Demonstrators Rally To Preserve Fulton Fish Market
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Locals, chefs and others have joined a campaign to try to save and preserve the shuttered Fulton Fish Market.
As 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported, for nearly 200 years, the Fulton Fish Market was the hub of activity for restaurants and stores lining up to grab their seafood.
It closed eight years ago and moved to the Bronx.
Demonstrators Rally To Preserve Fulton Fish Market
But as a wrecking ball draws near, some locals want to see the market preserved for future use.
"There's this idea that came out lately of Seaport City. I hear it's a clunker of an idea," one resident said to boos at a rally on Sunday.
Organizers pushed for preserving what they called the "landmark of the world."
"Not torn down, not turned into condos, not turned into hotels, no market in the lobby of a hotel. We want these to remain as markets for the city of New York," Robert LaValva of the Save Our Seaport Coalition said. "If they want a place to sell candy, bras and underwear - which is what's going on across the street - they can keep them over there. But this site remains in public hands. That's what we're here to rally for today."
Those rallying said they know they face an uphill battle but said they won't give up without a fight.
"I'll tell you what wasn't destroyed during Sandy - this building right here. The water washed right through, washed right out. It's a market building, it's a waterfront market building, it's used to being on the waterfront, it's the appropriate structure. You put a condo here...do you know what the water level here was? It was 12 feet," demonstrator and James Beard award-winning fish cookbook writer Paul Greenberg told WCBS 880's Monica Miller.
According to a report from DNAInfo, the developer Howard Hughes Corp. has plans to demolish the current building but does not have any set plans for the space.
If the Hughes Corp. does not submit plans to the city by next Sunday, it would lose first rights to develop the space, DNAInfo reported.
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