The Crown Heights Farmers Market, which first opened its stalls last week, joins over 20 other open-air ventures in New York City that provide fresh, locally-grown produce to neighborhoods that would otherwise be without it. The market is the first of its kind in Crown Heights; after two years of wrangling with red tape, Hamilton Metz Park on Albany Avenue will host the farmers market every Thursday, thanks to the efforts of Seeds in the Middle, a local non-profit organization.

“We started two years ago and always everyone spoke about how unjust it was that there was no fresh produce in the neighborhood,” said Nancie Katz, who heads up Seeds in the Middle. The group first’s experiment with fresh greens in Crown Heights, a small green market at P.S. 91 in 2009, was a wild success.

Governor Cuomo launched an initiative last month known as FreshConnect, which provides funding and support to local markets throughout the state. Although the program has aided other emerging farmers markets in the city, the new Crown Heights market has been forced to go solo – it has yet to receive any public funding.

Nonetheless, the market’s organizers are touting it as a way for a community with scars mostly unseen to move beyond its turbulent history. In 1991, Crown Heights was rocked by a series of riots between that lasted for three days in August.

By providing a gathering place for Crown Heights residents of all backgrounds, the market seeks to bring together a neighborhood that has suffered from a painful past. The market brings together the work of local teachers, students and dedicated residents.

What do you think? Is the Crown Heights Farmers Market a good way to heal the scars of violence?