Reported on Sept. 23, 2009

Buckets of pig’s tails, pork snouts and salted beef were prominently displayed among the codfish and mackerel. Local customers from as far as Brooklyn and Bridgeport, Conn., visited this modest East Harlem food stall on a recent Wednesday to find the best link fish.

The place is La Marqueta, once a bustling center of more than 500 ethnic food stalls that catered to generations of East Harlem immigrants. Yet now, only a handful of merchants work in the desolate marketplace.

A mural outside La Marqueta hearkens back to its heyday

But these last bastions of the old order may soon be the first in a new wave of vendors. Located under the Metro-North Railroad tracks on Park Avenue from East 111th to 116th streets, La Marqueta is set to undergo a massive revitalization that will begin this summer, which will include building a shared community kitchen as well as space for a farmers market. Proponents said this renovation will give the neighborhood much-needed access to fresh, local food.

Now, only one quarter of food retailers in East Harlem sell fresh produce, according to a 2008 study by the Economic Development Corporation and the Department of City Planning. A 2008 special report by the Food Trust found that the number of supermarkets in the lowest-income neighborhoods, including East Harlem, was almost 30 percent less than that of the highest-income neighborhoods. A fourth of East Harlem residents suffer from obesity and up to 18 percent of the population has diabetes, the study said.

“It would be nice to see a green market here, ” said La Marqueta shopper Ivoline Anthony.

In March 2009, the city started looking for a food or agricultural-related use for La Marqueta. In August, officials decided to invest building in a 4,000 square foot fully-equipped commercial kitchen in addition to the food stalls and farmers market. The “incubator” kitchen is expected to be up and running by this summer and will provide space and access to equipment for local entrepreneurs, giving them the chance jumpstart their food businesses.

Similar to the goal of promoting access to fresh food, economic development officials hoped the shared kitchen program will create demand for locally made foods.

“I think a really great idea would be to create a facility that produced food or meals that was grown locally and distribute it to schools that are in the neighborhood,” said Harlem advocacy coordinator James Sabhudi, who runs a food justice program for public schools. Sabhudi pointed out that nearly one in four elementary school children suffer from obesity in East Harlem.

Currently, proposals are being reviewed by the City Council for potential kitchen operators. Details on the farmers market and usage of the remainder of the approximately 80,000 square foot space is yet to be determined.

“It feels like a fantastic thing to support. The city has so many chains,” said entrepreneur Amy Schreber, who has worked on the kitchen initiative. “That has a lot heart and soul behind it.”

The economic development officials hoped that the housing development across the street will offer a large customer base, in addition to drawing visitors from surrounding neighborhoods.