The consensus among locals on hand for this weekend’s revival of the Bay Ridge Green Market, was that Saturday’s kickoff met or exceeded expectations; as made evident by market-goers who told us they lined up as early as 8am to sample the locally grown goods.

The Bay Ridge Green market, which now calls the parking lot of the soon-to-be Walgreen’s Pharmacy home, is considered by many to be a good first step in creating a backstop against the loss of an important local supermarket, and the overall lack of available quality affordable produce in the city.

Local officials have said they hope their agreement with Walgreen’s – who’ve allowed the market to stay in their parking lot thru March – will continue to allow the community to host the Market growers even after Walgreen’s opens their doors, hoping that Walgreen’s corporate will see the increased foot traffic as a bonus.

The project has been a collaborative effort between the Council on the Environment of New York City’s, and Bay Ridge’s own councilman Vincent Gentile.

(photo courtesy: Councilman Vincent Gentile on flickr)