Recently launched New Amsterdam Public is a non-profit organization whose mission is to establish a year-round, indoor public market where butchers, grocers, fish and cheese mongers, and other purveyors will help create and foster a sustainable food system in the City of New York. This new, civic institution will emerge over time in Lower Manhattan's Seaport neighborhood, which has been a public market district since New York has been a city 1642.  See the Press Release:  http://www.newamsterdampublic.org/wm_pressrelease.htm and the Web Site:  http://www.newamsterdampublic.org/index.htm.

At the Seaport, on the East River, stand two historic structures: the Tin Building and the New Market Building. Both market halls are owned by the public, and both have been empty since 2005, when the Fulton Fish Market was moved to the Bronx after two centuries of vibrant trade in this location.  The vision of New Amsterdam Public is the creation of a new public sustainability forum, bridging the past and illuminating the future with the restoration of both market halls  from public and philanthropic funds and dedicated as a new market for sustainably produced food, sold by purveyors and sourced regionally. This new civic institution will be a permanent venue to promote sustainable agriculture, strengthen our regional food system, drive rural and urban economic development, incubate small businesses, and teach all New Yorkers how to buy, eat and cook tastey good food.