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Sunnyside Greenmarket Opened For the Season on Saturday

Photo: QueensPost

June 3, 2013 By Christian Murray

The greenmarket in Sunnyside opened for the season on Saturday.

The market, run by GrowNYC, will operate every Saturday—from 8 am through 3 pm– until December 21.

The Sunnyside market is held on Skillman Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets, next to Lou Lodati Park, and features an array of fresh fruits and vegetables from upstate New York. In addition there are baked goods, eggs, cider, fish, cheese, pickled vegetables, grass-fed beef and wines.

This year’s farmers/providers are:

  • American Seafood Wild-caught fish and shellfish from Suffolk County, NY.
  • Ballards Honey Honey from Delaware County, NY.
  • Breezy Hill Orchards Pears, apples, cider & baked goods from Dutchess County, NY.
  • Dipaola Turkey Turkey from Mercer County, NJ.
  • Gajeski Farm A variety of vegetables from Suffolk County, NY.
  • Gonzalez Farm vegetables, Mexican specialty products, and strawberries from Orange County, NY, New Farmer Development Project participant.
  • Goodale Farms Milk and dairy from Suffolk County, NY.
  • Hot Bread Kitchen Multi-ethnic artisan breads and tortillas from New York County, NY
  • King Ferry Winery Premium wines from Cayuga County, NY.
  • Knoll Krest Farm Eggs and chicken from Dutchess County, NY.
  • Meredith’s Bakery Baked goods from Ulster County, NY.
  • Millport Dairy Cheese and baked goods from Lancaster County, PA.
  • Nolasco’s Farm Vegetables from Warren County, NJ. A New Farmer Development Project Participant.
  • Rising Sun Farm Grass fed beef from Washington County, NY.
  • Toigo Orchards Orchard fruit from Cumberland County, PA.
  • W. Rogowski Farm Certified Naturally Grown vegetables from Orange County, NY.
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39 Comments

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Dorothy Morehead

Thanks for the info on the homeless man. The community board meeting on Thursday was very busy with dozens of people speaking on the Five Pointz ULURP application ( which was voted down by the board) but I will send in the information on Monday. The board has 50 members from throughout Board 2 which includes Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City and parts of Maspeth. If I haven’t seen the guy, I’m not surprised that other board members haven’t either.

Re Community-Assisted Agriculture, there are CSAs in Sunnyside and Astoria. Both are served by Golden Earthworm Farm on Long Island. Deliveries are on Thursdays–the Sunnyside CSA at Sunnyside Community Services on 39th St. and the Astoria CSA at ARROW Community Center on 35th Ave between 35th and 36th Sts. You can Google them to get their websites. They have probably signed up members already but there are often drop-outs and you can pick up shares (or half shares) even after distribution has started.

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Grimace

@Anon, Christian

If this guy has been doing this in this community there is an AMAZING opportunity for a biographical expose on change guy. I am absolutely sincere in this statement and interest in knowing his story. Christian, as a local journalist in a community sho seems very interested, do you have the cajones to crack out the pad and pen again and hit the streets?

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Anonymous

The chaaaaaaaange guy has been in this neigherhood for years and years and years. He’s been doing the same thing all this time. Bothering people as they go about their daily chores. Asking for chaaaaange and spitting on our sidewalks that we the tax payers hav paid for. He s intimidating to the elderly and to the young people. He goes to the bathroom underneath the train and on the streets. If the community board doesn’t know him they must hav their eyes closed and are not paying attention to our neigherhood . He hangs on the north side of qns blvd at 41st street. The guy by Dunkin donuts on 45 th street doesn’t bother anyone nor does the guy who sleeps under the train.

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Grimace

@Southie

10 years? Nonsense.

This guy was about 50lbs heavier last June. If he’s been on the street 10 years without money or medication there’s no way to explain weight fluctuations like that. He was probably in a hospital not long before Spring 2012 and on SSRIs, mood stabilizers or anti-psychotics that caused massive weight gain.

Could he have been in and out of care for 10 years and wandering these neighborhoods for that long? It’s possible but the likelihood of not being jailed or killed seems low.

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Doglover

Rick – How do you “know” that Queens Parks will have “Parks Enforcement Patrols” on duty. Please explain. If you “know” them can you please send them to Windmueller Park after they’re finished at your park?
Annie D – I think many people would like to know more about CSA’s that might be available in this neighborhood. Community Supported Agriculture is a great alternative to the farmer’s markets.

