A free backpack giveaway was held Thursday at the Walt Whitman Houses and Ingersoll Houses in Fort Greene.

Students ranging from preschool to high school got to pick their favorite bags at the back­-to-school event.

Slate Property Group, a real estate development company that builds affordable housing in areas around Brooklyn, hosted the giveaway. They say they wanted to support the neighborhood.

"It's important that as a developer, when we come into a community, that we don't just come into the community and build the buildings that we want to build, but that we support the neighborhood," says Cha Lee, vice president of Slate Property Group.

Neighbors say the event was a good way for people get to know their neighbors and get excited about the school year.