation to anyone interested in local foods to start a foodie group/cooking group, something, anything, to help spread the word!

[bazu]

That is such a cool connection. I used to live in NYC and shop at the Union Square market every week. Now I live in Syracuse- and miss the downtown farmer's market during the Winter!

By the way, my husband and I have been reading your blog for a long time, but this is my first comment- nice to "meet" you!

[Jennifer]

Stefanie, you're right--we just need folks who are in a position to make these things happen.

Jill, I'm with you. I've seen Anthony Road down at Union Square. Like you, I think we could be more like Portland, OR or NYC in having neighborhood markets across the city a few days a week. Westcott, Strathmore, etc. I'll have to check out that Mennonite farmers market next time I go through Seneca Falls on the way to wine country.

Heather, I recall getting an email about a year ago from someone wanting to start a supper club--was that you? I'll email you off-line becasuse you're right, we should just go for it.

Bazu, Thanks for posting a comment--it's nice to "meet" you too. I also checked out your blog--very cool. I'll add you to my links.