Business & Tech

A New Flea Market — Right Next to the Brooklyn Flea!

The Downtown Flea will be only three blocks down from the Williamsburgh Savings Bank building.

It’s a flea market face off on Hanson Place!

Beginning in March, the Downtown Flea, a more traditional flea market, will open only three blocks away from the wildly popular — and often pricey — Brooklyn Flea inside the Williamsburg Savings Bank building.

Marat Shvartsman, the real estate broker behind the new flea, plans on charging $50 per day to vendors at his flea market — significantly less than the Brooklyn Flea, which costs anywhere from $80 to $150 per day.

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“We have a location where the vendor can come in at an affordable rate,” Shvartsman said. “That way the products — like antiques — are more affordable.”

He added that his outdoor market between S. Elliot Place and S. Portland Avenue will be open from March to Christmas and could accommodate about 50 vendors, or roughly half the amount in the Brooklyn Flea.

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Both markets will be vying for the attention of the thousands that pass through the area on the way to the Atlantic-Pacific subway station, the Long Island Rail Road Terminal, and the Atlantic Terminal Mall.

But at this point, the founders of both fleas were just saying “the more the merrier.”

“When markets are close to each other it ends up helping everyone, most of the time,” said Eric Demby, the co-founder of the Brooklyn Flea. “I can’t say it feels like competition at this point.”

Competitor or not, the Downtown Flea is not the only market looking to take advantage of the hoards of people flocking to the trendy Brooklyn Flea on weekends.

Artists and Fleas, a popular market in Williamsburg, recently moved to a new location right across the street from a future outpost of the Brooklyn Flea that will open this summer, according to The Brooklyn Paper.

Demby remained confident.

“I feel like the flea — especially at Skylight [1 Hanson Place] is a really special, unique destination for people in the neighborhood and literally all over the world,” he said.

And it’s worth noting that during the summer Demby’s flea will return to its outdoor location at , several blocks away from Hanson Place.

Still, the fleas will be selling similar goods — though Shvartsman expects the antiques, vintage clothing, food and records for sale at Downtown Flea will be cheaper.

But that doesn’t mean they’re competitors, he said.

“We’re just complementing them, we’re not going to make a dent in the Brooklyn Flea,” Shvartsman said. “But you always have a Burger King next to a McDonald's. It’s that type of thing.”


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