Zabaristan Spring!

Eli Zabar may have shut down one potential competitor, but he can’t stop the inevitable march towards freedom:

High-end grocer Eli Zabar may have buried one proposed Upper East Side greenmarket, but another has sprung up only blocks away.

A Community Board 8 subcommittee voted 4-0 late Thursday to approve placement of a new greenmarket — which brings regional farmers and their produce to city dwellers — on 92nd Street and First Avenue.

Last month Zabar helped squash plans for a market on East 82nd Street and Madison Avenue because it would have provided too close competition for his stores E.A.T. on Madison Avenue and 80th Street, and Eli’s on Third Avenue and 80th.

At the latest meeting, Zabar was one of the voices against the new market, because of its proximity to one of his stores.