Harlem Malcolm Shabazz Market’s temporary move paves way for affordable housing

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The long-standing Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market temporarily moved locations last week to make way for an upcoming affordable housing project led by the owners of the market, the Masjid Malcolm Shabazz House of Worship, relieving the fears of some about what would happen to the facility in the near future.

Last week, more than 60 African and Caribbean vendors were quickly moved to the temporary market location, which alarmed some locals not aware of the progression of the housing project. Earlier in January, news circulated over social media that the market was closing, with posts on Harlem-centered Instagram accounts, including “Black Harlem Lives” and “All Harlem World,” and content creators like Nicholas Nuvan and Sire.vs.Siri. Some indicated uncertainty about what would come of vendors and if they would be displaced.

State Sen. Cordell Cleare visited the temporary indoor space located at Malcolm X Blvd. and West 116th Street across the street. Considering the turn of bitter cold weather outside, she was excited to see vendors up and operating in a safe and warm place.

Cleare told the Amsterdam News that the vendors knew about the move ahead of time. “You can’t just do things for hits,” she said, calling out the misreporting that spread online. “There’s been some misinformation … that could damage people who don’t know or believe what they were hearing.”

The African-themed open-air market, locally referred to as “the old Conway” or “Harlem World,” began as a part of the Harlem Market Business Incubator Program established in 1994 and has occupied the lot on 116th Street in Harlem for more than 30 years. The lot became a safe haven for vendors often harassed for setting up and selling their wares along 125th Street.

“The Masjid is a caring place, an institution in our community that is looking into the future on what we need while we build up our community,” said Councilmember Yusef Salaam about the improved temporary space for the market. “They’re going to have a ribbon cutting, but it’s already open, so go patronize them.”

The idea of eventually transforming the market’s lot into a housing project and a grand indoor market space has existed since the market’s inception, said Imam Izak-EL Mueed Pasha, who runs the Masjid Malcolm Shabazz and their related nonprofit, the Malcolm Shabazz Development Corporation (MSDC).

“We gut, rehab the buildings for neighborhood revitalization that have retail space. We’ve moved the [vendors] through the program, and then we began to put them in the stores in all the buildings that we own throughout this area itself on 116th Street,” said Pasha. “In the earlier days in a lot of these city-owned buildings, the retail was empty, so we made a deal with the city to [allow] us to rehab the spaces, give them three years of a very low rent, and give them a chance to build up.”

Housing plans finally got closer to reality in 2024.

Harlem’s Community Board 10 approved a resolution for a Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) application in June 2024 for Pasha’s MSDC and Procida Development, in a joint venture with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), to develop the market site. The proposed project was for two mixed-use nine-story buildings with 108 affordable (100%) residential units and a ground-floor community facility dedicated to the renewed Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market.

According to an HPD spokesperson, the agency closed on construction financing on January 15, 2026, with a few updates to the project.

“I think there needs to be a focus on making sure that that market thrives and survives. It happened quickly because it was so well-planned. Everybody was informed,” said Cleare.

The online reaction saw a mix of concern over the idea of the market closing, questions about accurate info, a discussion of the state of the community, and members being kept up to date about what is happening locally. Commenters among community members expressed frustration about why they had not heard of the news of the market relocation and new development.

“It was reported several times via the community board and the mayor’s office. Please attend the community board meetings or get on their mailing list,” CB10 member William Allen posted in a comment responding to the discourse. Residents near the market location told the Amsterdam News that they want to know more and that more should be done to keep the community informed about community board business.

Cherylann Lloyd, 61, lives near the market location and has been a patron for close to 30 years. She said she only found out the news through a close friend who is active in city government. She agreed that residents desire to know more and that more should be done to keep the community up to date about community board business.

“We know that there’s community board meetings … but nobody knows where,” Lloyd said. “There are no posters, there’s nobody walking around shouting it out on the rooftops.”

She also gave the Amsterdam News her candid thoughts about the new development. She and other Harlem residents have come to expect that it will be another “high rise that nobody in the neighborhood could afford to live in.”

“The good thing about the [market’s] move is it’s literally across the street,” Lloyd said.

On Friday, Jan. 23, Pasha and Cleare took a walking tour of the new location and were able to speak to several vendors who had settled into their new booths, with Pasha even buying a couple of items for Cleare.

Aicha Sissoko, who runs Aicha Fashions and sells West African clothes, jewelry, Black Soap, and more, has been with the market for almost 10 years. She said the move was made very easy and that the new space includes some improvements.

“We don’t feel cold; it’s well maintained, clean — the flooring, ceiling, everything,” Sissoko said. “Anybody who comes here says they love it because it is indoors; they don’t have to [wear] a jacket all day long.” She also enjoys having storage space in the new location.

The new building site on 116th will have a permanent new home for the market on the ground floor; with 123 units of affordable housing up to 80% AMI ($1,760–$3,031), 50% AMI ($1,031–$1,767), and 30% AMI ($ 545–$925), said HPD. This breaks down to include 27 studios, 52 one-bedrooms, 27 two-bedrooms, 16 three-bedrooms, and 19 units set aside for formerly homeless individuals and families.

Pasha also hopes to work on a separate housing project on 125th Street that reserves units specifically for children aging out of foster care.

Construction is set to begin early this year. Pasha estimates construction will take another three years to complete.