STREET FAIRS

I keep trying to imagine street fairs in heaven. For New Yorkers, the street fair is a hallmark of summer and a powerful means of inviting people to share the city’s most ubiquitous public space. We average about 375 street fairs each year.


Street fairs certainly tap into a deep-seated desire on behalf of many residents and visitors to be outside during the hot days of summer, to stroll along city streets that would normally be closed to pedestrians, to people watch and maybe even indulge on a massively over-buttered cob of corn. Although I have only indulged in the sausage sandwich once, I love the smell of those links cooking.

But for many New Yorkers, the sight of fried dough and Italian sausage carts inspire little more than an eye-roll and a step in the opposite direction. Once vibrant gathering places that reflected the rich diversity of New York’s neighborhoods, many people think the street fairs are mass-produced affairs that offer little variety and even less opportunity for local vendors to participate.

Those who don’t like the street fairs claim the worst part is that they are uniformly bland. Though the five boroughs are filled with an incredible diversity of businesses and artists yet, the overwhelming majority of street fairs seem to have the same few items for sale, such as tube socks, knock-off purses and gyros. This is true.


I believe the street fairs have two constituencies:


1) Tourists who buy tube socks, knock-off purses and the over priced street food.

2) New Yorkers who love to people watch. That’s me. I could stroll the streets all day people watching. Isn’t that part of what living in NYC is all about: Being around people?