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Southie

Dorothy,
He spends lots of time on Queens Blvd. on the corner near the e-bike shop. He has been here for 10 years that I know of, but he used to move around to other neighborhoods (I used to see him a lot in Forest Hills and Kew Gardens). Now he seems to stay here. To be honest, I’m not sure how the community board would be unaware of this guy–I think some of them would know him if they saw a picture of him. In addition to the guy above (who spit at me several years ago and I have avoided him since), there is a man who sleeps under the 40th street station and spends his days sitting on the subway steps or sitting on apartment stairs and doorways. Yesterday afternoon he was sitting on the curb with one leg extended into the street while traffic zoomed by inches from his leg. Neither of these guys is the man you saw at Dunkin Donuts. That guy seems to have appointed himself the Dunkin Doorman. I don’t think he sleeps here, but I don’t really know.

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Grimace

Plot Twist: Chaaaaange guy is deep undercover investigating unsolved violent crimes in the area.

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Dorothy Morehead

Where does the homeless man spend most of his time? I’ve seen a really scruffy man at the Dunkin’ Donuts between 45th and 46th Street but didn’t notice him spitting or being abusive. If I can get more information, I’ll report it to the community board tonight and see what they can do. The district manager and board chair have information on the various city agencies that work with the homeless. I haven’t heard of this issue being brought to the attention of the board at a meeting. It certainly has an adverse effect on the quality of life here.

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Annie D

I agree that the market is nice and it’s great to get locally grown food, but it’s prohibitively expensive for me (as is the CSA, which sounds like a nice idea too).

It would be great if the local-vore movement could gather more steam so that locally grown food could compete with the big corporate farms price-wise, but that seems kind of impossible.

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SunnysidePostHatesMe14

Even if you ignored me I would come under a different name, I’m the guy who says the stuff you only joke about with your friends.

the REAL issues!

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43rd & 43rd

Glad the greenmarket is open! I wish it opened earlier in the spring…surely by March the weather is nice enough, rather than waiting until June? It’s much too pricey for me to do all my shopping there, but I do like getting the occasional treat of peak-of-season produce, a good cookie, the freshest eggs for poaching, etc.

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Hubba Bubba

I don’t know why people respond to reuben, he obviously has some psychological issues expressed in hostility & just feeds off of people’s energy & attention, he has an issue with almost every story here, quite sad. Many web forums devolve into bickering when a troll is empowered & then people get tired of the hassle & leave. Who remains are combatants & Sunnyside is better than that.

If the site owner doesn’t want to moderate arguments, just don’t engage the chronic malcontents. We wouldn’t do that in in real life, why here? Perhaps a filter “ignore” function is available for the forum software?

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SunnysidePostHatesMe14

SuperWitty, if you’re not mad then you haven’t had to endure that pile of walking excrement. Being mentally sick doesn’t excuse someone from being disgusting and it doesn’t mean I have to be compassionate. There’s a homeless guy who looks like a vet, quiet, nice, I give him money, He stays out of the way. This change bum has been a sore to the community for MONTHS. Spitting on the floor as you pass by , It’s also been reported that he’s been aggressive to people. He stares at you and the kicker, he shits under the train .

you damn right i’m pissed off. How would you like to be eating and then he comes up behind you and stands there until someone gives him something to go away, stinking up the joint, hacking and coughing??

I see people walk by him every day, if hes so mentally unstable why would you walk by him? I walk around him any chance I get, I know he see’s me do this you think I care if I hurt his feelings? piece of garbage, I’m not gonna stand there and wait till he tries something. You people forget homeless people that don’t ask for help can’t be TRUSTED, how many have attacked people, pushed them onto tracks? and yet there you are making excuses for them.

help the people that NEED help, he doesn’t need help he needs to go away. Community should get together and figure this shit out, its more important than putting stupid benches all over the neighborhood and planning your next bar crawl.

you say you love the neighborhood then prove it, all I See is people trying to build their own sub society within sunnyside

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Anonymous

See the movie “Food Inc” and you’ll see why some people prefer to shop from farmers who are based in the same state in which they live.

