MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS — You'll be able to get more than farm fresh eggs at the greenmarkets in Inwood and Morningside Heights next month — a husband-and-wife team is offering to fix your broken gear.
The Pop Up Repair shop, run by married Barnard theater professors Sandra Goldmark and Michael Banta, will set up at the markets for the first time after successful runs at a storefront in Inwood, the Washington Heights Y, Upstart Gallery and a prop warehouse in Gowanus.
On Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Pop Up team will collect broken household goods and belongings people bring to the market and spend a week or so repairing them in a Williamsburg warehouse.
The repair costs typically range between $10 and $100, depending on the item. For now the team, which includes two other helpers, is hoping to create a sustainable business model by covering its costs and taking a very small profit, Goldmark said.
The greenmarket residency makes sense given its expansion beyond just selling food, Goldmark explained.
"[The greenmarket's] been expanding with composting and textile recycling — if the farmer’s market started with an emphasis on what we consume, they’re beginning to think about the full cycle," she said.
Repair work is an important part of that cycle because it offers an alternative to purchasing new things, she said.
"I think people in this city and country, their attitudes toward stuff is really changing," Goldmark said.
So far, the Inwood storefront has been the most successful, with 450 items brought in, and the team is hoping to repeat that volume at the markets next month.
To incentivize business so the couple doesn't end up paying for an empty van, they're offering 50 percent off the second repair item for the first 10 customers at either market.
The Columbia Greenmarket is open Thursdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Broadway between West 114th and 116th streets.
The Inwood Greenmarket is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Isham Street between Seaman Avenue and Cooper Street.
