The Queens Night Market is a huge open air market in Flushing, Queens, where New Yorkers and tourists alike can not only grab a unique bite to eat, but share in culture from all over the world. These photos are from the 2018 and 2019 markets, but the 2022 is now open.
Under the shadow of the Unisphere, a huge sculpture of a globe that represents peace and global interdependence, a cross section of the world gathers. It’s dinner time and the summer sun has yet to sink low in the sky, but its rays are hazy as they filter through billowy clouds of smoke. This smoke brings not only a dreaminess to the summer night, but the scents of hundreds of different street foods being fried, grilled, steamed, seared, and everything in-between. Children steal sweets off parent’s plates, friends huddle close over steaming piles of noodles, and dogs lap up every morsel that falls to the ground. This is the Queens Night Market, and if you’re looking for a true representation of New York City, this is it.
MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH QUEENS
I grew up in Manhattan, but I’ve been a resident of Queens for the past ten years. And while I’ll always be a city girl at heart, I’ve grown to love Queens more than I ever thought I would. Queens sits against the borders of Brooklyn and Long Island to its south and east and just across the East River from Manhattan, but it is unique among its neighbors. The patchwork of neighborhoods that make up the borough may sit shoulder to shoulder, but they all maintain completely individual identities and cultures.
Queens is, in fact, the most culturally diverse urban area in the world. It is a place where over 130 different languages are spoken, where Thai restaurants sit nestled next to authentic Szechuan food and Greek Tavernas, where distinct fusions like Halal Indian style Chinese food and Himalayan-New American food exist. And the Queens Night Market is the ultimate embodiment of all that diversity and incredible food.
THE MARKET
The Queens Night Market is a huge open air market in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. It runs throughout the summer (April through October) and features nearly 100 independent vendors. These vendors sell merchandise and art, put on cultural performances, and most importantly they make food. And not just any food; really really incredible food from all over the world. They represent over 90 different countries and are often cooking up dishes that most Americans have never seen. You can get everything from Filipino lugaw (rice stew) to Indonesian tahu gejrot (fried tofu) to Polish kopytka (potato gnocchi). And they’re all just steps from each other.
The Significance of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
Flushing Meadows, as it is colloquially called, sits on the northern end of Queens nestled between Flushing and Corona, the two neighborhoods for which it is named. It is the perfect location for the Queens Night market due not only to its large size and convenient location but for its rich history.
It was the location for both the 1939 and the 1964 World’s Fairs. The 1964 World’s Fair offered a view of a futuristic world with jet packs, underwater hotels and lunar restaurants. But it also boasted the theme “peace through understanding” and represented the cultures of 80 different nations. With these nations came food that Americans had never seen before. Belgian waffles, sangria, falafel, kimchi, and hummus are only a few of the many foods that were first introduced at the World’s Fair. It is fitting that this site, the “Ellis Island” of food if you will, is now the spot for the international Queens Night Market.
THE BIRTH OF THE QUEENS NIGHT MARKET
The Queens Night Market is the brainchild of John Wang, whose goal was to create a uniquely accessible cultural space. He started the market in 2015 with 40 vendors, and it has since doubled in size. The Taiwanese night markets of his childhood inspired him to create a community where class and cultural divides are irrelevant. People from all over the world, often times multi-generational families, make up the food vendors. And, to make the market more even more accessible, there is a price cap on the food items; no one item can cost more than $6. It may be the only place in NYC, one of the food capitals of the world, where you can get dinner, a show, and a cultural education for under $10.
“There’s an ineffable electricity in the air when a city gathers in a welcoming space until the wee hours, oblivious to the class or cultural divides that might otherwise separate us socially. It was a feeling I wanted to replicate in NYC”
Please make a specific map.