Business & Tech
SEE: 'Revitalized' Caribbean Market Opens At Flatbush Caton Site
The market, now known as Flatbush Central, had been in a temporary location while the city built affordable housing on the property.
BROOKLYN, NY — A "revitalized" version of Flatbush's longtime Caribbean market has officially reopened on Caton Avenue, three years after it first moved during a redevelopment of the property.
The market — rebranded from Flatbush Caton Market to "Flatbush Central" — opened on the ground floor of a 14-story affordable housing complex the city built at the site, which sits on the Flatbush and Prospect Lefferts Gardens border.
The market had been running from a secondary location on Clerendon Road during construction of the complex, which opened its 254 affordable apartments last summer. Caton Market was first founded in 2000 by the first Caribbean-born woman elected to the city's legislature, Dr. Una S.T. Clarke.
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"I am delighted to see my vision fulfilled, that vendors and entrepreneurs from our community now have a permanent home which gives both pride and dignity to those who struggled for existence and recognition,” Clarke said. “The name of the new site—Flatbush Central Caribbean Marketplace—is fitting because it acknowledges the contribution that Caribbeans have made to Flatbush and East Flatbush."
The revitalized market includes a business incubator program known as Mangrove, a new Caribbean-themed food hall and shared commercial kitchen, bar and lounge for food vendors, according to the release.
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The building, known as Caton Flats, also includes offices, 10,000 square feet of retail and a 5,000-square-foot community space with spots for a Caribbean Trade Center and the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI).
Opening the new Chamber of Commerce headquarters near small businesses in the market had been a dream for Dr. Roy Hastick, the chamber's founder who died in 2020. Hastick was honored at its opening late last year.
The project is led by the city's Economic Development Corporation, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Housing Development Corporation, BRP Companies and Urbane.
The market is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 2123 Caton Ave.
Check out photos of the market here (Courtesy of Urbane):
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