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NYC Shops & Shopping NYC
August 14, 2025 / NYC Shops & Shopping NYC / NYC Neighborhoods & NYC History / Gotham Buzz NYC.
This section is dedicated to the Shops & Shopping section on Manhattan Buzz NYC.
Page Guide
How to Make the Most of This Section
1. The reports at the top of this section will contain seasonal shopping opportunities in Manhattan.
2. As things change through the year, the reports that follow the seasonal shopping opportunities, will either reflect current reporting on events, or relevant events reported on in the past.
3. The rest of this section will contain shopping related reports done previously, which over time we'll organize for easier perusing.
4. At the bottom of the page there will be links to these reports and many others, organized into the neighborhoods where the shops are located or where the shopping event occurred.
5. The Gotham Buzz website provides visitors with current news and a history of what has happened in NYC neighborhoods, generally based on events, issues, locales and sometimes personages. Use the BOOKMARK button at the top of your browser window, to facilitate your weekly visit to find out what's happening in NYC & neighborhoods.
Thanks for visiting and come back for our weekly & semi-weekly updates.
CLICK here to view our NYC Shops & Shopping NYC section.
NYC Shops & Shopping
Seasonal Shopping Opportunities in Manhattan
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NYC Farmers Markets - Green Markets in NYC Manhattan Brooklyn Queens Bronx & Staten Island
NYC Farmers Markets 2025 - Times, Dates, Locations & Selection
Year Round Farmers Markets in NYC & Seasonal Markets in Full Swing
March 16, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / Things To Do NYC / Gotham Buzz NYC.
This an update for the 2025 season of NYC farmers markets, including opening and closing dates / times, food selections, payment options and related services like composting and clothing collection for those who are trying to do their best to help save our planet.
To inform you as to which farmers markets are returning, and which are not, we keep the closed farmers markets on our pages for a few seasons past their closing year, so you'll know, they're no longer with us.
We periodically update these pages as we work our way through the seasonal markets in March / April / May / June / July / August / September / October and as makes sense throughout the rest of the year. Click here for links to our guide to farmers markets in all five boroughs of NYC, including those that are open year round. Enjoy your healthy food.
- CLICK here for a brief report and links to NYC Farmers Markets - all 5 boros Manhattan Brooklyn Queens Bronx & Staten Island - Green Markets NYC.
NYC Street Fairs & Festivals NYC - St Fairs & Festivals in Manhattan Brooklyn Queens Bronx & Staten Island
Street Fairs & Festivals in NYC 2025
Street Fairs & Festivals in all Five Boroughs of NYC including Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx & Staten Island 2025
August 15, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Shopping / Gotham Buzz NYC.
In addition to the many street fairs and farmers markets in NYC, the city also offers many free summer cultural programs that have been one of the hallmarks of primarily - but not exclusively - summers in NYC, in years past.
The programs went on hiatus in 2020 during Covid, but had mostly made their return by 2022, and by 2023 they were back in full force, as they have been ever since.
So this summer, we expect to be able to continue kicking back and enjoying many free live performances of music, dance and theater, as well as the free enjoyment of outdoor film in the NYC parks and swimming at the NYC pools.
The following are links to our selection of NYC street fairs and festivals going on around the five boroughs of the city over the first six months of the year. We update these pages weekly or as often as needed through October / November, at which time the holiday market season kicks in through the end of the year. Enjoy.
- CLICK here to go to the links that will take you to the street fairs & festivals in all 5 boroughs of NYC.
Thanksgiving Food & Wine Shopping NYC
NYC Gourmet Shops & Thanksgiving Restaurants in NYC
Shops and Restaurants for Preparing or Eating Thanksgiving Day Dinner in NYC, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island
UPDATING October 15, 2024 vs 11.2.2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Holidays / Gotham Buzz NYC.
