PARKS
Smorgasburg Search Nixed at Marsha P. Johnson Park
State cancels plans amid controversial revamp of park named after LGBTQ icon
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Greenspace gurus have
canceled their search
for an open air food
market concession at
Marsha P. Johnson State Park following
calls from locals for more
community input on the Williamsburg
waterfront lawn’s future.
The New York State Offi ce of
Parks Recreation and Historic
Preservation on April 12 withdrew
a Request for Proposal for an alfresco
grub market at the Kent Avenue
space, which sought to issue
a fi ve-year public-private contract
for the site previously leased by the
popular Smorgasburg food fair.
“As we welcome the transformation
and the new experience we
… think it is prudent to cancel
the current open food market RFP
at this time,” agency spokesperson
Randy Simons said in an email obtained
by Brooklyn Paper.
Amid a controversial revamp
of the park to honor its namesake
LGBTQ civil rights icon with
an oversized splashy mural, Albany
offi cials revealed they also
planned to open its two concrete
slabs back up for a private concession
after the renovation, releasing
an RFP on March 2 with a
deadline for proposals by the end
of that month.
The agency’s change of tack follows
blowback by locals and Johnson’s
family against the park’s redesign,
which led offi cials to ditch
the mural and other decorative elements
slated for the space and instead
seek input via several public
workshops over the past weeks.
“The state held the visioning
sessions and we said, ‘Hey wait a
minute, what about the RFP,’” said
local district leader Kristina Naplatarski.
Since 2013, Smorgasburg has run
its popular market every Saturday
during the warmer months with an
annually-renewed permit, but the
new RFP offered a fi ve-year license
with an option to extend for another
fi ve years at the space formerly
known as East River State Park.
Locals, who have criticized
Smorgasburg at Marsha P. Johnson State Park before the pandemic.
Smorgasburg for hogging the space
during primetime weekends for the
better part of the past decade, were
incensed that the state was about
to auction off the space for possibly
10 years without input from
the community and only a month
to take bids.
A coalition of small business and
open space advocates raised concerns
about the public bidding’s
short timeframe and lack of advertising,
giving locals little chance to
make sure whoever gets the contract
is a good partner, according
to Naplatarski.
“We wanted to make sure that if
there is a vendor that they’re a community
partner and to make sure
that all businesses have the opportunity
to apply and be part of that
conversation,” the Greenpoint pol
said.
The state’s unpopular redesign
of the park, which some said was
little more than a pet project for
Governor Andrew Cuomo, was
derailed after outcry by the late
Johnson’s family and neighborhood
activists at an early March
community board meeting.
The state scrapped the mural
and other decorative elements and
sought to gather public input for
the park at a series of workshops,
which started on March 31.
Offi cials extended the market
RFP until April 15, but called it
off after the activists — consisting
of Brooklyn Allied Bars and Restaurants
and the North Brooklyn
Waterfront Coalition — called on
the agency to withdraw the request
entirely, issue another oneyear
permit instead, and work
with residents to craft a new listing.
“Recent public workshops have
FILE PHOTO BY SCOTT LYNCH
highlighted the diversity of opinion
on the appropriate commitment
of these park spaces and its future
park uses,” wrote Simons, of
Parks.
Smorgasburg co-founder Eric
Demby previously told the Paper
that he planned to apply for
the original RFP, but did not immediately
return a request seeking
further comment.
Naplatarski said the move offers
the chance to look for a vendor
that gives back to the neighborhood
through benefi ts like local
hiring and better trash cleanups,
an issue in the area where garbage
cans routinely overfl ow on warm
weekends when locals and visitors
fl ood the north Brooklyn.
“There’s an opportunity to color
in the lines here to ensure that the
bar is set higher for whoever is applying
for this RFP,” she said.
April 22 - May 5,20 2021 | GayCityNews.com
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