On May 27, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined City Council Members Simcha Felder and Gale A. Brewer and Elizabeth Broad, Deputy Director of Earth Day New York, in handing out reusable canvas shopping bags to patrons of the greenmarket behind Brooklyn Borough Hall. Each bag features one of three different winning designs submitted by students from LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts in Manhattan.

My Green New York, a joint initiative of Earth Day New York and New York City Council Members Felder and Brewer, will encourage New Yorkers to switch from disposable plastic bags to reusable bags. Five thousand canvas bags were printed with support from The Durst Organization and Time Warner Cable.

“These arty, environmentally-friendly shopping bags are yet another example of how Brooklyn and New York City leave everyone else ‘green’ with envy—by showing it’s possible for major cities to garden and compost, reuse and repurpose, bicycle and recycle,” said BP Markowitz. “When deciding between reusable canvas versus wasteful plastic, the choice is clear. And when it comes to keeping our urban environment clean and ‘green,’ once again it’s no contest—Brooklyn and New York City have it ‘in the bag!’”