La Cosa Nostra: The Brady Court FleaMarket Is the Hidden Gemin The Bronx—And Our Hearts

Back in 2019, the Brady Court Flea Market was supposed to be a “one-shot deal” that has since morphed from a once abandoned storefront into a beloved neighborhood event benefiting the community, the vendors and the shareholders.

To me, the Flea Market is “our thing.” La Cosa Nostra.

It’s a niche market that operates once a month and generates about $16,000 a year in revenues that are used to keep OUR maintenance bill low, provide low-cost goods for the Pelham Parkway community and help vendors expand their customer base.

“It was supposed to be a one-shot deal, but it got so much attention and so much positive feedback we just continued doing it,” Brady Court President Jeannette Wilson said. “We have a reputation of being a quality market you would usually find in Manhattan or Brooklyn and a safe space where you can come and just have a positive experience. We have and continue to be a launching pad for small businesses. There is a lot to be said about Brady’s five-year-old Flea Market—born from a long neglected and dilapidated storefront and transformed into our beautiful, air-conditioned community center."

Errol Hanna, 55, a longtime shareholder who creates and sells resin art, refrigerator magnets and other knick-knacks, told me he appreciates the Flea Market’s humble origins that helped him kickstart a new business.

“First of all, it started out of nothing,” said Hanna who was prepping made-to-order coasters for a sweet sixteen. “I was here when that space was pretty much a dilapidated storefront and thanks to Jeannette and the Board at the time they fixed it up and made it into something. Once they started doing flea markets, I said, ‘Well let me see if I could do something,’ and boom!!—here we are.”

Other vendors, who are the lifeblood of the Flea Market, say the monthly market holds a special place in their hearts because it brings Brady Court—and nearby neighbors—together in communal solidarity.

“I think it’s great because it helps brings the community together, it helps small vendors sell their wares and make a few extra bucks while helping people that need things they can’t afford at the local stores and they can get a good deal,” said 47-year-old resident Danielle Aprea, who is often joined by her mom Marie and sells sports memorabilia and other collectibles.

“It’s a hidden secret gem in the Bronx,” handmade and vintage jewelry vendor Svitlana Hrabovsky, 32, poignantly told me. Hrabovsky who works alongside her mom, Natalya, 55, believes the Flea Market also enables vendors to bond, share intelligence and support each other. “That’s one of the great things about the Flea Market, the vendors get to know each other, we support one another,” she said.

“There are other vendors that often check on mom’s items and vice versa. My mom and I are always supporting the other vendors as well.”

I also learned our food selling vendors are treating the community to decades—and perhaps centuries-old recipes. Rebecca Huertas, 51, and her future businessman sidekick son, Chase, 12, sell her addictive flan that she created from her pastry-making aunt’s recipe in Puerto Rico. “I like the atmosphere, it’s very homey and every vendor looks out for each other,” she said. “It’s like a family.”

Shareholder Hope Graham explains the recipe for her mouthwatering Jamaican ox-tail was passed down by generations of her family.

“I just thought it would be great to introduce my culture and integrate with other cultures through food because I enjoy doing that,” Graham said. “I love watching the people in the community enjoy my food and they ask me to come back. I see them on the street and they’re like ‘Are you coming to the Flea Market?’ It gives me a great sense of pride and appreciation.”

Handmade jewelry seller Mary Wilson, 54, feels the Flea Market is a melting pot of culture, fashion and foods that she considers a supercool “niche market,” uniquely Brady Court.

“I wish there were more flea markets at Brady Court, but I don’t think there is enough of a crowd for that yet,” she said.

As a shareholder, I try to participate in every Flea Market, Food Market, raffle and do my best to contribute to the Halloween candy drive because it is part of Our Thing. We generate OUR money to put into OUR coffers to keep OUR maintenance costs low. And it protects OUR investment!

More importantly, the Flea Market brings residents from the surrounding area into OUR impressive community center, and some opt to rent out the space for a party at $650 bucks—which goes into OUR pocket.

“It is basically the only space that is affordable for people who would really like to have a celebration,” Jeannette Wilson said. “We don’t do any advertising, but we generate so much word-of-mouth that people rent it out and people who come to the events like the space, they have a good time and they like the fact that they could afford it.”

“What’s phenomenal about that is that each successive year the revenues are higher. It’s amazing.”