Upper Green Side

Mayor Celebrates 92nd St Greenmarket

On this drizzly but beautiful morning, Mayor Bloomberg and Council Member Dan Garodnick visited the Holmes Towers Isaacs Center at 92nd St. and 1st Ave. to celebrate the opening of the new weekly Greenmarket, which will officially open Sunday, July 9th, bringing fresh, local food to the neighborhood every Sunday through November.

“Kermit the Frog said it’s not easy being green,” said the Mayor, “but he was wrong. It is easy being green.” The Mayor touted the fresh food the Greenmarket would bring to the neighborhood, and spoke of it helping with the city’s obesity problem. He also noted that people socialize more at farmer’s markets than at grocery stores, and that it would bring life to the community.

Council Member Garodnick spoke of the economic benefits the Greenmarket would bring to the area, and added that, in addition to health and revitalization, he hoped it would help knit the neighborhood into the larger whole of the Upper East Side.

Afterwords, people went out to enjoy a preview of the market. When it officially opens on July 9th, it will feature five farmers selling a variety of goods. Today, one farmer was there selling fresh apples, just-picked strawberries, sweet snap peas, apple cider and cider donuts, and a small selection of vegetables:

Upper Green Side is proud to have helped bring this Greenmarket to be, and thanks CENYC, Council Member Dan Garodnick, the people of Holmes/Isaacs, and the surrounding community for helping make this a reality. And I just have to say that the strawberries were utterly fantastic!

Greenmarkets Progress Continues

UPDATE: Mayor Bloomberg, Councilmember Dan Garodnick and other Local Elected Officials will participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 25th at 10:30am at 92nd & First Ave. Please join us as we celebrate the arrival of local food greenmarkets in our neighborhood. The UES greenmarkets will actually open on the Weekend of July 8th and 9th — however, there will be farmers selling local food until 5 PM at this special celebration.

The CB8 Land Use Committee affirmed the Street Fairs Committee’s approval of the expansion of the Greenmarket at St. Stephen’s (82nd St. between 1st and York) and the establishment of a Greenmarket on 1st Ave between 92nd and 93rd on June 14th.

The interesting news, from City Council Member Dan Garodnick, who spoke in support of the 1st Ave/92nd St Greenmarket at the start of the meeting, is that Eli Zabar now supports the Greenmarket. We won’t ask what changed his mind, but applaud his support of this vital neighborhood improvement.

Greenmarket Success!

We’ve managed to help bring a Greenmarket to St. Stephen’s Church on 82nd St (btwn 1st & York).

In fact they originally approved two, including an additional, larger greenmarket at the other end of 82nd, but CENYC withdrew that site as a proposal after misguided local protest.

Now we just need to make sure people come to the one we have. We’ll keep scouting for new locations, too - if you have any ideas, please let us know.