The greenmarket that operates in Zuccotti Park on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. has a new, temporary location. The market, which moved to West Broadway between Barclay Street and Park Place on Oct. 25, will remain at the temporary location indefinitely, according to Michael Hurwitz, director of Greenmarket, a program of GrowNYC.
Hurwitz made clear that the market was not changing locales due specifically to the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators who have been living in the park since the middle of September.
“I don’t feel as though we’re being forced out due to the protesters,” said Hurwitz.
Rather, Hurwitz said it was the additional vehicles, such as news vans and NYPD patrol cars, which are lining the streets surrounding the park that caused the move.
“It became very operationally challenging to have the market there,”
said Hurwitz, “really not because of the O.W.S. folks, but because of the new vehicles parked on Cedar Street that prevented us from offloading there. We were forced to offload from Broadway and it made it incredibly difficult on our farmers.”
Hurwitz noted that such problems, whether in the form of protests or street fairs or parades, are “one of the costs of doing business in New York City.” He said he was not pessimistic about the new location and that he and the farmers that participate in the market “welcome the opportunity.”
“Hopefully this will expose us to some new customers and hopefully the protesters will come over and support us,” said Hurwitz
