Seward Park Co-op Breaks from Hester Street Fair in Favor of New Operator

Hester Street Fair became a victim of its own success this spring, as its Seward Park Co-op overlord gave it the old heave-ho in favor of something new.

Last year’s unique COVID-19 season was likely its last. Curbed had the scoop.

The sudden decision – Hester Street Fair was to reopen on April 10 for its twelfth season – reportedly dumbfounded both vendors and the ownership.

The Hester Street Fair, founded in 2010 by former MTV veejay SuChin Pak, operated on a ten-year lease for the no-man’s-lot sandwiched between the Seward Park High School courts and the municipal park itself. The agreement on the space expired in last year, but an amendment was signed in July 2020. Nevertheless, the co-op board apparently decided to move on and consider proposals from other operators.

“We provided a proposal to the board in February with no objections or complaints only praise,” the operators told us in an email. “Several weeks later, and 4 weeks before opening, we received an email that the board wants to consider another operator for the lot leaving ourselves and over 120 vendors who signed up with nowhere to go and no time to plan an alternative.”

There is also a new petition circulating to help save the Fair.

The Seward Park Co-op, for its part, wanted to “reinvigorate the outdoor market at Hester Street with a different operator, whom we feel will bring fresh ideas, an impressive track-record, and substantial operational and marketing experience, to the space,” per board president Wei-Li Tjong.

The new mystery operator will be revealed soon.