Shopping the greenmarket doesn’t preclude one from also shopping at the local stores. By the way, at least at the greenmarket, the prices are clearly displayed, not so at the supermarkets. Liking the fact that I can buy direct from a person who grew the food doesn’t make me a hipster. Furthermore, some of the produce at the supermarkets is not that great. Or, you just don’t know what a tomato should taste like.

Poor people CAN shop there–prices are not that different from the stores and you can pay with food stamps. And what is this whining about “why does that side get …” when there are numerous features unique to each side and although QB is a pain to cross, it IS possible to cross it. It’s not a mountain range, for crying out loud. Stop feeling sorry for yourself because of where you live when it’s one of the best places to live in NYC.

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SuperWittySmitty

If you think getting mad at businesses that give him food is a worthy cause, I will not bother to argue with you. I don’t think he’s a “damn bum” either. He’s obviously mentally ill.

Is it the job of Sunnyside Shines to contact Social Services? Maybe a church should get involved, or our local government? I have no idea. I feel guilty because I do not feel charitable to the less fortunate; I look the other way and pretend to not notice. That’s not the way I was taught to behave when I was a kid in Sunday School; now, I only worry about myself. This is probably why I feel pangs of guilt. I will admit it.

You, on the other hand, seem angry. How is that working out for you?

I don’t have a dog and I do not live anywhere near the dog run, btw. It’s not my idea of how our taxes should be spent, but dogs are part of our community and I’m sure they will enjoy it. I think it’s time to move on to a new topic.

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Sunnysideposthatesme14

SuperWitty, but we CAN get mad at the businesses that give him freebies DAILY. I feel like putting up signs that say DON’T FEED THE HOMELESS. THAT is why he never leaves, because people keep giving him free stuff. Why would you give that guy money when he uses the streets as his BATHROOM, why would you give him food when he stands there spitting on the floor till theres a pool of it?

and you feel guilty??? why?? I say whoever is in charge of Sunnyside beautification hire some kind of social worker to get to all these damn bums and figure out a way to keep them off the street. Unless you want to hang with these people in your million dollar refurbished dog run.

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SuperWittySmitty

I like the honey they sell at the Farmer’s Market. Can’t get anything like that anywhere else in town. And I’ve found some good cheese, too. Oh, and they had pickles that were really good.

I come to this website to read about what is going on in Sunnyside. I don’t really want to hear about dogs and fog runs, hipsters, hypocrites, etc. Whoever runs this site is allowed to run it the way they want to; if you don’t like it, start your own website. There is plenty of media in NYC that I ignore because their owners favor a particular perspective. If you are so unhappy with the Sunnyside Post, maybe you shouldn’t be here.

A lot of people have commented on the level of nastiness that has developed in these comments. I imagine that many of the less combative residents have already given up on participating in this forum. Some topics have been revisited so many times that it’s depressing.

BTW, that guy asking for change is obviously mentally ill. It’s hard to be really angry with him. Of course, we can’t just snap our fingers and make him go away. He must live here in the neighborhood, somewhere, and it’s possible that he is already functioning at his highest level by begging for change. I wonder what he does for food and shelter. I know I try to ignore him but I always feel guilty at the same time. I guess I expect some one else to take care of him. Maybe he has someone? Where do we want him to go? What a world we live in, right?

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40th Street

If you can find something negative to say about a farmer’s market, you are impossible to please.

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SunnysidePostHatesMe14

if you guys would find a way to get rid of the Change bum and get him out of sunnyside forever, I promise I will never post EVER again!

I can die happy.

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Rick Duro

Reuben,

We won’t need to “bitch” about the ballplayers, we have our own dedicated space now. We complained in the past because the park was destroyed on a nightly basis. We would have to clean up after others in order to use the park. That’s not right. We tried working with them, offering simple solutions, it would work for a day or two and then….

I hope all that use the park, dog owners included, will clean up after themselves and take care of it. I know that Queens Parks will have additional Parks Enforcement Patrols on duty. Maybe a few tickets to unruly dog owners/ballplayers will be just what’s needed…

RD

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Long time resident

why else would it be focused on only THAT park and not in any of the other parks in Sunnyside?

It’s not like there’s tons of parks in sunnyside. We’re lacking in green space.

