The Uptown Night Market, Manhattan’s largest food and cultural festival, celebrated its final day of the 2023 season last Thursday. After seven months of colorful lights, soulful music, and delectable cuisines, over 150,000 visitors said goodbye to the market, which will return next May. Market organizers and attendees expressed their appreciation for the festival, now concluding its third season, and its benefits to Harlem's economy.

The Uptown Night Market is an open-air food and drink festival that celebrates cuisine, culture, and community at the Harlem Arches on 12th Avenue and West 133rd Street. The market is held on the second Thursday of every month from April to October, boosting the West Harlem economy by welcoming residents from across New York City and even the broader tri-state area.

“We saw the local businesses that have benefited from [the market],” Beatriz Martinez, director of communications and programming for Uptown Night Market, said. “It definitely has benefited the area and just gave some visibility to that part of Harlem that didn’t have it before. I think nowadays people are more willing to walk there rather than just use it as a dumpster place.”

The market was created by MASC Hospitality Group, founded by Marco Shalma, in partnership with West Harlem Development Corporation, Community Board 9, Harlem Pride, and Harlem Late Night Jazz.

Martinez spoke particularly about the impact of the market’s partnership with Zead Ramadan, the executive director of the West Harlem Development Corporation, and how integral their collaboration has been to negotiating the development of the market.

“Besides being an amazing partner, they have supported us economically and also with connections, and just being there for us. And together, we’ve brought this event alive,” Martinez said. “We’re very grateful to have them on board since day one.”

Beyond the development corporation local community leaders, community boards, and organizations like the Harlem Arts Alliance and the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce also supported the founding of the market.

The market brings together over 80 food and merchandise vendors representing more than 20 countries, as well as 150 innovative food concepts and 50 performers.

According to MASC Hospitality Group, seventy percent of the vendors are “Female/POC/Immigrant/LGBTQIA-owned and operated micro-businesses.” Martinez spoke about the organizers’ efforts to ensure that the market is locally sourced, with around half of the vendors coming from Harlem over the years.

Harlem-owned businesses at the market benefit from visitors from across New York City. Julissa Torres, a Yonkers resident, went to the market for the first time this year and said she learned more about different cultures from the various vendors.

“I always like food markets,” Torres said. “It brings community together. Everyone wants to enjoy different types of cuisine from different cultures. It gives you an insight to maybe a type of food that you never knew about.”

Tennille Tatum uses the festival as an opportunity to enjoy the presence of other Harlem natives.

“One of the things I love about Harlem is that it’s an opportunity for community to always be together,” Tatum said. “When we’re here, it’s just beautiful Blackness all the time. So, like this is just another opportunity for us to be here in a safe environment that’s ours.”

Even though Harlem’s Black identity is central to the market, Tatum reflected on the importance of the introduction of other cultures into Harlem as a result of the market.

“I love that we get to experience food from around the world because it’s bringing different cultures to Harlem,” Tatum said. “But Harlem has its own flavor and vibe, and so I love that our flavor and vibe is getting like a little splash of something else, too.”

Shalma, the founder of the market, said he drew from his own Middle Eastern cultural upbringing to uplift communities like Harlem. While living in Harlem, Shalma said he wanted to create a space for small businesses that reflected the diversity of the neighborhood. MASC Hospitality Group and the West Harlem Development Corporation also wanted to revitalize Harlem Arches, a historic area in West Harlem that had been previously abandoned.

“West Harlem came alive because 12th Avenue back in the day … wasn’t a parking area, [it] was filled with many restaurants and life, and all of a sudden that disappeared, Martinez said.

The Uptown Night Market will launch its fourth season in April 2024.

“We do events in the Bronx … Brooklyn, Central Park, we held one in Dyckman, and Harlem has its own vibe, its own essence, and it’s all thanks to the community,” Martinez said. “And it’s because they truly want this event and they truly want to enjoy it. And hopefully, we have many years ahead of us to continue supporting this community that has brought so much to us.”

Stephanie Campusano, a Queens resident, said that the market celebrates community by uniting people from across the city.

“This night market sort of brings everyone together no matter color, no matter background, no matter ethnicity,” Campusano said. “It just brings everyone together.”