Saturday, July 29, 2006

Downtown Farmer's Market

One of the interesting juxtopostions of my neighborhood is that in the midst of bustling businesses and court houses you find a bit of an oasis. During the summer a couple of days a week, and always on Saturday their is a small farmer's market that sets up right in the shadow of Borough Hall.



Like just about everything here in Downtown Brooklyn it is easily accessible by subway.



Although compared to the work-week it is relatively uncrowded here, the farmer's market always attracts a good crowd of people looking to buy fresh vegetables, fruit, flowers, bread; you name it. Looking down the stretch of vendors you can just barely make out the Manhattan Bridge in the background.

The Brooklyn Bridge is right next to it and the adjacent area is now known as Dumbo, another stupid name dreamed up by a developer. In this case it stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Nobody, to my knowledge, ever referred to the Manhattan Bridge and an overpass before. Oh well, the name must work, the real estate prices in that area are some of the highest in Brooklyn now.

You can just pop out of the subway, buy a fresh loaf of bread, and pop back down again if you choose to do so.



The flowers were particularly colorful on the sunny Saturday morning and I probably should have bought some for the Mysterious Chinese Woman. I failed to do so, however, and now feel remorseful. Oh well, I will buy her a hotdog and a beer at the Yankees game tomorrow. The flowers would have been cheaper though.





The vegetables and fruit were also looking particularly colorful.



As early as it was, they were already being picked over by hawk-eyed old women.



If you like tomatoes, but dislike the insipid, flavorless things you get in the supermarkets now, this is the place to go.

I took one last picture on the way back home that captured the lovely fountain in the very small Columbus Park that is right in front of Borough Hall, home of Marty Markowitz, our charismatic Borough Presdent who now has his eye on the exhalted title of Mayor. Watch for a run in 2010.



Tomorrow I head out to a Yankees game and, although it isn't in my neighborhood, I will try to take a few pictures and post them for your amusement.

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