Voices of Essex Market with Feed Me A Story | Free Virtual Program

Posted on
PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

In celebration of Lower East Side History Month, join us for a conversation with Theresa Loong, Laura Nova, and Sarah Kramer about Feed Me A Story’s video and audio documentation of Essex Market that explores what it means to be an American through questions like, “What is your favorite childhood food?” or “What was the first recipe you learned to cook?” We’ll be listening together to clips from their recently launched audio walk of the market, watching videos that feature stories and family recipes from vendors and customers alike, and inviting viewers to share the ingredients and dishes that spark their own stories and memories of family and community.

>> Continue reading

Virtual Visit to Williamsburg’s Moore Street Market | Free Virtual Program

Posted on

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Learn the history of Brooklyn’s Moore Street Market and join a live broadcast with market manager Egaudy Gomez, who will take us on a virtual tour of the market to meet the vendors, hear their stories, and learn about what they are making and selling during this time of crisis, including businesses that are collaborating to make Puerto Rican- and Dominican-themed protective masks. Built in 1941 as part of a city-wide network of public retail markets, today “La Marqueta de Williamsburg” is a neighborhood institution, known by local residents for family-owned businesses selling herbal teas, beverages, gift items, and traditional ingredients like tubers and plantains, as well as prepared food vendors with lunch counters that serve up flavorful Latin dishes.

>> Continue reading

From Orchard to Essex: Street Peddlers and Market Vendors with the Tenement Museum

Posted on

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

When Essex Street Market opened in 1940, it was heralded as a new era for commerce, as the city promised to clear the streets of pushcart peddlers and provide a clean, orderly space for shoppers. Many former street vendors set up shop in the new market’s 475 stalls, but New Yorkers lamented the loss of the pushcarts that had filled the streets of the Lower East Side for nearly a century. Together with the Tenement Museum, we’ll explore the evolution of the market itself and the stories of the vendors who made it their home. The history of the Essex Street Market and its businesses have always been a reflection of the immigration and migration to the Lower East Side and during this virtual visit, we’ll meet vendors of the past, and drop-in live to the new Essex Market to talk with its vendors of today.

>> Continue reading

A Year in Review at Essex Market | Virtual Program

Posted on
The first and second floors of the Essex Market with a historic neon sign from the Orchard Essex Meat Market

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

On May 13, 2019, Essex Market moved from its 1940 building to a new home at Essex Crossing, opening a new chapter in the market’s history by adding 13 new vendors, a state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen, robust public seating, and tripling the market’s footprint. Despite the change in venue, Essex Market remains dedicated to its mission to serve the Lower East Side with fresh, affordable and high-quality food. On this virtual tour of the market, we will look back at the last year, which began with a flurry of excitement, but we enter Year Two with a completely different sense of “business as usual.” Learn about the historic move and get a first-hand look at how market vendors are adapting to the new state of affairs and keeping their businesses going. We’ll go live to the market with Community Manager Lauren Margolis, who will introduce us to some of the vendors and share the measures put in place so everyone can continue shopping safely.

>> Continue reading

Hospital Ships and Shipwright Tools: Exploring Collections of the South Street Seaport Museum | Free Virtual Program

Posted on

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Dive into the collections of South Street Seaport Museum with Director of Collections Martina Caruso, who will share some of the highlights among the museum’s 28,000+ artifacts and 55,000+ archival materials that document the rise of New York as a port city. In honor of the recent visit of the hospital ship USNS Comfort, we will look at items related to past hospital ships that have visited New York, and we will examine some fascinating shipbuilding tools, including those used by workers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and other nearby shipyards.

>> Continue reading

Animal History of Prospect Park | Virtual Program

Posted on

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Prospect Park is not just 585 acres for people, but animals, too. We’ll share stories of the furry, feathery, scaly, and slimy inhabitants of the park throughout history, including the livestock that used to work in the park, the inhabitants of the various zoos over time, the dogs that roam the meadows during off-leash hours, and the many wild fauna that thrive in the park today.

>> Continue reading

A Church Grows in Brooklyn: Historic Most Holy Trinity-St. Mary’s | Virtual Program

Posted on

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Explore one of the most beautiful and historic churches in Brooklyn, Williamsburg’s Most Holy Trinity-St. Mary. Established in 1843 as the first German Catholic parish on Long Island, the stunning cathedral-like structure was completed in 1885 and was a key location in Betty Smith’s 1943 classic “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” Cindy and Andrew were married in this church (and April 26 is their wedding anniversary!), and they will be joined by their friend and priest Father Timothy Dore, who will share the rich history of the parish he served for many years.

>> Continue reading

Earth Day: Ecology of Prospect Park | Virtual Program

Posted on

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Celebrate Earth Day by virtually exploring Brooklyn’s largest forest with us and Prospect Park Alliance forest ecologist Howard Goldstein. We will learn about some of the park’s 30,000 trees, ongoing forest maintenance and restoration projects, and how the the Alliance is adapting to challenges like climate change, invasive species, pests, and extreme weather events.

>> Continue reading

Explore Brooklyn’s Avenue of Puerto Rico | Virtual Program

Posted on

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Explore the history of Graham Avenue, Brooklyn’s “Avenue of Puerto Rico” and take an in-depth look at the businesses and people of this community, including the historic Moore Street Market, and the department stores, butcher shops, and pushcarts of the past and present. Turnstile Tours has worked in the neighborhood for more than 10 years, and this program is based on more than 20 oral history interviews with neighborhood residents and local business owners and on original archival research that we will share during this session.

>> Continue reading

By Land or By Sea: The Port of New York Paradox | Virtual Program

Posted on

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Sitting at the mouth of the Hudson estuary with vast shorelines and moderate tides, New York Harbor is one of the greatest natural ports on earth, yet moving goods around the region on land has always been a challenge. This talk hosted by maritime expert Stefan Dreisbach-Williams will look at the forces that transformed New York into a dominant global port, from the mid-19th to the present, despite the fact that its geography poses huge obstacles for land-based transport by train and truck. We will look at the infrastructure and economic forces behind this paradox, and take note of places where the old technologies are still visible, and how new ones continue to develop.

>> Continue reading