By Paula Katinas
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Local residents can buy their fruits and vegetables almost as soon as they are harvested on farms now that the community has a Greenmarket to call its own. The Bensonhurst Greenmarket, at which farmers from all over the tri-state area sell their produce, opened on July 8 in Milestone Park on 18th Avenue and 81st Street.
“This is such a great thing for this community,” Councilman Vincent Gentile said during the opening day ceremony. “It’s good for the residents and it’s good for the farmers.”
Community Board 11 District Manager Marnee Elias-Pavia looked over the fresh string beans for sale.
“This is wonderful! I love it!” said Elias-Pavia, who worked with Gentile for five years to get a Greenmarket established in Bensonhurst.
The Bensonhurst Greenmarket will be open every Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., from now until Nov. 18.
On opening day, only a small handful of merchants set up tents to sell their items. Gentile said that, as the Greenmarket grows in popularity, more vendors will be coming to take part in the farm-to-city exchange.
There was a variety of items for sale. In addition to fruits and vegetables, customers could find freshly baked breads and pies from a New Jersey-based bakery, as well as a selection of seafood from a Long Island fisherman.
The outdoor market operates through the city’s GrowNYC Greenmarket program. There are 64 Greenmarkets around the city, including one in Bay Ridge. The Bay Ridge Greenmarket is located in the parking lot at Walgreens Pharmacy at 9408 Third Ave.
For more information on the city’s GrowNYC Greenmarket program, call (212) 788-7476.
