Urban Booty at NYC Flea

On my final Saturday morning in New York City I was ready to go on one more exhilarating adventure, so I rented a bicycle. In a bird's eye view we must look like small two-wheeled ants hustling through cracks of a constantly moving yellow brick road.


It only took a few blocks of dodging the ubiquitous yellow cab flying down Eighth Street, nearly moving into Madison Square Garden, before I ditched down 39th. Preparing for my next move I could see that 39th ended with what looked like stalls and a flea market. Score! Turns out I stumbled my way into Hell's Kitchen Flea Market, aka. HKFM.


Located in the Chelsea neighborhood of west Manhattan, the flea market is a nice walk through the High Line from the south side of the island, and even has a shuttle that runs to a sister trove on 25th. The High Line is a gorgeous upcycled elevated rail line, boasting gardens, unique views, pop-up bars and food trucks hidden amongst the concrete jungle.





HKFM fills Thirty-Ninth with both spruced up and still dilapidated treasures of all sorts, 'urban booty', a trove that seems long as the river Nile floating you by bits and pieces of world history.


In 2007 HKFM was listed as one of the Top Ten Shopping Streets in the World by National Geographic. Other markets I've been to that are included in the list are:

Plaza Dorrego, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Portobello Road, London, England
Temple Street Night Market, Hong Kong, China

If you get to the Plaza in Buenos Aires, walk around the corner to the San Telmo market. Stop at the always packed grill stand just outside for a Choripán.









The market's blog Fleaspeech includes announcements, new vendor introductions, latest finds and news. Follow HKFM on Pinterest where organizers frequently post photos of inspiring fashion - celebrities, designers, models, artists, singers, dancers - and interior decor. The Hell's Kitchen Flea Market pinterest board is appropriately called Market Muse.


After meandering through the stalls (one kind keeper watched my bike while I browsed his vintage clothing, pin, jewelry and purse collection), my pedals and slender seat carried me into Central Park...



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