Brooklyn's awash in great flea markets. Some run year-round. Others are seasonal. Find out where to shop for vintage clothes, antique housewares and cameras, old jewelery and retro, mid-century modern furniture and more, from Coney Island to Williamsburg.
Looking for an old phone or Remington typewriter? A retro chair that needs refinishing, or a 1940s plant stand that doesn't? You can buy or bask in the romance of the retro at Brooklyn's many flea markets.
Read a May 2011 New York Times article about vintage markets in New York City and Brooklyn.
1. Brooklyn Flea, Brooklyn's Most Famous Flea and Vintage Market
Photo by Ellen Freudenheim
Brooklyn Flea, wherever the location and whatever the season, is one of New York City's premier flea markets. It's garnered more media coverage than a whole block of local stores in some Brooklyn neighborhoods. Everyone who's anyone in the Big Apple who likes vintage clothing and furniture knows about Brooklyn Flea.
Part of Brooklyn Flea's success is due to high quality of the merchandise, which runs the gamut from mid century modern furniture to antique lace to vintage photos. Other ingredients are stand-out food (where else can you stop shopping and snack on lobster?) and a festive atmosphere. And, it's a live institution: the market moves around from time to time, testing different locations, so it doesn't feel stodgy at all.
Whether you intend to just browse or are really want to buy, Brooklyn Flea is a bellweather of trendy Brooklyn culture. It's a top NYC weekend destination, year-round.
2. Saturday Brooklyn Flea,Outdoors in Fort Greene (Spring, Summer, Early Autumn)
Photo by Ellen Freudenheim
On Saturdays in the spring, summer and fall, the fabulous Brooklyn Flea market sets up shop here, in the playground of a local church, tucked inside a residential neighborhood.
Vendors sell old furniture, photos, cameras, clothing, old objects, and jewelry here. But you can just come and eat! For instance, you can enjoy Brooklyn Fish Camp oysters, locally-made ice cream and other treats.
The atmosphere is festive, prices are fair, and the people-watching is fun. Brooklyn Flea is a good place to meet friends. And, don't be surprised if you make a few new ones here, too.
An added bonus: Leafy Fort Greene is lovely to bike through; the historic landmarked mansions in nearby Clinton Hill, near Pratt Institute, are eye-popping. (Some of them were built by oil barons of the 19th century.)
In the winter, Brooklyln Flea is held in a spectacular venue, inside a historic buiding that was once known as the Williamsburg Savings Bank. The high vaulted ceilings, with tile inlay, are gorgeous. It's worth the trip for this architectural treat alone.
3. Sunday Brooklyn Flea,Outdoors in Williamsburg (Spring, Summer, Early Autumn)
Brooklyn Flea's new Sunday venue in Williamsburg is worth visiting just for the waterside Manhattan views. Vendors sell a terrific range of functional, well-tended or repaired articles; the items here are more curated than "found" objects.
The above-mentioned New York Times article on flea markets citywide reported that over 25,000 people attended the opening of the summer venues for Brooklyn Flea, combining the Saturday Fort Greene and Sunday Williamsburg venues. Here, you're likely to be among a contingent of hipsters from Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick — as well as anyone from Manhattan who knows how to take the L train into Brooklyn
- Great food at Brooklyn Flea
- Other vintage shops in Williamsburg (not flea markets)
4. New! BK Flea Market in Coney Island
Photo courtesy of New York City Economic Development Corporation
Coney Island's long had a flea market, but unless you were looking for bed bugs, it wasn't an inviting venue. That's now changed. In 2011, Thor Equities gave it another shot, and launched a new Coney Island flea market, inviting over 100 retail vendors that previously had operated at Aqueduct Flea Market in Queens, now closed.
In its review of the new Coney Island flea market, The New York Times said it "will distinguish itself with a state fair atmosphere — carnival and pony rides, concerts, car shows, food."
