Alanna

A friend was in NYC this summer and stumbled upon a flea market on Avenue of the Americas one Sunday. I am off to NYC this weekend and would love more info if this flea market is there every Sunday or into the fall...

Thanks!

Philip

There are a couple of flea markets in parking lots on 6th Avenue above 23rd Street that are always there on Saturday & Sunday. Someone else may know the exact cross streets but I think it's between 25 & 26th Street.

suzanne

I work on 23rd and 6th (aka Avenue of the Americas). The flea market is a few blocks north of 23rd, as the previous poster stated...antiques and collectibles are sold here. There are also street fairs every weekend in different parts of the city (a different place each weekend). At street fairs, there are not too many antiques & collectibles, instead they have mostly newer items like jewelry, hari accessories, makeup, watches, sweaters, socks, t-shirts, and art.

suzanne

Whoops! I meant "hair accessories".

Also, street fairs serve yummy, cheap, sinful food like crepes and sausage & peppers.

Owen O'Neill

It was there two weeks ago when I met a friend in the neighborhood for coffee. I believe it is between 25th and 26th and you enter on 26th. There's a Starbucks across the street. Not sure if it runs all winter but it's sure to be there through the fall.

xxx

A lot of the stuff I saw were the same things they sell on Canal.

Flynn

The best outdoor flea market is on 6th Avenue between 25 & 26 St. It charges $1.00 to get in. Diagonally across the street is another outdoor market and it's free. There's also a fancier antique building with different stalls/shops on several floors right off 6th Avenue around the corner from the free market. Next door to that are dealers that are spread out on two levels-this is held in a garage. You can literally spend the whole day hitting these markets. There's others others - just walk around.

James

Am I the only one who thinks that renaming Sixth Avenue to Avenue of the Americas was a DUMB idea? I understand naming streets after famous people (Malcolm X, Fredrick Douglass, etc), but what was the purpose of calling it "Avenue of the Americas"? That's like renaming Second Avenue to "Avenue of the Carolinas" or "Avenue of the Dakotas". What gives? Plus, it screws up tourists (I've never heard any local New Yorker call it anything but Sixth Avenue, by the way.

Also, this past weekend, I ran into a street "fair" on Lexington Avenue between 34th and 38th or so. It didn't seem like it was for anything in particular. No specific "ethnic" composition, or neighborhood aspect. Along with the Hispanic parade on Fifth Avenue, it sure helped with the traffic flow. Especially since the streets that were closed were all southbound streets (finding a bus to take "downbound" was fun).

Does this sort of thing happen normally in Manhattan? The street fair was nice, but seemed like everyone was just selling cheap socks, cheap shirts, cheap shoes, cheap fabric and cheap grilled food, nothing particularly "special". I could have bought any of this stuff in many other places in Manhattan (28th/Broadway, Lower East Side/Delancey, Washington Heights, etc). So, does this happen with regularity?

By the way, I have nothing against these sorts of fairs. I just thought it seemed a little weird. Usually, in order to close off a street, I would have though it would have to be for a "special" reason, like an ethnic celebration or neighborhood party.

xxx

James: Street fairs are held all over the city during the Spring, Summer and Fall. The streets are closed at the drop of a hat, in order to sell cheap socks, cheap shoes, etc. I agree, it's murder on traffic.

Regarding Avenue of the Americas, you are right that New Yorkers call it 6th Avenue, just as they call the Interborough Parkway by it's original name and not Jackie Robinson Parkway. I also think the locals call Malcolm X Blvd, Lennox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd, 7th Avenue. Don't really see the difference, IMO, it's totally out of control.

Flynn

Legend has it that Sixth Avenue was renamed 'Avenue of the Americas' because a bunch of prospective Argentinian investors/business people thought it had a classier tone to it. Anyone who calls it Avenue of the Americas is from outta town.

It's similar to 'Park Avenue South' which was originally called 4th Avenue (which stops at 33rd Street and 34th Street becomes Park Avenue).

Philip

James, unfortunately the street fairs in NYC are no longer any good (except for the food of course). Unfortunately, the city got greedy and the "good" dealers couldn't afford the booth rental and pulled out. For example, the 9th Avenue Food Festival used to be excellent!! Now it's just the same stuff block after block. These festivals are a cash cow for the city, but not great for the attendees.

You can also tell a long time New Yorker by asking them about a certain tall building near Grand Central. If they tell you it's the Met Life building, they are new. Anyone that calls it the Pan Am building has been around for awhile.

Philip

By the way, if anyone in NYC remembers the old days of the street fairs: There was an artist that used to make animals out of musical instruments. For example, he had a giraffe that had a clarinet for a neck and an elephant that had a trumpet for a trunk. If anyone knows where this artist sells now, I would love to buy one of his animals.