Hunts Point Visit

[aswag74]

I'm just a regular old human being interested in going to Hunts Point, specifically the Fish Market. I live in Northern Manhatthan, and with the..new?..BX6 bus I think it's a straight shot.

Question is...can a normal old person just go there and do the fish thing or is it a wholesale only operation? I gotta go crazy early as well, right?

[Fat Guy]

Not sure how far north you live but if you're anywhere near 125th it's quicker to take the 6 train to Hunts Point Avenue and then switch to the BX6 bus.

Hunts Point is divided into three main areas: the meat market, produce market and fish market. It's huge -- it takes a long time to walk between areas. The last time I was there, anybody could get in -- we were charged a few dollars to park, but I'm not sure you have to pay anything at all if you're on foot. The occasional civilian would walk into one of the vendors and get a bag of veal chops or whatever, for cash. It was pretty informal. It's not like the stuff is displayed in nice glass cases. You have to know what to ask for.

I don't know specifically about the fish market -- I haven't been there since it moved from Manhattan. In Manhattan, you needed to be with a licensed distributor to go there, or you needed to be on a formal tour. There also wasn't much to buy from a civilian perspective -- it was more an exchange point for cartons of stuff.

Hunts Point has a website. You might want to call the market manager and find out what the deal is.

http://www.huntspoint.com

[aswag74]

Cool. Thanks. I am actually further up. I'd be headed south to get to the BX6, and I am assuming that at the hour I would have to go, traffic wouldnt be a huge issue.

I had poked around on the website, which certainly makes it obvious that, well, they arent too Average Joe friendly. Didnt know if there was maybe an off-the-books way around. I'll ask their webmaster. Thanks.

[Eatmywords]

Nothing to do with buying wholesale fish but if its a bust (and you're already there) you could chk out the bbq dude Meehan wrote up a couple months ago, Mo Gridder (and let us know if its worth the trek)

http://events.nytimes.com/2007/01/24/dinin...html?ref=dining

[aswag74]

Just called Produce market and Fish market. Open to the Public (fish market said "retail customers are not prohibited....."). Hours are funky funky. Basically they open Sunday at midnight, are closed at 9 am. So weekends are a no-go, as they closed friday morning at 9 AM.

Thanks for the advice. Looks like it will be a very odd pre-work trip someday.

Edited May 4, 2007 by aswag74 (log)

[Fat Guy]

It used to be that the Fulton Fish Market was an overnight thing, in part because that space had to be vacated by morning. But up at Hunts Point I don't know that it's on an overnight schedule. Certainly the other areas are on more of a very-early-morning schedule. Please let us know what you learn.

[aswag74]

The produce market is M-F 12 AM to 3 PM. Closing friday afternoon at 3 opening late Sunday at midnight.

Fish market is 12 AM to 9 AM, same daily schedule as the Produce market.