Leading the redevelopment of
the East River Market District
in Lower Manhattan. |
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Brief HistoryNew Amsterdam Market was founded on October 2, 2005 under the vaulted arcade of the New York City Municipal Building. This event was produced by Robert LaValva, with partial funding from the Slow Food USA national office (event program here)
Robert is a native New Netherlander (born in New Jersey), studied urban planning at New York University, and architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He worked for ten years as a planner for the City of New York, where he helped establish one of the country’s largest urban composting programs. In 2002 he left government to pursue his interest in sustainable agriculture and found his way to Slow Food, where among other activities he instituted a consortium for raw milk cheese producers; worked on programs to help preserve biodiversity in crops and livestock; and managed Slow Food’s Urban Harvest festival, which he staged in 2005 as the first New Amsterdam Market. He is committed to reviving this city’s tradition of public markets, rededicated to regional food and responsible sourcing and to reinventing the thriving culture found only in the genuine agora.
In 2006 and 2007, the market evolved with a significant contribution of time and enthusiasm by Jill Slater, who helped establish the non-profit New Amsterdam Public Market Association and promoted the project widely. From 2007 to 2010, Cerise Mayo contributed greatly to the market's development by gathering its initial roster of pioneering vendors and spearheading its first significant fundraising effort.
Staff
In 2010, New Amsterdam Market began to gather weekly. This important milestone could not have been achieved without a dedicated staff, comprised of volunteers and minimally paid employees. We thank the New York City Council for their contribution towards our workforce development. Current staff include:
Founder and President
Robert LaValva
Executive Assistant
Julie Yeung
Director of Operations
Matt Heffernan
Market Stewards
Nicole Potenec, Lisa Fischoff
Market Hands
Alen Agaronov, Yan Yan Chan, Keone Davis, Diomar Dominguez, Michael Fuentes, Kate Kraynak, Danelson Muñoz, Frankie Quinones, Junxing Wang
Market Carpenter
Orion Blake
Communications and Social Media
Hannah Kim, David Siegel, Marguerite Preston
Hospitality
Anthony Conte, Anneliese Miller
Interns
Daniel Del Coro, Kristy Cho, James Walsh
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