New Amsterdam Market considering alternatives to Pier 17

Longtime foe of Howard Hughes high-rise development might move out

From left: Howard Hughes Corp. proposed tower at Pier 17 and New Amsterdam Market
From left: Howard Hughes Corp. proposed tower at Pier 17 and New Amsterdam Market

The shuttered New Amsterdam Market is aiming to reopen this fall, but it may be ready to concede defeat in its battle against the Howard Hughes Corporation and its high-rise development at the former Fulton Fish Market on Pier 17.

To be sure, the weekly food and fish market would like to stay put at the pier’s historic New Market Building. Roland Lewis, chairman of the organization’s board of directors, co-wrote an op-ed last week that implored the city to preserve the pier as a public space. Lewis told DNAinfo, however, that a new home is indeed under consideration.

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“We’re looking at a lot of of different possibilities right now,” Lewis told the website. “We’re looking at the Seaport, along with different locations in the city.”

Howard Hughes Corp. wants to build a 50-story hotel and residence tower in the spot currently occupied by the New Market Building. The New Amsterdam Market has operated outside the building since 2007. Robert LaValva, the weekly market’s founder, turned down an offer from Howard Hughes in 2012 that could have put the vendors in a nearby building. [DNAinfo]Tom DiChristopher