Night market revitalizes public space in East San Jose
SAN JOSE - A new neighborhood night market is bringing people back to a once neglected part of San Jose.
Hundreds of neighbors have been turning out for food, music and games at the weekly Tully Night Market, located at the Tully branch library and ballfields.
"This is a nice park, there's a dog park, lots of food, music, ice cream. We get a lot of people who drive by and come and check it out," said Vendor Lawrence Crawford of VMGC Designs.
Beginning last year and all through the summer on Wednesday nights, the Tully Night Market transforms the space into a festive, family friendly place.
"This is about taking back the space," said City Councilmember Maya Esparza, who remembers how the park used to be.
Four years ago, the park and its facilities were overtaken by homeless campers.
Little Leaguers, families, even park rangers stopped coming here.
"This park really wasn't used as a public space anymore. People were afraid to come here. So, we came in, cleaned it up, re-engaged the community and started re-imagining the park to be what it was designed for in the 1990's," Esparza said.
After successful night markets in downtown San Jose, Esparza convinced the city to invest in one here, a diverse, low income but hard-working community.
Besides food trucks and vendors, city outreach workers also offer services to people in need.
A few homeless camps remain in the area, but are mostly located on the banks of the nearby creek.
"It gives families a place to go, a place to relax. But more than that, this is about community. It's about family, positivity, and pride. Pride that we can have events like these for all of us to enjoy," Esparza said.
The Tully Night Market will be held at 5:30 every Wednesday until October 26th.