The origins of Thanksgiving Day in the United States began with one of America’s first settlements, founded by the risk-taking, resource-pooling, hardworking, spiritual community of Pilgrims. The Pilgrims were early English settlers who arrived on American shores in the early 17th century [1600’s]. They came here because they wanted a measure of freedom and self-determination that they were forbidden in Europe or what was called the ‘old country’. The Pilgrims wanted to practice their faith, unencumbered, in a way that differed from the established Church of England. They pooled their money to obtain a ship, the Mayflower, to cross the Atlantic in mid September of 1620, landing on America's shores at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts on November 9, 1620.
The Pilgrims Receive Help from the Native People of a Strange Land
Per Wikipedia, the Piligrims survived a hard winter in 1621 with the help of the Wampanoag, an American Indian tribe. The Pilgrims were the immigrants, and the first Americans, the Indian natives, welcomed them. The Wampanaog taught the Pilgrims how to catch eels, and how to grow and harvest corn. Thus the Pilgrims ended 1621 with a good harvest which they celebrated and shared with their new friends, expressing their thanks to a higher power, aka God, for the success of their endeavors.
Thus it was that the first Thanksgiving celebration happened in America. There's some dispute to this account, which we'll address in a future post, near Thanksgiving Day.
- CLICK here for our report on Thanksgiving Gourmet Food & Wine Stores & Restaurants Open on Thanksgiving Day in NYC.
NYC Holiday Markets - Outdoor Holiday Markets in NY
NYC Holiday Markets in All Five Boros New York
The Holiday Markets Seem Back to Normal This Year
December 7, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.
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NYC Holiday Markets Forecast. I think the holiday markets should be good this year, as they are stocked with locally hand crafted goods as well as other items from around the world.
Here are links to some holiday markets planned around the five boroughs between now and the end of the year. We will continue updating as more information becomes available between now and the end of the year.
- CLICK here for a brief report and links to NYC Holiday Markets - outdoor markets & holiday fairs in NYC.
NYC Shops & Shopping
Shopping Sections by Borough
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Shopping In Manhattan - Manhattan Shops NYC
Shopping In Queens - Queens Shops
Brooklyn Shops & Shopping - Brooklyn Shopping & Shops
Bronx Shops & Shopping - Bronx Shopping & Shops NYC
Staten Island Shops - Staten Island Shopping SI NYC
NYC Shops & Shopping
Related Reports & Archives
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Food & Wine - Made In New York
Crain's & Taste NY Food & Beverage Trade Show
October / Specialty Food & Wine NYC / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz NYC.
I had an opportunity to visit the Made In New York Food & Beverage Trade Show at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Chelsea last Thursday.
When I arrived, a bit late in the day, the 50 - 100 exhibitors were in full motion as I made my way along the corridors taking photos and sampling local delectables. There were pastries, candies, pasta, sauces, cheeses, wines, spirits and non-alcoholic beverages filling the aisles and all - in tandem with the theme were - Made In New York.
Before I became fully engrossed in the exhibits and exhibitors I made my way down to the KM Amphitheater where I listened to a panel discussions about 'How To Get NYS Products Into NYC Restaurants, Hotels and Bars' which was followed by a presentation about 'Wine, Beer & Spirits'.
The panel discussion featured a represenative of the Standard, Highline, Jimmy of Jimmy's No. 43, a representative of GrowNYC, a representative 
from BRGuest Hospitality a restaurant group, and the NYC Hospitality Alliance. They talked about passion for the product and collaborative relationships, but generally they seemed to think that the environment is favorably disposed to the inclusion of locally produced foods, wines and other beverages.
The Wine, Beer & Spirits presentation was given by Jim Trezise, President of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. He gave a presentation full of facts and figures about the evolution of the vineyards and wine industry in New York State. We'll post more about both of these presentations at a later date.
I'll also delve a bit more into the content of the exhibits and samples at a later date, and will post a full slide show showing the exhibits and exhibitors.
