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New Amsterdam Market Plans to Return With New Leadership

 The outdoor artisanal New Amsterdam Market, pictured here in May 2014, will return at some point with new leadership, the market's board said.
The outdoor artisanal New Amsterdam Market, pictured here in May 2014, will return at some point with new leadership, the market's board said.
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Facebook/New Amsterdam Market

LOWER MANHATTAN — New Amsterdam Market is planning a comeback.

Less than a month after the founder of the outdoor artisanal marketplace abruptly shut it down, New Amsterdam Market's board announced that it is searching for a new leader and hopes to relaunch the market this fall.

Robert LaValva, who founded New Amsterdam Market in 2005, has stepped down as president and CEO after he shocked board members on  July 14 by cutting short the market's 2014 season. At the time, LaValva said the organization could not afford to keep the monthly events going through December as scheduled.

LaValva reversed himself last Friday and said that the support he had received after announcing the market's closure had convinced him that it was worth reopening the dozens of vendor stalls outside the former Fulton Fish Market buildings on South Street.

However, while LaValva will remain on the market's board, he will no longer be at the helm, said Roland Lewis, chairman of the board.

“He’s stepped down, and we thank him for his work,” Lewis said. “He’s done an amazing job and his passion for the market and the Seaport has been an inspiration, and now we’re going to search for new leadership, in the hopes of moving ahead, looking to the future of the market.”

New Amsterdam Market is now looking for a new president, Lewis said.

The board is also working to bring the market back, hopefully in September or October — but it might not be in its longtime home on South Street.

“We’re looking at a lot of of different possibilities right now,” Lewis said. “We’re looking at the Seaport, along with different locations in the city."

“There’s a lot of discussions going on now among board members,” Lewis added. “But we’ve all decided that the market is an important institution, and we’re determined to give it another shot.”