Q&A
Community response and vendor pricing for Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Plaza project
0:14:57
·
3 min
Council Member Yusef Salaam inquires about the community's response to the Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Plaza project and the pricing for vendors in the new space. Tariq Shahid, Assistant Imam of Masjid Malcolm Shabazz, explains the historical context of vendor fees and the market's operation over the past 30 years.
- Vendors currently pay $20 per day for their spaces
- The market has only had two fee increases in 30 years
- The project aims to create more opportunities for local vendors and extend the market's operational period
Yusef Salaam
0:14:57
Thank you.
0:14:58
Definitely appreciate the presentation.
0:15:03
And I've been inspired by the opportunity to have something really nice presented in that space.
0:15:11
The community is excited about the fact that this project will create more opportunity for local vendors in addition to the existing Plaza vendors utilizing the site.
0:15:20
Some members have raised concern, however, about increased price for the vendors to participate.
0:15:26
Can you please speak to the price for the vendors Or can you please speak to the pricing for the vendors to utilize this space and how open spaces will be advertised going forward?
Tariq Shahid
0:15:38
Yeah.
0:15:38
Yeah.
0:15:39
First of all, it's important to understand with the regard to the the increased Presval has only been 2 increases for the entire 30 years that I've been managing the building.
0:15:50
And what and I think people make they made $20 a day at present for their spaces right now.
0:15:57
So our our so, of course, we're gonna have a new space to everything.
0:16:00
And and so, of course, there has to be some increase.
0:16:02
However, if you when you're talking $20 a day for business, if you're in business and you're not doing more than $20 a day, then maybe you should consider another business.
0:16:12
In my opinion.
0:16:15
But here's what happened.
0:16:17
We've kept this to a very nominal theme.
0:16:19
We've been able to run this market and a lot of it based on the fact that we had great a lot of tourism, a lot of people coming in.
0:16:25
We're excited also about the future because now remember, we lose about 5, 6 months just based on wintertime.
0:16:32
And we're we're members of the New York City tourism.
0:16:35
We have been members for the last 25, 20, 25 years.
0:16:39
And and so which annually every year, they have a sponsor, a big program where they bring in people who are part of tourism companies all over the world.
0:16:48
And we get a chance to meet with them and promote our product, promote our our market to them, let them know So this and usually, they don't come during the wintertime.
0:16:56
Now that people will be in the close, they'll be able to come.
0:17:00
So we'll be able to have far many more people come into the market, and we've done done a great job in the in the summertime.
0:17:06
However, when the wintertime comes, You know, one of the things we always I always teases it when people ask, can I get a space in the market?
0:17:12
I always say it not in the summertime.
0:17:15
No one ever moves in the summertime.
0:17:17
We've never had anybody leave the market in the summertime.
0:17:20
So so the the fees that we're offering remember, these are membership fees.
0:17:25
This is an incubator program on the brainchild of our Emami membership.
0:17:29
The idea was to go from dust that was just uninformed to industry.
0:17:33
And we've been able to do that in a in a in a very small way.
0:17:37
Certainly, we we think it's great because we measure greatness not from where we are, but from how far we've come.
0:17:43
And we know we have a long way to go, but we have they said forty businesses that I know it I know at least 75 of them.
0:17:50
I know many of them moved to the Bronx who got their start in the market.
0:17:54
And we and we started this market, and we used to be $6 a day, and we raised it to $20 a $20.
0:18:02
So So we we know that we we've been very fair.
0:18:06
Our concern has always been the market itself.
0:18:08
That's who we are.
0:18:09
The market the market the market about our own market has been who we are, and we look forward to that.
0:18:14
We don't think the increase will affect them in their businesses much.
0:18:18
As you know, but any vendor, anybody in business, when you say there's an increase, they say, oh, no.
0:18:23
But we're sensitive to their needs and the fact that the people are are in the community, and and this is the way they make their living.
0:18:31
So we'll be very sensitive to that.