Shopping the Lord & Taylor Department Store NYC
Lord & Taylor is Consolidating its Ten Floors into Four in 2018
December 11, 2017 / Midtown Manhattan Neighborhood / Manhattan Shops & Shopping / Manhattan Buzz NYC.
I recently heard that Lord & Taylor is consolidating its ten floors of department store space, into three or four, following the Christmas shopping season [mid January]. As a longtime customer, who has once enjoyed shopping recreationally, I decided to return for one last journey through the land of Oz … because certainly after Lord & Taylor consolidates its floors, the look and feel of a once great department store … will not be the same.
For better or worse, over the past couple decades, we have all witnessed the relentless onslaught of the big box and online retailers pummeling what was once called traditional retail. Traditional retail as we once knew it, began more or less in tandem with the 20th century, and New York City was, and still is, one of the great retail hubs.
Short History of Large Manhattan Department Stores 1902 - 1924
Macy’s at Herald Square. In 1902 the R.H. Macy Company had led retailers’ march uptown, to what is now Midtown, when they erected their first store at Herald Square at 34th Street and Broadway. Eventually this flagship Macy’s store expanded to encompass the entire block along the north side of 34th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue. The Macy’s building was landmarked in 1978.
Lord & Taylor on 5th Avenue. A bit more than a decade later the Lord & Taylor building was erected in 1914 [began one year earlier] at 38th and 5th Avenue. The building was designed by architects Starret & van Vleck – and from the start – was a venerable landmark. The Lord & Taylor building was officially landmarked in 2007. Architects of the building, Starret van Vleck, were also the architects of a number of other notable flagship department stores of the time, which according to Wikipedia includes Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales and Alexanders [was across 59th Street from Bloomingdales].
Saks Fifth Avenue. Saks Fifth Avenue, which was owned by Gimbels, erected its flagship store a decade later in 1924. The Saks store encompassed an entire block along 5th Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, just south of St Patrick’s Cathedral, and across from the site that would eventually become Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller Center was erected in 1934.
Bergdorf Goodman. And in 1928 Bergdorf Goodman erected and opened a five-story department store much further north along Fifth Avenue at 58th Street, on the site previously occupied by the Cornelius Vanderbilt Mansion. During the Great Depression Vanderbilt purchased adjacent lots on the rest of the block, which he used to expand the store.
- CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE reading our report about holiday shopping at Lord & Taylor along 5th Avenue in NYC.
Farmers Markets & Street Fairs in Manhattan
April 4, 2016 / NYC Farmers Markets / NYC Street Fairs / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Many Manhattan farmers markets are open year round, but there are also a number of them that are seasonal. Some of the seasonal Manhattan farmers markets begin opening in the Spring, with the rest of them opening no later than the first couple of weeks in July. Click here to view the schedules of many of the farmers markets in NYC.
Manhattan street fairs are entirely seasonal, with some of them hitting the streets as early as March. Manhattan street fairs rise markedly during the spring and lighten up during the dog days of summer [July / August], returning in the fall. By the end of November the Manhattan street fairs go on hiatus, with a few returning as early as March, increasing in April and coming enmasses begining in May. Click here to view a full schedule of NYC street fairs.
Bastille Day On The Upper East Side NYC
Alliance Francais Hosts Three Block Street Party
July 14, 2014 / East Side Neighborhood NYC / NYC Restaurants / Gotham Buzz NYC.
I was feeling very revolutionary Sunday afternoon as I made my way to the Bastille Day Street Festival hosted by the Alliance Francais on 60th Street. They were hosting a [long] three block party that stretched from Central Park souteast at Fifth Avenue across Madison and Park to Lexington Avenue from 12 noon until 5 pm.
It had rained a bit that day which probably worked to the street farers' advantage as, while it was crowded, it was also very easy to move around and not so hot that one was 'glistening' throughout the afternoon.
The 60th Street blocks contain a number of fancy establishments, including the quiet, but well known, Metropolitan Club of which J. Pierrepont Morgan was once a member.
