Local mall being revitalized by Schenectady Flea Market
ROTTERDAM, N.Y. – Dozens of Capital Region vendors, crafters, and antique collectors are in the process of trying to revitalize a local mall they say is dying. Once a month, for four months, several local vendors have gathered at the Via Port Rotterdam mall in Schenectady County in hopes of helping to bring more foot traffic to the area.
In the past couple of years, those living around Rotterdam said they have noticed that the Via Port Rotterdam mall is not as popular as it has been in the past. In hopes to turn that around, Jeannie Guthrie, the owner of JB Enterprises, got several of the region’s small businesses together to start the Schenectady Flea Market inside the mall. The flea market took place on Saturday.
“We are bringing more community back to the mall that typically would not be here if there was not a flea market going on,” Guthrie said. “It brings awareness to the area as well as the other things that the mall has to offer with their aquarium and their gymnastics and the local, which is an arcade.”
Guthrie said the flea market also gives the small businesses a chance to make sales, get their foot in the door, and potentially move into a vacant spot in the mall.
“It gives them an opportunity to almost test the waters and market some of their small business before they take the next step,” Guthrie said. “With the malls looking to build back up, these are great places to build small businesses.”
Small business owner Melissa Roger is a part of the flea market; she said she is happy to engage with other vendors in the area while also bringing back some life to the community she grew up in.
“I am hoping with the flea markets and stuff, that it will help revitalize the malls because I am a 1980s kid; I miss the malls,” Roger said. “I think it also helps bring in different businesses; there are shops that open in here sometimes. So it helps bring in people there.”
Guthrie said the market brought about 1,000 people to the mall on Saturday. The next market will be held on February 15.
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1 child killed, 4 others injured in shooting at Texas flea market
One child was killed and another four people were wounded Sunday when a shooting broke out at a large Texas flea market following a “disturbance” between two people, police said.
Two minors were among the five victims hit by gunfire at Cole’s Flea Market around 5:30 p.m. in Pearland Texas, authorities said. One of the juveniles died from their injuries after being taken to a local hospital.
The ages and genders of the victims were not immediately released.
The suspect — or suspects — behind the deadly shooting are still at large, Pearland police public information officer Chad Rogers said during a short press briefing Sunday night.
The shooting began as “a disturbance between two individuals,” Rogers said. “This does not appear to be a targeted attack on the flea market.”
He said he didn’t know how many rounds were fired or how many shooters there were as authorities are seeking tips from the public.
Cole’s Flea Market is considered the oldest and largest flea market in the Texas city, according to its website. The indoor and outdoor marketplace has more than 1,000 vendors and has between 12,000 and 15,000 customers every weekend.
The investigation into the shooting is “very active,” Rogers said.
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Flea Market Tallahassee left to rebuild after snow storm causes roof collapse
The weather outside was frightful for the Tallahassee Flea Market., which endured significant damage following Tuesday night's winter storm that brought 2 inches of sleet to the Florida capital recently.
In a post made to their Facebook page, organizers said that they will not be open this weekend due to the collapse of the roof over numerous vendor booths. The collapse was likely caused by the weight of the sleet piling on top of the structures.
"I don't have a lot of answers. B&C aisles received extensive damage and will take months to rebuild," the post said. "Vendors, as far as you being able to retrieve your merchandise, it it unknown when that will be feasible."
According to the market's website, "each weekend thousands of visitors drop by our market to visit the close to 400 vendors on site."
Jami Robinson, assistant manager of the flea market, said that the immediate next steps are to assess the damage, establish safety and work to update their vendors.
"We do have two aisles that didn't sustain any damage at all, so we won't open for business this weekend but we will definitely evaluate the beginning of next week what (opening) looks like," Robinson said. "Maybe just opening with those two (aisles) and our main storefronts."
She said that the flea market front office will be reaching out to their insurance companies and contractors to work on getting the place rebuilt.
[Flea Market Tallahassee says it will be closed over the weekend after suffering extensive damage from the winter storm on Tuesday. Recovery will take months they say.]
As part of the rebuilding, she said they will be in close contact with vendors to let them know when the aisles are safe for them to retrieve any products left behind: "Our vendors .... we're thinking about them and know that this is going to be hard on them, and we are definitely going to do everything we can to get up and running, whatever that looks like in the next couple weeks."
The Facebook post says the flea market's rental office will be open Thursday at 10 a.m. for any questions vendors may have, but Robinson said they will also be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. over the weekend.