Earlier this year, Tri-State ally Vision Long Island began conducting visioning sessions with community members, civic groups and elected officials from Hicksville to develop an action plan to reinvigorate the hamlet’s downtown and area around the train station, which happens to be one of the busiest in the LIRR system. One of the main goals is about to bear fruit — literally. Advocates have organized the first Hicksville Farmers Market, to be held weekly in the LIRR station parking lot between Jerusalem Avenue and Broadway near Kennedy Memorial Park.

Successful farmers markets become community spaces and help drive activity into surrounding areas.  A 2002 study of markets by Project for Public Spaces found that 60% of market shoppers also visited nearby stores on the same day; of those, 60% said that they visited those additional stores only on days that they visited the market. Farmers markets have played an important role in the transit-oriented renaissance of Rahway, NJ; downtown revitalization efforts underway in Ossining, NY; and other towns.

According to Vision Long Island, the community has set a variety of other achievable goals, including a more walkable and bike-able environment, traffic calming and the creation of a cultural arts district.  The civic community in Hicksville should be applauded for taking a first concrete step towards their town’s revitalization, which could set Hicksville up to be a model for smart growth and transit-oriented development on Long Island.

The Market opens on Sunday, June 27th, and will be held every Sunday afterward until November 21st, from 9am to 2pm. Among the vendors’ offerings will be Blue Claw and softshell crab from Oceanside; Mattituck tomatoes and cauliflower; kimchi and tofu made in Eastern; juices and preserves from the Finger Lakes; Hudson Valley mushrooms and honey; and cheddar cheese, pork, and baked goods from Lancaster, Pennsyvania.