Local mall being revitalized by Schenectady Flea Market

ROTTERDAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Dozens of Capital Region vendors, crafters, and antique collectors are in the process of trying to revitalize a local mall they say is dying. Once a month, for four months, several local vendors have gathered at the Via Port Rotterdam mall in Schenectady County in hopes of helping to bring more foot traffic to the area.

In the past couple of years, those living around Rotterdam said they have noticed that the Via Port Rotterdam mall is not as popular as it has been in the past. In hopes to turn that around, Jeannie Guthrie, the owner of JB Enterprises, got several of the region's small businesses together to start the Schenectady Flea Market inside the mall. The flea market took place on Saturday.

"We are bringing more community back to the mall that typically would not be here if there was not a flea market going on," Guthrie said. "It brings awareness to the area as well as the other things that the mall has to offer with their aquarium and their gymnastics and the local, which is an arcade."

Guthrie said the flea market also gives the small businesses a chance to make sales, get their foot in the door, and potentially move into a vacant spot in the mall.

"It gives them an opportunity to almost test the waters and market some of their small business before they take the next step," Guthrie said. "With the malls looking to build back up, these are great places to build small businesses."

Small business owner Melissa Roger is a part of the flea market; she said she is happy to engage with other vendors in the area while also bringing back some life to the community she grew up in.

"I am hoping with the flea markets and stuff, that it will help revitalize the malls because I am a 1980s kid; I miss the malls," Roger said. "I think it also helps bring in different businesses; there are shops that open in here sometimes. So it helps bring in people there."

Guthrie said the market brought about 1,000 people to the mall on Saturday. The next market will be held on February 15.