Farmer Ken Migliorelli was selling fresh fruits and veggies outside the World Trade Center towers even after the first plane hit on September 11, 2001.
“We were still selling until the second plane hit,” said Migliorelli, whose farm is located in Tivoli Village, New York. “People were still buying.”
That was the last day of the weekly downtown farmers’ market, until it reopened on Tuesday, nearly 16 years later, outside the Oculus Plaza by Fulton and Church streets.
Migliorelli has returned along with four other farmers from the original market, including Morris Kernan of the family-run Kernan Farm in Bridgeton, New Jersey.
“It’s good to be back,” Kernan said. “I’m hoping to see some more old customers — which I already have.”
Eleven vendors total opened for business on Tuesday, including Suffolk County’s Lavender By The Bay, purveyor of fresh and dried lavender; Columbia County’s Beth’s Farm Kitchen, with its jams and preserves; and Bronx County’s Las Delicious Patisserie, peddling baked goods and sweets.
Samascott Farm’s Ron Samascott, from Kinderhook, New York, has also run into former customers as if over a decade hadn’t even passed, he said.
“It’s nice to see people I saw 16 years ago, and I still remember them,” he said.
Visitors can take their pick of fresh food with a view of the Oculus on 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays from June through November.
The Greenmarket is run by GrowNYC market which oversees more than 50 farmers markets across the city.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of farmers returning to the market. It is five.
With Adeja Crearer
