[4]: 32 [11] On Saturday nights nearing the 7 pm closing deadline, vendors often liquidate any remaining inventory selling whatever they have left for pennies on the dollar.

[17]: 9 A study conducted for the Boston Redevelopment Authority in 2009 by the Project for Public Spaces found that "Haymarket attracts one of the most diverse populations of any market we have worked on.

Haymarket is the primary place where most of its shoppers buy produce and it serves a vital role in the Boston food distribution system.

"[6]: 21  In 2015, two Johns Hopkins University graduate students proposed the creation in Baltimore of a market modeled after Haymarket, to address the problems of food going to waste and the lack of access to fresh produce in low-income communities.

[17]: 8  The predecessor of today's market was relocated from Haymarket Square in 1952 to make way for construction of the elevated Central Artery.

[27] A state law passed in that year designates the current location of Haymarket for use by "hawkers and peddlers" on Fridays and Saturdays.

[28][29] According to Haymarket Pushcart Association President Otto Gallotto, "This place has always been an immigrants' market with affordable prices.

[36][37][38][39] Conflicts between Haymarket vendors and the City of Boston have arisen at times over issues including trash and truck parking.

Concerns about odor and litter led the City of Boston to install several large trash compactors on the site in 2009.

[40] The installation, called "Asaroton, 1976", by Mags Harries and Lajos Heder, was described by the artists as follows: "The embedded bronze pieces replicate the trash and debris that might normally cover the street.

"[54] The Haymarket Pushcart Association initially opposed residential condominium development on Parcel 9,[55] arguing that new condo owners would object to the ongoing operations of the market.

In 2013,[57] MassDOT accepted a proposal[58][59] from Normandy Real Estate Partners[60] for construction of the "Haymarket Square Hotel."

[65] After this phase was completed, the vendors returned to Blackstone Street, and construction of the "Canopy Hotel Boston Downtown" began in fall 2019.