Barry Allen Benepe, 96, died peacefully at his home in Saugerties, NY on April 23, 2025. Many members of his family had come to see him for his last hours on an earth that he loved so much for its bounty of fruits and vegetables, architecture, cycling and art. Barry and Judith co-created the Saugerties Farmers Market in 2001 with Rickie and Jimmy Tamayo, and Nancy Campbell.
Barry was able to witness the explosive blooms of spring daffodils, narcissus, crocuses, forsythia, magnolia and pear blossoms and hear the endless repeats of the Red Cardinal and Carolina Wren. He also enjoyed the help of many people from the community, the five “D’s”, Donna, Divina, Diane, Denver, and Daneka, and one “T” for Tita, visits from family and friends, and the help of Zzoe who has been a rock for the family for years.
Barry was an architect and planner and graduated from Williams College, the Cooper Union and MIT but he will be remembered for pioneering in his quietly passionate way the Greenmarket farmers markets in New York City. As a young man, he spent his summers at his family’s 200-acre farm Melody Manor, in Princess Anne, MD., where they raised animals, and grew produce.
Living in New York City he soon yearned for farm life, and co-created Greenmarket with Bob Lewis. The idea was to bring local produce to the city so you could savor the taste of freshly picked produce from local farmers. He also wanted to help preserve small farms that were rapidly being bankrupted by large agrobusiness, and preserve farmland from land developers.
The first Greenmarket in 1976 on East 59th Street was well attended by the public, and Barry’s five young children helped, Adrian, Jennifer, (from his first marriage to anthropologist Jagna Wojcicka), and Andrew, Callum and Simon (from his second marriage to artist Morag Benepe). With grants from the J.M. Kaplan Fund and help from Marian Sulzberger Heiskell, of Council on the Environment of NYC (now GrowNYC), Barry and Bob opened a market at Union Square (17th St.) which was a dying public space, with many surrounding retailers bankrupt, and the park overrun with drug dealers. The Union Square Greenmarket became the largest, most successful market of more than 45 in New York City, and jumpstarted a retail revival in the surrounding area.
Barry had a third “marriage of a kind” with the sculptor Mary Frank, who now spends summers with her husband Leo Treitler in Woodstock, NY.
In 1984 Barry met Judith Spektor who headed the Koch Administration’s agency serving the homeless. In 1988 Judith handed the footloose Barry an ultimatum and they were married at Manhattan’s National Arts Club. Since then, they have had a wonderful 41 years together, co-opening the Saugerties Farmers Market, growing their garden, adding touches to their 100-year-old plus farmhouse and traveling to Paris, France.
Barry is survived by Judith, all of his aforementioned children, grandchildren Alex, Erik, Ian, Miles, and Tyler, great grandchild, James, and former wife Morag Benepe. Memorials will be held in Saugerties, NY and New York City and will be announced.
The Saugerties Farmers Market will continue to thrive under the leadership of its committee, and will open this spring on May 24, 2025, Memorial Day, at 115 Main Street in Saugerties.
The market is a 501 (c ) (3). In lieu of flowers please send your tax-deductible contributions to the Saugerties Farmers Market, PO Box 164, Saugerties, NY 12477.
They are always looking for volunteers and business contributors:
contact@saugertiesfarmersmarket.com or 845-419-1555. Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/SaugertiesFarmersMarket/ , or Instagram,
https://www.instagram.com/saugertiesfarmersmarket/?hl=en
Read the obituary about Barry in the New York Times at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/nyregion/barry-benepe-dead.html.
— Jen Benepe
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