Story originally posted from The Rockaway Times by Katie McFadden
A new flea market is coming to Rockaway in the form of Arverne Flea By the Sea. The flea market will open January 3 offering bargains and a new location at 62-02 Beach Channel Drive. The previous local flea market Valley Stream which operated for 45 years, closed at the end of October, leaving the locals without a place to sell their items.
A man by the name of Joe S is bringing Flea By the Sea to Rockaway. “What I see in Arverne is that it’s up and coming, with all of the new stores and the YMCA and other businesses opening and with other flea markets closing recently, we needed a new location,” Joe said. “We’re bringing the vendors what they want and they’re getting a nice location by the beach. Our flea market is the present and hopefully the future.”
It is said the flea market will be filled with most of the shoppers from the Valley Stream area, since that market is now gone. Joe guarantees the best deals on items sold at Flea By the Sea.
“We’ll have everything you can think of from A to Z, from used to new items. We’ll have clothes, perfume, food, electronics, just name it and we got it,” Joe said. “I think this will be a great thing for the Rockaways. Rockaway has needed this for years. After Sandy, a lot of stores didn’t reopen. This will bring the economy up and will be a good thing for the vendors that live here and the vendors from Long Island,” Joe said.
Arverne Flea by the Sea will be located in a three-acre area and vendors can have tents, tables or little storefronts. The flea market is expected to be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays and will run all year. Vendors who are interested in renting a spot can rent one for $40 a day or $700 for the month, through March. To rent a spot, call Joe at (917) 500-0380.