A group of Faneuil Hall Market vendors looked for support from the North End / Waterfront Neighborhood Council (NEWNC) this week to oppose changes at the marketplace. Leaseholder Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. is planning to renovate the historic property including a boutique hotel and new center food area. Much of the surrounding retail space would be transformed into bars and restaurants.
Vendors are concerned that the changes will eliminate locally owned pushcarts and food vendors that have operated at the market for over 30 years. Susan Luongo, who spoke at the meeting, currently operates a Christmas pushcart and said she is representing over 40 other vendors including some in the food court. The eviction process has already begun to make room for the new retail spaces. Ms. Luongo said the marketplace could de-emphasize many of the remaining local vendors in favor of more international chains.
View the video above for more information and discussion from the December 8, 2014 Neighborhood Council meeting.
Update: Speculation regarding the eviction of Salty Dog in the video has since been denied by Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. and removed from the text of this post.
Taking away ALL of the charm.
What mad men came up with this glitzy, ordinary plan for the Faneuil Hall Markets. Go back to New Jersey and leave our historic City alone. We don’t need a Bryant Park in the midst of what is recognized nationally as the ground where this nation was first founded when in 1632 the Puritans and our first Governor, John Winthrop, landed on these shores.
Some of these places should be evicted like Sissy Ks, Hong Kong, and Trinity all blood baths. But places like Salty Dog are an intricate part of what makes the area nice.
I Tweeted: @marty_walsh Ashkenazy Faneuil Hall MUST return 2 original intention–a local market of MA-made product & food sold by MA vendors NO chains.
We were promised Faneuil Hall market place would return to the unique “only in Boston” destination we were promised when the space opened, & that it was until the property became a cash-cow for out of town property managers.
We taxpayers own the Faneuil Hall complex. We need to demand it not continue as retail space available only to the well-heeled outside bidders. If we were to cut out exorbitant profits to the out-of-town middleman managers, rents wouldn’t need to be so high. I think we need to ask “what value does Ashkenazy add to the property?”