WTC Greenmarket Returns 16 Years After 9/11

NEW YORK, NY – A farmers market that operated in the shadow of the World Trade Center has reopened –16 years after the 9/11 attacks forced it to close.

Its return is being marked as a major step in the revitalization of downtown.

Many of the farmers who were at the site on the day of the attacks are returning to their produce, according to a recent press release from GrowNYC. The Greenmarket at Oculus Plaza, between Fulton and Church Streets, will be open every Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Nov. 28, excluding July 4.

“We are thrilled to bring the Greenmarket back to the World Trade Center site. The notion of community is integral to the work we do at GrowNYC, and this reunion of Greenmarket farmers with the community of Lower Manhattan is immensely meaningful,” Marcel Van Ooyen, GrowNYC's president, said.

“In addition to gaining access to healthy, local products, Greenmarket customers at the market will once again find comfort in the familiar faces of their favorite farmers.”

At the opening day were representatives of the Port Authority, the city's Director of Food Policy Barbara Turk and Alliance for Downtown New York President Jessica Lappin.

“The Greenmarket was a key part of the fabric that made up the World Trade Center community and the neighborhood that surrounded it before 9/11,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye.

“We’re pleased that the market is now coming home – nearly 16 years after it left – strengthening the menu of fresh, healthy food offered at the site and providing an attractive amenity for those who live and work here.”

Here’s a list of all participating vendors:

• 1857 Spirits, Barbers Farm Distillery
• Beth’s Farm Kitchen
• Consider Bardwell Farm
• Kernan Farms
• Lavender By The Bay
• Las Delicias Patisserie
• Meredith’s Country Bakery
• Migliorelli Farm and From the Ground Brewery
• Row by Row Farm
• Roxbury Mountain Maple
• Samascott Orchards, Nine Pin Ciderworks

Photo credit: Lucius Kwok