'Winter Wonderland' Opens In Bed-Stuy's Marcy Plaza For Holidays

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — A winter wonderland has opened in Bed-Stuy, complete with coronavirus safety precautions.

Just in time for holiday shopping, Marcy Plaza has transformed into a social distanced pop-up winter marketplace, set to last each weekend until Christmas, the Bed Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District announced.

The holiday market, like many this year, will also have some new attractions specific to the needs of 2020, including a "Santa safety station" and a coronavirus testing site. The set-up is part of a project by the Van Alen Institute and Urban Design Forum to help New York City neighborhoods with their pandemic recovery.

“Community safety is our number one priority,” BID Interim Executive Director Lynette Battle said. “Partnering with Van Alen Institute and Urban Design Forum’s team of designers has allowed the BID to create a socially distanced cultural safe experience to celebrate and support businesses within our district, designed to keep employees and patrons safe.”

The Van Alen program, Neighborhoods Now, has so far helped four New York City communities hit hard by the pandemic connect with design firms to create pandemic-safe designs. The Winter Wonderland experience was made, under the coordination of Moody Nolan, with the help of Design Advocates, Grimshaw, Jaklitsch/Gardner and W Architecture.

The Bed-Stuy marketplace kicked off for Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28 and was open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will be open each consecutive weekend through Dec. 20.

It will also include a gift-wrapping station and let shoppers visit BID merchants while social distancing.

Marcy Plaza is found off of Fulton Street across from Restoration Plaza.