West 25th Street Market

Profile

This intriguingly tatty parking-lot market is the sole remnant of Chelsea’s golden age of outdoor fleas. Open on Saturdays and Sundays from sunrise to sunset, the Annex harbors between 100 and 150 venders depending on the weather and calendar. Its inventory covers everything vintage (apparel, jewelry, furniture, kitchenware, oddities) plus some newer goods like African wooden carvings and Asian enamel dishes. Many of the Annex’s sellers are flea-market stalwarts with still-avid followings from Chelsea’s glory years. Among these are Eve Bryan, known for her eccentric headgear and an artful fashion inventory once headlined by a rabbit-fur coat patterned with peace signs, which was eventually bought by Andy Warhol. On a more recent sunny Saturday, another Annex dealer tendered a 48-star American flag the size of a king bed; still another hawked an exquisite 1920’s vanity table made of mirrors. The market’s asphalt gestalt lends itself to deep bargaining for low prices; bring cash and a practiced walk-away move. For flea shoppers whose first purchase is from one of the area’s now-rampant Starbucks, there’s a bathroom in the more upscale antiques arcade across the street. — Karen Tina Harrison

The management of the Annex, which also operates the indoor Garage market on the other side of Sixth Ave., furnishes a $1 shuttle between 25th St. and the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market.