Locals Dislike the W'Burg Flea's Trash, Noise, and 25-Year-Olds

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Before the Brooklyn Flea even relocated to the East River State Park, there were already plenty of complaints on behalf of the locals. Now that it's settled in, the unhappiness has apparently grown exponentially. The Brooklyn Paper begins: "Some Williamsburg residents are up in arms over the Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg, claiming the borough's celebrations of tchotchke shopping and locavore meals have turned East River State Park into a circus."

The main issue appears to be that the flea and its visitors have taken over the whole park, and not just the portion they're renting. Additionally, trash, early morning noise, and the presence of large groups of twenty-somethings are also pissing some people off.

One local parent explained, "I'm not going to bring my son somewhere where there are 300 25-year-olds hanging out"—which is pretty much anywhere on N. 7th Street as a whole. Geoffrey Croft, the president of New York City Park Advocates, argues, "The public has every right to enjoy respite. It's absurd that the public has to compete with a commercial endeavor."

However, the upside of complaints toward a commercial endeavor is that there's often some money to fix them. One of the Flea's owners, Eric Demby, told the Brooklyn Paper that he's been "working with neighbors to make sure that all complaints are addressed and that, in the past few weeks, the company has added security and sanitation."
· A flea too many [Brooklyn Paper]
· Why Some Williamsburg Locals Aren't Liking the Flea Relocating [Racked NY]