Piermont Farmers Market looks for new home after being forced out of Flywheel Park

A Rockland County farmers market that has been operating in the midst of the pandemic is being forced out of its location.

News 12 Staff

Jun 14, 2020, 4:24 PM

Updated 1,575 days ago

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A Rockland County farmers market that has been operating in the midst of the pandemic is being forced out of its location after Sunday.
Piermont Farmers Market has been offering fresh produce, baked goods and more at Flywheel Park for a few weeks.
Joe Serra, who manages the market, says they recently moved to the location from a nearby parking lot to create more room for social distancing.
News 12 is told the market is being forced to relocate because a nearby restaurant allegedly complained it will negatively impact their business.
While more people are looking for safe options to get food, the market's success has blossomed and vendors want it to continue to operate in the same location.
Joseph Katonah, who operates Satori Unlimited, says he has been seeing six times more profit Flywheel Park.
"We'd love to stay at this park for our customers, the community and our own sake," Katonah says.
News 12 reached out to the restaurant that allegedly made the complaint and are still waiting to hear back.
Serra says they are looking for other locations but have not found a new home yet.
A neighboring restaurant tells News 12 that the market’s booming business is packing their parking lots, leaving their customers no place to park.
In a statement, the owner of Flywheel, a publicly accessed, privately owned park, says “It was a temporary arrangement so they (farmers market) could accommodate social distancing. At the time because of guidelines, only one store was allowed to be opened, which didn’t hinder parking. Once restaurants were able to offer outdoor dining, parking became an issue with the use of the space.”
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