The vendors offered a variety of food, beverages, travel opportunities to places like Monaco and the French islands of Martinique, along with wine, cheeses, spices, some clothing, soaps, perfumes, jewelry and art. I think one of the things that separates this street fair from many others is that it generally stuck to the theme of all things French and hence had the effect of leaving me walk away with a little bit of feeling like I had taken a time-warp trip to Paris and back in the course of the afternoon.
Au revoir mon ami. Je voudrais voir vous bientot. A slide show with photos will follow later this summer.
Great Wine Stores in NYC - Morton Williams Wine & Spirits near Gramercy Park
For Food & Wine, Morton Williams Supermarkets and Morton Williams Wine & Spirits provide a modern organic, natural and standard food shopping experience and the wine store provides a nice selection of wines from around the world. They're located at 313 East 23rd Street.
Organic Food Stores - Long Island City
All Natural Foods - New Super Market In Long Island City
Long Island City & Astoria / Queens Buzz. I’ve been doing research on local organic / all natural food for some time. I recently had the opportunity to interview an "organic insider", Metin Mangut who is one of the managing partners of a local supermarket which is an organic / all natural food store in Long Island City. Metin shared with me some of his insights into the changing landscape of organic, all natural and conventional foods.
Organic Food In Queens - Definition
It’s important to start with definitions which I looked up in Wikipedia. Organic in the U.S. means that 95% of ingredients must be organic. Any non-organically produced ingredients used in the remaining 5% are subject to other government regulations. These regulations cover the use of fertilizers, genetically modified food and manufacturing processes used. Generally the use of pesticides is greatly restricted and used only as a last resort. With respect to meat, poultry and other meat products it means no hormones and feeding the animals natural foods.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on organic food & grocery stores in LIC Queens NYC.
A Changing Retail Landscape in the Bronx
Bronx Shopping Malls, Bronx Shopping Centers & Bronx Shopping Districts in Transformation
October 18, 2017 / Bronx Neighborhoods / Bronx Shops & Shopping Bronx / Bronx Buzz NYC.
This is a compendium of many, possibly most of, the largest shopping malls and shopping centers in the Bronx. Over the past decade or so a number of shopping malls have been erected and many existing shopping centers have been renovated / refurbished as the Bronx undergoes the process of transformation and in some areas, gentrification.
I've grouped the shopping malls by geographical location, using the same definitions used in the neighborhood section of this site - South Bronx, Central Bronx, Eastern Bronx and North & Western Bronx.
- South Bronx Shopping Malls & Shopping Centers. The general boundaries for the South Bronx are the Harlem River to the south and west, the East River to the south and east, White Plains Road to the east and roughly the Cross Bronx Expressway at about 174th Street to the north.
- Central Bronx Shopping Malls & Shopping Centers. The general boundaries for the Central Bronx are the Cross
Bronx Expressway at about 174th Street to the south, the Bronx River Parkway [Morris Park & Bronx River Avenues] as well as the Bronx Zoo and NY Botanical Gardens to the east, Woodlawn Cemetery and Van Cortlandt Park to the north and the Major Deegan Expressway [Bailey Avenue] to the west.
- North & West Bronx Shopping Malls & Shopping Centers. The Major Deegan Expressway [Bailey Avenue] to the east, the northern Bronx boundary around 263rd Street to the north, the Hudson River to the west and the Harlem River to the south.
- East Bronx Shopping Malls & Shopping Centers. The northern boundary of the Bronx along the north at about Kingsbridge Road [rises further north for Wakefield], the Bronx River Expressway [along Bronx Park East] north of the Cross Bronx Expressway and White Plains Road south of the Cross Bronx Expressway on the west [about 172nd to 177th Streets] and the East River to the south and east [leading into the Long Island Sound].
Click here to read our report about the changing retail landscape in the Bronx, including a solid listing of most of the major Bronx shopping malls, Bronx shopping center and Bronx shopping districts in NYC.
