Brooklyn Flea Winter Market Ends Early

We were part of the Brooklyn Flea indoor Winter Market located on the eighth floor at 25 Kent in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It On Feb 27, 2020 an e-mail went out to the Brooklyn Flea e-mail list entitled “Final Winter Market Month” reminding everyone to shop the flea during the month of March, claiming “the views are crazy, the vibe is cozy, the food is yummy, and the vintage finds are dandy. “

On March 10, just before 5pm, an e-mail to the vendors went out. The Flea was going to stay open but take some precautions. This was well within the perimeters of reasonable thinking. Yes, Coronavirus had entered the world stage, but Disney parks were still going strong and the Javits Center hadn’t announced any cancelations. Everyone was buying hand sanitizer and watching the news, unsure of what it all meant.

Two days later, Thursday, March 12, the vendors got a more formal announcement. The market at 25 Kent was closing… effective immediately. We had already had our last sales weekend. Beginning the next day we had three days to get there, break everything down, pack it up, and get it all home. Ouch.

Dan Treiber in a gladiator helmet — Dan Treiber (Dan’s Parents’ House) in a gladiator helmet

Governor Cuomo had just announced that New York State was restricting gatherings of more than 500 people in response to the spread of coronavirus. In hindsight, the call was absolutely the right one. At the time, I had one night to remove the seats in our newly purchased van (the one we used for set-up was totaled by a drunk driver), pack up anything I might need, and head to Brooklyn. I say “I” and not “we” because my husband, Dave, was in California. There was no way I could pack-up our pop-up by myself.

So, Dave tried calling the airline. The wait time on the phone for an agent was over three hours (!). So, he drove over an hour to the closest airport and changed his ticket to fly into JFK the next night. I headed out the next morning to Brooklyn – a four hour drive from our house upstate in the Finger Lakes. When I arrived, I did as much as I could 25 Kent, then left for JFK to pick-up Dave and grab dinner.

Saturday we worked all day and finished. That makes it sound easy – it wasn’t. We slept like babies, and drove home in the morning.

Dave Tobin driving — A very tired Dave driving the van

It was really sad. All the vendors felt that way – like an abrupt end to our flea family weekly gatherings. We made jokes, we ate sandwiches, and we tried to give each other weird stuff. My plans for baking cookies and having a champagne toast on the final day wouldn’t happen.

I write this story for two reasons. One, it’s cathartic. I miss my friends and my customers and the weekly hullabaloo. Two, shared experience can be powerful. This has nothing to do with selling stuff or making money. It felt vulnerable closing the business early. The future was uncertain – it still is.