10-4 Magazine / September 2025 77 It is the largest facility of its kind in the world, and a major distribution hub for the New York City metro area. All the meat plants there are USDA inspected facilities. The customers include large chain supermarkets, most of the nearby hotels and restaurants, along with many mom and pop butcher shops. The final of the three Hunts Point markets is the Fulton Fish Market, which was originally established in 1822. In 2005, the Fish Market moved to its new facility in Hunts Point, from its historic location at the South Street Seaport (along the East River waterfront at Fulton Street) in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. During much of its 183-years at the original site, the Fulton Fish Market was the most important wholesale east coastfishmarketintheUS. Whenit opened, it was the destination of fishing boats from across the Atlantic Ocean. But by the 1950s, most of the market’s fish were trucked in rather than offloaded from the docks. In its original location, the Fulton Fish market was one of the last and most significant of the great wholesale food markets of New York. It survived major fires in 1835, 1845, 1918 and 1995. During most of the 20th century, the market was associated with one or more NewYorkMafiafamilies. In1988,the US Attorney’s Office filed a suit under federal racketeering laws to appoint a trustee to run the market. A trustee was appointed, but his ability to influence organized crime was limited. Since 2001, the market has been regulated by New York City’s Business Integrity Commission in an effort to eliminate the influence of organized crime. When the New Fulton Fish Market opened at Hunts Point in 2005 it cost $85 million to build. There were 650 workers who made the move to the new location, and it added 5,500 trucks going through HuntsPointperweek. Thenewmarket sees up to two million pounds of seafood every day, making it the second largest fish market in the world, second only to Tokyo. It primarily serves the wholesale trade but is also open to the public for retail sales. The prices are subject to change day to day based on the type of fish, its quality, and the current market demand. Restaurants often use the term “Market Price” for this very reason. Along with ties to the Mafia, there are many trucker stories about how rough it was to deliver to the market back in the day. Talking with our friend Kevin Sheets, he remembers going to both the produce and the meat markets in Hunts Point. Hesaidtheremightbeguysupin the beams of overpasses and they would jump down on the top of your trailer, since you weren’t going fast. Then, they would shimmy down the rods of the trailer doors, cut your padlock, open the doors, and then start tossing out your freight – while you were moving! There were hookers on the corners, and even in bitter cold weather, they would be out there and often open their coats to show would-be customers what theyhadtooffer. Drugswereeasytoget there, too, and it was common for people to jump up on your truck or steal things like hubcaps. Kevin also remembered this was a place with a lot of cash. On the dock there were people paying for their produce with wads of $100 bills. He told me if you went in there with knowledge and common sense and then got out of there, it wasn’t so bad. Our friend Kevin also remembered when he went to the meat market that he had to back into the docks off the street and then wait – when it came time to open the doors, an armed guard came out to protect the freight. Talking with another friend, Jeff Michalesko, he got alessonthatonlycosthim$50. Aman was selling a radar detector, so he gave him the money and was then told to wait while the guy went to go and get it – not surprisingly, he never came back. John’s first experience going to HuntsPointwasJanuary1992. Hehada student, Lee Margalski, along at the time, and they had loaded oranges in Lindsey, CA. Whentheygottothemarket,they witnessed an altercation where a driver backed into another driver’s mirror. That driver asked for $50 to replace the mirror and, when he thought the guy was going to get the money, in reality he was going togethisgun. Heshotthedriverinthe chest, killing him, and John and Lee watched the whole thing happen. Some 16 years later, after John got his own authority, he started loading for Donavan Produce, which was the broker for Nathel & Nathel in row C in the market, going there every other week backthen. WhenIwenttherewithJohn, we walked down to the Market Place Restaurant and had a great lunch. I have to say, I still wouldn’t go walking around there alone, but the people at Nathel & Nathel were awesome – it’s a New York experience. Andwithlotsofavailable food, the rats that were running around were as big as large house cats. There is a parking fee to enter the market, and it varies between $5-$20, depending on the size of your vehicle. This is paid at the security gate. You can also enter through six pedestrian tunnels. It’s funny, in writing about Hunts Point, it makes me think of the old Chicago Markets and how similar they are in these two big cities. The Fulton Market in Chicago was their meat market – I guess that was a popular name back then. The Chicago Water Market I delivered to was probably just as bad as Hunts Point, with hookers and drugs, and you better be careful while you were there. Markets like these have always been and always will be important to the cities and people that they serve – even if they are a little sketchy to go to. But going to them is an experience you might someday want to try, just to see it for yourself, so never say never! I’m glad I went and saw them and experienced trucking in and out of them, but I’m not looking to ever go back!! n
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