Flap Over Farmers Market Resolved

Farmstand favorite Orchards of Concklin returns to the Long Island Growers Market this weekend. It was one of several vendors barred over restrictions only allowing Long Island-based vendors to sell at the market,

By Peter Sloggatt
psloggatt@longislandergroup.com

There’s good news for all the produce hounds who were disappointed with the rollout of this year’s summer farmers market in Huntington village two weeks ago. The market’s largest vendor, Orchards of Concklin, is set to return.

The Rockland County-based farm had been sidelined for the first two weeks because of a flap between the market organizer and the town attorney’s office.

Ethel Terry of Southold-based Terry Farms told TheLong-Islander in an email this week that Orchards of Conklin will be back.

Terry cited an email exchange between Huntington resident Daniel Eig and Councilwoman Joan Cergol that seemed to straighten out the controversy.

Concklin’s - a vendor at the farmers market for 20 years - had been advised by Terry that she feared the town attorney’s office would decide to enforce a provision of her contract that specifies vendors must be Long Island-based. Orchards of Concklin never met that requirement, but never had any trouble, according to Terry. Her concern had grown out of emphasis placed on the clause apparently by a town attorney who hand-underlined that provision.

When she was unable to get clarification from the Town, she called off Concklin until it could be resolved.
Resolution apparently came through Cergol.

“I guess I interceded” she said in an interview Tuesday.

Cergol said she spoke to the town attorney and was told as long as the vendors have insurance, the Long Island-based provision has never been enforced.

“I don’t blame Ethel for being cautious,” Cergol said, adding she suggested  to the Town Attorney that “we really need to fix that if we’re not going to enforce it.”

The bottom line, at least for now, is that Orchards of Concklin will be back with its produce, eggs, baked goods come Sunday.

The Long island Growers Market sets up shop in the parking lot adjacent to the Soldiers and Sailors monument building on Main Street in Huntington village, Sundays from 7 a.m. to noon.

*NOTE: Following publication of this article it was learned that the Town has offered an amended contract that would allow up New York State-based growers and businesses to compose up to 25 percent of the farmers market, according to market organizer Ethel Terry.