- Where: 2801 W 8th Street at Neptune Ave
5. Flea Market in Park Slope at PS 321
In operation for decades, the PS 321 Flea Market, in the heart of Park Slope on Seventh Avenue, is open for business on both Saturdays and Sundays. The playground market (with a jungle gym in the middle of the site) has an eclectic collection of vendors selling clothes, art, jewelry, kitchen wares, watches, vintage post cards, rugs, and an interesting collection of furniture that ranges from great vintage pieces to shabby chic to junque. Prices can be negotiated.
Where: Seventh Avenue between 1st and 2nd Streets
When: Saturday & Sunday, year round, 9 am-4pm
6. Brooklyn Stoop Sales, a Time-Honored Tradition in Brownstone Neighborhoods
The best flea market of all in Brooklyn are the one-off, individually-run stoop sales that take place on good weather weekends across the borough. Here's where you can find cheap vinyl records, great clothes, cheap good toys for kids, office furniture, tables and chairs--just about anything that the average person is strong enough to schlep out of their apartment and onto the street.
Some stoop sales are advertised on Craig's list. Often, in Park Slope and other neighborhoods, people simply stick up signs on the lamp posts or advertise their stoop sale with a chalked message on the sidewalk.
Prices are always dirt cheap. And, when buying from a stoop sale, you have a very good idea of where that vintage teapot or child's lamp in the shape of a balloon came from.
Where are Brooklyn's best stoop sales?
7. New! DeKalb's Hip Container Market in Downtown Brooklyn
As of summer, 2011, a new flea market opened in downtown Brooklyn, within walking distance of the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and Brooklyn Academy of Music. The De Kalb Market will be open seven days a week.
It's to be housed in a collection of salvaged shipping containers, an innovative retail environment if ever there was one. According to the NY Daily News, the venue is run by Urban Space runs a similar shipping container market in London, but it hasn’t been done before in New York.
True to Brooklyn's emerging DIY culture, vendors will include locavore food suppliers from local incubator farms, work-sell spaces, and also feature a food market , beer garden, and events and performances. Open every day.
- Where: 332 Flatbush Avenue, intersection of Flatbush and Willoughby Street
- Contact: (718) 529-9262
8. Indoor Flea Market: Artists & Fleas in Williamsburg
With over twenty vendors selling everything from vintage clothing to handmade jewelry, this flea market has been a neighborhood favorite for weekend browsing.
9. Meeker Avenue Flea Market in Williamsburg
If you really want to dig around in for furniture finds (and don't mind cat smells) then check out this old warehouse in Williamsburg, right under the BQE. The merchandise is not fixed and finished, as is the case with Brooklyn Flea, but you might find something unusual. Online reviews complain of problems with service, delivery and prices that are not low, but some shoppers have been pleased with their finds. Consider it an adventure
- Where: 391 Leonard St (between Meeker Ave & Richardson St)
- Contact: (718) 302-3532
10. Summer Church Flea Market: Bensonhurst
For an old fashioned, everything-goes flea market, head toward the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit which holds an outdoor market every other weekend, from 9 am to 4 pm. While there won't be trendy clothes here, you might find some seriously mid-century furniture, cheap clothes and housewares. No market when it rains. There's also no website, so call before you go.
- Where: Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit
- 8117 Bay Parkway at 82nd Street in Bensonhurst
- Contact: (718) 837-0412
11. Seasonal Markets: Craft Vendors From Brooklyn Craft Central in DUMBO
Not exactly flea, but also far different from the standard NYC street fair, the spring Brooklyn craft fair is worth a visit.
Brooklyn Craft Central is the organizer of this and other popular craft shows, including a bustling holiday craft fair in December.
For spring, 2011, an event called "Shop the Archway Spring Market, operates in an interesting space in DUMBO near the Brooklyn Bridge. Check out their site for a full list of vendors.
This event is part of Brooklyn's burgeoning DIY, crafter and hand made indie culture.
12. Seasonal Markets: BAM Dance Africa in Fort Greene
Every Memorial Day weekend, there's a three day African bazaar at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It's not exactly a flea market, though some of the merchandise is gently used or old. Rather, it's a global market of vendors selling African, Caribbean, and African-American food, crafts, and fashion.
