The Patchogue Outdoor Market has been cancelled after running into mid-September this year due to a lack of a produce vendor cited as the main reason, according to BID executive director and outdoor market coordinator Dennis Smith, who is set to retire this month.The produce for the market, which was in its eighth year, has always been supplied by Napolitano Family Farm in Brentwood. However, this year, according to Smith, the farm stated back in June that they were unable to continue their commitment due to being over extended. “Little by little, we were losing people,” Smith said, noting that the termination of the market was mutual between vendors and the village. “We held the last one with about seven vendors.”

However, according to Gina Napolitano, owner of Napolitano Farms, multiple issues came into consideration, including declining sales, a medical setback and vagrancy.

“I had requested to move the market to a more visible location that had more foot traffic on more than one occasion over the years, but was denied,” she said. “Secondly, I had an incident last season where I had to call the police on a vagrant who was stealing from me and other vendors and who became belligerent and threatening.”

The vagrancy issue, she said, was becoming a regular occurrence, including fights and weapons. However, because she was unable to recall an exact date of these incidents, the Suffolk County Police Department could not confirm.

Smith did confirm vagrancy was an issue, though he said it was always there and not the reason why the market ended this season.
“It was really no worse than [it] was any other year,” he said, noting that public safety officers were present during the market hours. “As the market become less viable due to the lack of produce, vagrancy seemed like more of an excuse.”

Despite the issues, he said, the lack of communication and late notice prevented the village from being able to secure another produce vendor for the market this fall.

Lastly, she said, after a medical setback in her family and since Patchogue was no longer profitable, they decided to only focus on one market and chose the one she felt safe at.

“We had hoped to pop up on occasion in Patchogue, but based on the feedback regarding safety issues from other vendors, we decided not to expose ourselves to a dangerous situation,” she added. “We do miss our regular customers and we wish them well.”

Typically, the market ran from May through Oct. 30, sometimes going into November, depending on availability, on Sundays at the east end of the Patchogue train station.

The market usually has 25 to 30 vendors, featuring fruits and vegetables, sometimes jellies and jams, and always some sort of craft—and maybe even some fresh pickles and bakery items.

Despite the abbreviated market season this year, Smith said Abby Gruppuso of Better Man Distillery, who annually hosts a very successful holiday market, has expressed interest in helping revive the outdoor market next season, at the distillery located on River Avenue in Patchogue Village.

“I drive past the market every Sunday, and always thought I could do a really good job hosting one,” Gruppuso said, noting the success of her annual holiday market. “We have a long list of really cool vendors and people really love it. I am always looking for new ways to get people into the distillery. [I want to] put together a really epic farmers’ market—Patchogue deserves that.”

Her market, she said, though still in the works, would still be hosted on Sundays, likely a little later starting at 10 a.m., and would include produce as well.

Former executive director of the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce, David Kennedy, who will be taking over Smith’s BID seat this month, described the market as one of the many great accomplishments of his predecessor.

“I look forward to keeping it going in some form for sure,” he said. “Abby has run successful markets at Betterman, so it makes sense we partner with her to keep the Patchogue Outdoor Market going.”