A major makeover of U.N. Plaza that was announced last month, which involves a skate park, teqball and ping-pong tables, and more, may significantly impact business for the longtime vendors at the Heart of the City Farmers' Market, and they're pushing back.

The new activations at the plaza, announced in July by the Department of Recreation and Parks, are part of a pilot program calling for a new space for skateboarding and athletic activities — and it's a clear effort to try to push some of the more unsavory activities out of the plaza and away from the BART station entrance there. The plan includes a granite and concrete hardscape apparatus for skaters, and tables for chess, ping-pong, and Teqball, a game using a curved table that combines elements of soccer and ping-pong.

The proposed footprint of the new installations, as seen below, appeared to carve out the center of the promenade area for the farmers' market, which happens there twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays.

But, as the Chronicle now reports, and as Rec & Parks confirms, the Heart of the City Farmers' Market is being forced to move out of the plaza and over a block to Fulton Plaza as of September 6.

The market's longtime executive director Steve Pulliam — who recently had to respond to that dumb "Fentalyfe" campaign and its false claim that the market might shut down due to the drug trade in U.N. Plaza — tells the paper that's he's repeatedly tried to push back on the city's plan. He and the market's vendors all seem concerned that the new space is smaller and will require smaller tents and less table space for their fruits and vegetables.

"This move will greatly affect our farmers’ operations since the space is much smaller, and put the viability of our market at risk," Pulliam told the Chronicle.

Supervisor Dean Preston responded with a statement saying his office had "repeatedly" urged Rec & Parks to get the market's sign-off on all of their plans.

Per the Chronicle, some vendors had signs posted at their stalls on Sunday telling customers to call the Mayor's Office and Preston's office to leave messages of complaint about the planned move.

"Now I’m going to be overwhelmed with product because we’re going to have less than a third of the stand size over there," said one longtime vendor, Tony Mellow, who operates six stalls at the market, speaking to the Chronicle.

Rec & Parks says that the new location is both more secure and more prominent, and they expect the market's vendors to attract new customers from patrons and staff at the Asian Art Museum and the SF Public Library on either side.

But vendors are worried that regular customers won't catch on and won't as easily be able to find the stands they're familiar with.

Rec & Parks did not give an exact timeline for when the new skate park and game area will be complete. But it sounds like fencing may go up for its construction starting in early September — unless the farmers get their way, that is.

Previously: SF Rec & Parks Planning Makeover of UN Plaza This Fall With Skate Park, Ping-Pong, and Teqball Tables

Photo via Facebook