As for why the green market is there, well, it has to be somewhere in the neighborhood, so why not there? If I recall correctly, it’s a shady bit near the commercial area of Skillman. Surely you don’t think the market should rotate to different parks every week, do you? Obviously, that’s not practical for the vendors, nor is it practical for customers.

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40th Street

So happy to see the farmer’s market back! It creates a wonderful sense of community. The products may be expensive, yes, but the quality is excellent and the sourcing is ethical. It’s great to support the small farmers.

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Sunnyside Native

@ Ruben aka SPHM14 – Who says you can’t shop at the local markets AND shop & enjoy the Green Market? Why does it have to be one or the other? Look, the South side has the Library, the Hallmark Store, a Dunkin Donuts, ABC Variety and now The Thalia theatre group! If you yourself wouldn’t even shop at the Green Market, then why trash talk it? If we gave you permanent ownership of the Change Bum, can we call it even?

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86Mets

SSPhatesme wrote: “…and as for the market …the market is over priced”

That’s for the buying public to decide. The value of any product is what customers are willing to pay for it. Apparently, there are enough people willing to pay their prices support the market. The cheaper options are still available to those who find these prices unacceptable. Vote with your dollars.

Sounds fair to me.

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Sue

I’m thrilled that the Green Market is back- when it’s in town, I shop there in the morning to support more New York state farmers and the Hot Bread Kitchen (which is a fantastic non-profit). Inevitably, there are some ingredients that I can’t get at the market, so I do the rest of my grocery shopping for the week at local grocery stores. This routine actually makes me support the local businesses more, not less, because I cook more meals at home rather than grabbing food at work in Manhattan.

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SunnysidePostHatesMe14

Sunnyside post hates me because I speak the TRUTH…ALL the time. because I shout out people for their hypocrisy and idiotic ideas and the blatant favoritism he shows users he knows.

That being said, the south side gets crapped on ALL the time. Do you know why people like Anonymous like the market? because it makes the neighborhood look more pretentious, it weeds out the poorer people, It eliminates a tye of people that side of the neighborhood doesn’t want to be around. why else would it be focused on only THAT park and not in any of the other parks in Sunnyside? There’s all a reason for it, shame on you supporters.

and as for the market …the market is over priced AND commercial.
it’s stuff you can get in Supermarkets, Jellies that are found everywhere. It’s not like the stuff you find in Lancaster or even Peddlers Village in PA, its a bloated money grab for suckers wanting to feel elite.

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86Mets

@SuperWitty

You’re right, a lot of good things can be found on the south side, the library and park as you mentioned, the free summer concerts under the arch, some excellent restaurants (not just the trendy expensive kind) and the Thalia theater to name a few.

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SuperWittySmitty

To Sunnysideposthatesme14 – I live on the south side. We have a nice library, a nice vegetable/produce store, and a nice park. Why are you always going on about hipsters and dog owners, as if you are trying to start some con-troversy.? Give it a rest, already. If you continue to be obnoxious, NO ONE will like you.

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86Mets

Do they have NYS grown garlic? I have to go to Astoria to get my US grown garlic and that’s from California. There’s a garlic festival upstate where it’s grown yet I’ve yet to find it in the city. Something is very odd when we’re importing something all the way from China that is easily grown right here.

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Anonymous

It provides locally grown food vs. commercially sourced food and produce.
I.e. Apples from Upstate rather than from NZ or Cider made upstate rather than on a big scale somewhere else

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86Mets

The local fruit and veggie stores seem well stocked and reasonably priced, both Associated and Fresh and Save have very good produce sections as well so I’m not really sure what this market provides that others don’t. Good luck to them in any case. Maybe I’ll have another look this weekend and see if I missed something the first time.

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Anonymous

I’m glad the market came back. The market is the best thing to happen in this neighborhood.

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Sunnysideposthatesme14

Hey Hipsters, why don’t you support your local markets? some of which have WAY better produce at WAY better prices than this overrated fruit stand. And oh, notice how this is all taking place on the “nice” side of Sunnyside.

Think the other side gets anything like this? nope, That park has become an island of ignorance. I can’t wait to see it overrun by soccer players and hear the dog owners bitch. Racism will ensue!

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CircleK

Thanks for leaving me nothing I wanted (shopper who woke to late and got to market at 230pm). I have never seen the produce that depleted at the hour I arrived. Next
Time I am having coffee and waking up early – you people have met your match!!!!

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