Low prices and high expectations at a pop-up market on Randall’s Island
Since early October, an ecosystem of hairdressers, vendors and chefs has sprung up outside one of the city’s largest migrant shelters, Randall’s Island Athletic Field 83.
Dusk fell on a chilly fall day on Randall’s Island and a small crowd of people from all over the world gathered around New York City’s newest pop-up market. Latin music played as the last shoppers of the day bought their dinners and vendors began packing up their tables.
Then everyone went home, which for most was temporary in one of six giant white tents set up on a nearby soccer field.
By the end of November, more than 66,000 migrants were staying in New York’s homeless shelters, pushing the city’s shelter population to a record high of more than 120,000. With the system far exceeding its capacity, Mayor Eric Adams has asked the Biden administration to expedite permits so the new migrants can work.
But on Randall’s Island, migrants take their fate into their own hands. Since October, the market has grown from a few vendors to a bustling miniature economy outside one of the city’s largest homeless complexes.
The migrants are trying to achieve two goals: send money to their families back home and build a stable life here. They offer their services as hairdressers, serve coffee and food, and sell clothing and anything else a customer might find.
$1 Coffee, tea and cigarettes
Siley Niang started selling coffee and tea ($1), omelettes ($4) and beef sandwiches ($6) before adding cigarettes ($1), gloves ($5) and hats ($10) to adapt to changing demand .
Mr. Niang, a Mauritanian who left behind his wife and five-year-old child, came by plane from Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, to Nicaragua, and from there by land to the U.S. border. Soon, Mr. Niang plans to move to Columbus, Ohio, where he has a brother. “I have no family here, no one to take care of me when I’m sick,” he said.
Leonardo Trompol, a 19-year-old Venezuelan, arrived in 2021 and lives in an apartment in Brooklyn. He earns $550 a week as an assistant chef at a hamburger joint in Manhattan. On his days off, Mr. Trompall sells arepas filled with eggs, meat or sausage for $5 each.
Due to his working hours, he misses a social life and often feels lonely. But, he added, “this is New York, it’s all about work.” In a few more years, he plans to return home with his savings to start his own business.
Miguel Ángel Peralta Castro, who was struggling to make a living in his hometown of Bogotá, Colombia, came to New York in September. He sells arepas ($5), empanadas ($4) and soda ($2). He recently invested $27 in a hair cutting machine and $10 for a haircut. He also accepts cigarettes as payment. “We don’t have enough money here, so we’re bartering,” he said.
$5 Clothing
“I sell clothes for the poor,” said Gustavo Fasquelle, a Honduran who lives in a physical homeless shelter near the Randall’s Island tents. He came to the United States in January 1993, but sensed an opportunity when he saw the newcomers arriving this fall.
Mr. Fasquelle sells cigarettes ($1), used winter clothes ($5) and new socks ($1). He also translates for shoppers and sellers, as a way to build his network of customers.
$10 Hairstyles
Joan Villanueba, 38, was a professional hairdresser in Venezuela, and is among the many hairdressers who have established themselves in the market. After failing to attract a single customer at the initial price of $15, he lowered it to $10, and sometimes takes on customers who pay less. He sees about twelve clients a day.
Yahya Well, 23, turned to hairdressing despite having a degree in economics from the University of Nouakchott in the Mauritanian capital, where he is from. He left his country because one of his friends, with whom he was politically active, was murdered. He earns about $20 a day, although there are days when he has no customers at all.
“They give us food here, but if you want other things, cigarettes or clothes against the cold, you have to find other ways,” Mr Well said.
Yorvin Yonaiker, a hairdresser from Venezuela, said he had “a lot of customers” but he still plans to move from New York City to Detroit: “I want to be in a cheaper city where I can manage my situation step by step improve’ he said.
Every day at 11 a.m. Manuel Lopez and Liz Estrella Tellez shout “lunch, lunch!” from their point of view; the daily menu consisted of pork chops, fried fish and fried chicken, served with beans or potatoes, for $10 each, which they prepare at a friend’s apartment in the Bronx.
The couple, who left their one-year-old son in Peru with Mr. Lopez, arrived in April. “I couldn’t leave my mother with the burden of raising a child, but I had to look for better opportunities,” Mr. Lopez said.