Port Jervis's Christmas Market Fills the Block the State Is Paying to Rebuild

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the Port Jervis NY Tourism Board puts more than 100 holiday vendors on Jersey Avenue. They set up in the Erie Hotel's Trackside Manor, in the R.H. Smith Mercantile Building and along the curb in between.

The location matters more than it used to. Jersey Avenue and the buildings on it are now on New York State's list of Downtown Revitalization Initiative projects for Port Jervis. That list includes the mercantile building hosting half the market and the sidewalks shoppers will walk on between the two venues. The Christkindlmarkt is a one-day look at what that $10 million is supposed to buy.

Sunday, November 29, From 10 to 4

The River Reporter's calendar lists the 2026 market for Sunday, November 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. downtown, run by the Port Jervis NY Tourism Board. This is the 12th year. The 2024 market was the 10th and last year's was the 11th, so the market has kept its post-Thanksgiving Sunday slot.

Last year The River Reporter also listed a Port Jervis TubaChristmas performance and quoted the tourism board's own description of the day:

"It's an enchanting family event with twinkling lights, holiday music, local retailers, specialty foods, handcrafters and merchandisers. There's something for everyone for the holidays."

The city keeps its event listings at portjervisny.gov/events, and the tourism board posts updates on its Port Jervis Tourism Facebook page.

The Building With the Gallery Upstairs

The two indoor venues have very different histories. Trackside Manor is the Erie Hotel's event hall, a staffed-bar room that seats up to 200 and normally hosts weddings, retirement parties, expos and office parties. The R.H. Smith Mercantile Building at 22 Jersey Ave. took longer to reach the point where it could host a market.

Artist Anne Rogers and her husband, motorcycle designer Paul Cox, bought the four-story, 21,000-square-foot building in 2018 for $175,000. At first they called it "The Beast." City records for the property go back only to 1931. Over the years it had been a general merchandise store, a pharmacy, a grocery and an antiques shop. The couple renamed it for Rogers's great-grandfather. Rogers described her first walk-through to the Tri-State Lookout in 2024:

"Once I hit the third floor, my skin started vibrating. There's a feeling that a lot happened here."

The building's state funding now outweighs its purchase price. The couple was allotted $522,000 from Port Jervis's $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative award, roughly three times what they paid for the building. In the plans they described in 2024, that money would finish the first and second floors and pay for artist studios, a custom motorcycle shop, steel-framed awnings, lighting and a takeout window for CoCre Cafe, Erin Ralph's vegan cafe. It would also cover blueprints for eight to twelve artist live-work units on the top two floors. Under the grant structure the owners pay for the work first and are reimbursed later.

The building already works as a cultural venue. Its two-level gallery hosted the first Port Jervis Art Invitational in March 2025, and the Tri-State Lookout reported more than 100 people at the opening. The invitational came back to 22 Jersey Ave. this spring. On November 29, the market's indoor vendors will fill the same rooms.

Jersey Avenue Is on the State's Project List

R.H. Smith is one of several downtown properties on that list. Port Jervis's Strategic Investment Plan draws the downtown study area around Front Street, Jersey Avenue and Pike Street, and it calls the Jersey Avenue corridor a commercial gateway. In May 2024, Governor Hochul's office announced the city's nine funded projects:

• Revitalizing Riverside Park
• A mixed-use building at 103 Jersey Avenue
• A mixed-use building at 29 Front Street
• Upper-floor renovations at 46 Front Street
• R.H. Smith Mercantile at 22 Jersey Avenue
• The Krauss Photo Shop building
• A Jersey Avenue streetscape project
• A small projects fund
• A placemaking program covering marketing, branding and public space improvements

Three of the nine are on Jersey Avenue: two buildings and the street itself. A fourth, 46 Front Street, is the address of Fox N Hare Brewing Co. Much of the walk a market visitor takes between Trackside Manor, R.H. Smith and a drink afterward runs past or through funded projects.

Sidewalks, Small Grants and a Crossing to the River

The Tri-State Lookout reported in May 2026 that contracts had been signed and the projects were starting. The Jersey Avenue streetscape work, paid for with DRI and city money, would replace sidewalks and add improvements from Fowler Street to East Main Street. The block had been surveyed and design work had begun, and the schedule at the time called for removing and replacing the sidewalks by fall 2026.

The same report described the Small Projects Fund, a matching grant program for property owners, businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofits inside the DRI target area. Grants run from $25,000 to $100,000 per building and cover up to 75% of eligible costs on a reimbursement basis. Eligible work includes storefronts and facades, signage and lighting, accessibility upgrades, interior commercial renovations and public art. Applications opened May 29, 2026, with submissions accepted through July 10. Any storefront along the market route that gets new paint, lighting or signage could be paid for partly through this fund.

The biggest open question is how people will reach the river. Port Jervis has long wanted a safe, legal pedestrian crossing over the railroad tracks between downtown and its 40-acre Riverside Park on the Delaware. In 2025, with support from Congressman Pat Ryan, the city won a $159,600 federal Railroad Crossing Elimination grant for an initial conceptual design at Fowler Street and 4th Street. The city's match is $39,900, which brings the total to $199,500. On May 11, 2026, the Common Council voted to have Colliers Engineering & Design apply for up to $6 million more to finish the design and build the crossing. The plan for Riverside Park itself calls for a design to be completed in 2027.

The crossing project starts at Fowler Street, where the Jersey Avenue sidewalk work begins. If both projects are finished, the block that hosts one market day a year would connect downtown to the riverfront park.

After the Market, Front Street

When the vendors pack up at 4 p.m., Front Street is around the corner. Fox N Hare Brewing Co. at 46 Front St. posts its hours and menu on its website, which is the place to check before you go. Nearby, Foundry42 at 42 Front St. hosted an open mic night on April 18, 2025, and a Cocoa & Carols craft fundraiser on December 14, 2025, according to The River Reporter's calendar listings for the open mic and the fundraiser.

Downtown's other December tradition comes across the river. The Tri-State Chamber of Commerce runs the Rick Drew Holiday Parade. The 53rd edition, on December 7, 2025, started at the Matamoras Firehouse, crossed the Mid-Delaware Bridge, passed under the Erie tunnel and followed Ball Street to the downtown Promenade. It ended with a tree lighting and visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus, as the Port Jervis Newsroom reported. For this year's date and lineup, check with the Chamber.

The Christkindlmarkt runs Sunday, November 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Jersey Avenue, and admission and parking are free.

If you own a building on Jersey Avenue or Front Street, or you're considering one, the DRI projects are already changing the blocks around you. Berardi Realty works with mixed-use and commercial owners across the Mid-Hudson Valley and can explain what that activity means for your property. Request a Consultation & Free Property Valuation.