Farmers Market Opens in Mount Hope

Yesterday, a farmers market opened for business in Echo Park, along East Tremont Avenue. NY1 has some footage. For some background, here's a story that appeared in the Monitor last month. The market will be open Wednesdays through Nov. 18, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A Farmers Market for Echo Park

Starting tomorrow, Echo Park will host a farmers market every Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Nov. 18.

The park is located between East Burnside and East Tremont avenues, just west of Valentine.

More here.

(Illustration by Alice Chao)

Drug Free and Proud to Be at Echo Park

Organizers from Mount Hope Housing Company celebrated their 11th Annual "Drug Free and Proud to Be Day" at Echo Park, last Saturday.

The day-long event featured ventriloquist Wayne Garland and sidekick Charlie, and old-school rapper Stone of Funky Four and Double Trouble. There was also a basketball tournement and a bubble-ride for youngsters (pictured). Volunteers cooked up 1,000 hamburgers.

The purpose of the event, much like National Night Out, is to encourage local residents to take a stand against drugs in the community. On display were anti-drug essays written by kids enrolled in Mount Hope's Project READY, a youth development program. (Text and photo by David Greene)

Jazz in the park

Jazz legend Lou Donaldson, 80, performing at last week's jazz festival in Echo Park in Mount Hope, a free event put on by Mount Hope Housing Company and Chase Bank. (Photo by David Greene)

In the 1980s this four-acre park - the only green space in the area - was a dumping ground and a haven for drug dealers. Most of the apartment buildings at the park's north end, on Burnside Avenue, lay abandoned. In recent years, however, things have taken a turn for the better, and in 1997 Mount Hope Housing Company began holding an annual "Drug Free and Proud To Be Day" - a day of fun, food, and festivities for all the family. The aim is to encourage local residents to take a stand against drugs in the neighborhood. Last year 3,500 people attended. This year's event is on Saturday August 11. If you wish to be a sponsor, you can call Tee Lawton at (718) 299-2051 ext. 16.