A Market with a View

The Daily News’s Bill Egbert follows up yesterday’s Observer story about the possibility of the Bronx Terminal Market merchants being relocated to the Velodrome site. Egbert mentions that Councilwoman Foster, who has been at the forefront calling for the merchants’ relocation, is a bit skeptical about trading in parkland for a new market. While we understand the councilwoman’s concern, we believe that a stand alone park on the Velodrome site would be underutilized – it is relatively far away from the surrounding neighborhoods and across railroad tracks. On the other hand, Irwin Cohen’s plan for the Veldrome site would not only preserve the market, but would open up the waterfront and feature a number of new restaurants. Also, Cohen’s proposal does include additional greenspace. We think that this option is a win-win for both the BTM wholesalers and the city and that the Council should reserve this site for the merchants’ use.