What Makes Up the Dirt and Soil of the Chelsea Flower Market
A History of New York City’s Flower District
New York City’s flower district, The Chelsea Flower Market, located on 28th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Chelsea, is a hidden jungle oasis within the crowded, concrete city.
Before the emergence of this flower market, transactions of greenery were done by the East 34th Street ferry landing. This led to a new venture for businessmen, who began to gather fresh flowers from growers and resold them to retailers for commission.
The Flower Market began in the 1890s when flower wholesalers opened shop in the Chelsea area to be near the fashionable “Ladies’ Mile” shopping district, which at the time was home to upscale department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor, W. J. Sloan, Arnold Constable, B. Altman, and Best & Co. At the Market’s peak in the mid-1900s, there were roughly 60 shops on the block, all family-owned and passed down through generations.
By the late 1970s many wholesalers began moving to the suburbs. This was due mainly to zoning changes that began to allow housing in the area. As new people began moving into the region, residents and shop owners began to butt heads. Residents would complain about the garbage bags filled with flowers, which would spill, and shop owners would complain about traffic and parking issues, which made it difficult for customers to visit the shops.
Improved transportation, the rise of the Internet, 9/11, and the 2008 recession only made matters worse for the Market’s merchants. These instances caused business to drop by a wide margin. Additionally, corner delis selling bouquets 24/7 have also increased competition. All this, as well as the climbing costs of labor and insurance, has caused the merchants to up their prices.
In 1999, The Flower Market Association was founded. This trade group was formed to help wholesalers and retailers find new space. Over the years, areas in other parts of the city, such as the South Bronx, Harlem, and Long Island City, were looked at as options but later rejected. The issue of real estate divides many of the shop owners, as some are open to moving but others refuse. It does not appear that The Flower Market Association still exists today.
“This is where the market belongs, you can’t place the market somewhere. It finds itself,” says Bill, owner of Bill’s Flower Market, a store in the district.
Though the Chelsea Flower Market is having various issues due to the ever-changing economic and social climates of New York City, it currently remains one of the most unique and exotic areas of the Manhattan — a breath of fresh air for the weary city dweller.
