From April to October for the past seven years, thousands of locals flocked to Fordham Plaza on the last Saturday of each month for the Bronx Night Market.
There, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., visitors consumed live music, artisanal products and a diverse cornucopia of food. From the Mexican-run Perros Locos to the Colombian-owned Barrel House to the Barbadian Sassy’s Fishcakes, the eats were a multi-national tapestry of deliciousness.
But on Saturday, Oct. 28, the Bronx Night Market somberly celebrated the end of an era with its last event. Masco Hospitality Group (MHG), the organizers of the market, cited a multitude of reasons for closing, including the filthy and dilapidated conditions of the plaza.
However, local politicians and community leaders are hopeful of the Bronx Night Market’s return.
“We’re hoping that next year they could come back stronger than ever,” said Council Member Oswald Feliz, who represents Council District 15, including the Fordham Plaza. “No one wants to work in an area with serious quality of life issues, but also in an area where the city and the Department of Transportation is not being responsive to the challenges. We’re hoping that we could resolve that.”
According to a statement released by MHG, the decision to end the beloved monthly event was due to lack of sponsorship, illegal vending, crime and an overall failure of the city Department of Transportation (DOT) to maintain the plaza.
But DOT disagrees.
“We have not abandoned the plaza,” said a spokesperson with DOT. The agency added that it has a dedicated team that maintains it daily, via sweeping, power washing, graffiti removal, rat abatement and bagging of trash.
But the agency’s efforts do not seem to be sufficient.
“You’ll see exposed electric wires in the middle of the place,” said Marco Shalma, founder of MHG, referring to the condition of the plaza. “I personally have to – pick up human waste and clean it up before the vendors come here and wash it.”
Vagrancy and crime have been ongoing problems in the Fordham area of the Bronx, with the Fordham Road BID hiring five patrol ambassadors on the strip from Jerome to Washington avenues in January of this year.
The ambassadors, all New York state-licensed security guards, are tasked with patrolling the area Wednesdays through Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., but the plaza is not in their purview as it lies within the jurisdiction of the DOT, which is responsible for the plaza’s maintenance.
“They cannot just create plazas and abandon them,” said Feliz, referring to the DOT.
And the Fordham Road BID shares the council member’s sentiments.
In January, the BID created a program called Fordham Forward, which includes several local organizations and nonprofits that aim to address quality of life issues in the area with a keen focus on activating the plaza.
“When kids are walking to school, the conditions they see in the plaza with homeless encampments, they just don’t feel very welcome or safe,” said Albert Dalipi, the BID’s director of marketing, communications and outreach.
As a result of the conditions, MHG hired its own security for the monthly market as the company said it was not getting the help it needed.
“We’re alarming people and trying to give notice, but we just feel like we got to a point that nobody’s listening,” said Shalma. “We scream and scream and scream and nobody pays attention.”
And while illegal vending may seem harmless, Shalma added that hawkers are selling unregulated alcohol without checking IDs, resulting in a dangerous environment for minors.
While walking through the market, the Bronx Times witnessed two separate individuals with large black messenger bags advertising the sale of nutcrackers – a homemade cocktail invented in the early ‘90s composed of several spirits and fruit juices.
Many in attendance were shocked and disheartened when they were informed of the market’s closing.
“Ay bendito, I feel bad que me dijeron eso (that they told me that),” said Evelyn Rivera, 77, in her Spanglish.
She grew up in the nearby neighborhood of Little Italy and has visited every Bronx Night Market since its inception. “I thought, how they going to stop? This is very nice here, people are enjoying themselves.”
Not only will the Bronx Night Market leave a gap in the hearts of locals, but also a literal void in the space itself which has been wanting for legal vendors since its $34 million renovation in 2016. In efforts to bring commerce to the area, the DOT solicited proposals in 2022, but still have no takers.
Founded in 2017 by Shalma and his then-partner Amanda Celestino, the Bronx Night Market was the first event organized by MHG. Today, the group now runs seven in total including the Uptown, Brooklyn, Vegan and Latin Night markets as well as the Sandwich festival and RCPTN – a holiday market with the added pizazz of art and crafted cocktails.
The market was created to give nationally diverse food enterprisers and up-and-coming chefs a place to share their recipes without the daunting price tag of a brick-and-mortar store.
At the time, it seemed everyone was a food critic armed with a camera and an Instagram page telling people where to find the best dumplings or tacos.
“The foodie scene was exploding – we saw places like Smorgasburg (the largest open-air food market in America) and Queens Night Market blooming and we knew we wanted to do something like that,” said Shalma, who lived in the Bronx for 12 years and saw a need for such an event.
Thus, the Bronx Night market was born and, in many cases, gave purveyors their first taste of entrepreneurship, like Barrel House, owned by Andres Pedrosa.
The Colombian food vendor specializes in cuts of meat cooked in a barrel grill, which is popular in Pedrosa’s homeland. Hunks of expertly rendered meats are arranged on a paper plate with each dish accompanied by a side of spicy green salsa, a lime wedge and a miniature Colombian flag. Barrel House is only four months old, but thanks to the Bronx Night Market, it now travels to other markets and fairs across the city, but Pedrosa owes his beginnings to the Boogie Down borough.
“The very first event that we came with a market (to) was the Bronx,” said Pedrosa. “It’s very sad that it’s ending.”
Shalma has not dismissed the idea of bringing back the market and noted that the plaza remains the perfect location given its centrality, its access to Metro-North and its proximity to Fordham University. However, he notes that the market’s future — and for that matter the plaza’s — relies on the DOT’s ability to revitalize the space.
“I’m not ruling anything out,” said Shalma. “After seeing the overwhelming response — we understood that we have to give it a second thought.”
The DOT said it hopes to install a concessionaire in the plaza soon, leaving a glimmer of hope on the horizon.
Reach ET Rodriguez at etrodriguez317@gmail.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
