March - April 2005

NYC Greenways: It's All Good

Parks Dept. Reveals Upcoming Plans at 5BBC Meeting

By Ed Ravin and Peter Engel

Editor's Note: This article has been amended to reflect inaccuracies found in the earlier copy. Please accept the 5BBC's apologies for any inconvenience.

On January 24, Jennifer Hoppa of NYC Parks told a 5BBC General Meeting to expect lots of greenway projects in the next few years (photo: Sharon Behnke).

Jennifer Hoppa, Deputy Director of the NYC Parks Department's Planning division, gave city cyclists a lot of reasons to be optimistic at the 5BBC's General Meeting on January 24, held at the Downtown New York police station in lower Manhattan.

"In the past two weeks of January 2005, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council approved $13 million in funding for Greenway projects, mainly centered in the outer boroughs," she said. "This sends out a great message about the importance of greenways."

In Hoppa's view, the success of Mayor Bloomberg's Manhattan Waterfront Greenway and the volume of people using it served as an impetus for the outer boroughs to get more funding and support for their planned greenway projects.

"Greenways can't just be for bikers and pedestrians," she said. "Planning needs to focus on their role as 'destinations' with recreation for everyone. When communities see how they can contribute to quality of life, it becomes easier to justify the funding."

That funding, the result of combined public demand and political will, includes these successes:

• Congressman Jose Serrano allocated $9 million in federal funds for the Bronx River Greenway.

• Bronx Borough President Carrion allocated $500,000 to fund a Phase I project that is recommended in the Parks Department's ongoing master plan for Regatta Park/Harlem River Greenway. The first segment will be built from Depot Place to Roberto Clemente State Park.

• The upcoming Coney Island Boardwalk path, which will parallel the Boardwalk, on the sand (just like in California) has received $1 million through Assemblywoman Adele Cohen, and Congressman Jerome Nadler has another $3.2 million in funding that is pending. Unlike current biking on the Boardwalk -- only allowed from 5:00a.m. to 10:00a.m. – this will be a full-time path.

• Manhattan Borough President Virginia Fields provided $1 million for the original master plan for the Harlem River Park & Greenway. Mayoral, Borough President, Federal and State funds made possible the construction of Phase I of this greenway, from 135th-139th Streets. 139th-142nd is in design, and funded by Federal, State and Mayoral funds.

• Also in Harlem, Congressman Rangel obtained $4 million in Federal funds to build the Harlem waterfront path from 125th to 135th St. Now under construction due to NYC Department of Transportation bridge work, Hoppa is hopeful that DoT will allow provision of a temporary path during construction.

"Because of activity like this, lots of greenway projects are going to come to fruition in the next few years," said Hoppa.

While master developer Robert Moses had a reputation for favoring automobiles over pedestrians and cyclists, his greenway designs were successful. Just about every cyclist present agreed that the ideal setup for future greenways is one Moses is credited with – a dual carriageway, with cyclists separated from pedestrians by landscaping. One such design, the very successful Mosholu-Pelham Greenway, has diverted 683,475 motor vehicle miles-traveled. According to Hoppa, people on bikes, skating, walking, etc. used the path when they might otherwise be in cars.

In her presentation, Hoppa gave a borough-by-borough breakdown of Greenway projects that are now in development:

Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway plan, in development, will extend from the Pulaski Bridge to Eerie Basin in Red Hook. The facility's construction will be a mix of esplanade style and on-street. The Parks Department is also working with NYC Planning at ideas to extend the Eastern Parkway path further out towards Highland Park. It is still to be determined whether that will be on-street lanes or trails. Finally, the Prospect Park Alliance has partially funded an existing project to restore the medians on Eastern Parkway from Grand Army Plaza to Washington Place.

Queens. The Parks Department wants to build a Greenway spur from Joe Michael's Mile, near the Nassau County border, into Fort Totten. Hoppa also showed plans for a Laurelton/Southern Queens Greenway, which would run 32 miles from Highland Park to Northern Blvd via Conduit Avenue, the Cross Island Parkway, and the Southern State Parkway.

As Long Island City grows in popularity, the Queens East River / North Shore Greenway is in the works as a joint project of the NYC Parks Department and Department of City Planning. Running from the Queensboro Bridge, the master plan has the route following the waterfront north, with stops in Rainey Park, Queensbridge Park, the Socrates Sculpture Garden and Astoria Park. From there, it will run east along commercial strip 20th Avenue, where it would meet the Flushing Bay path.

One of the challenges here is that 20th Avenue has become a haven for drag racing. Hoppa is working with City Planning to look at traffic calming techniques, and possibly to build a sidewalk extension on the north side for a bike path.

There is $2.6 million in existing funding to build Greenway portions in Rainey Park and the other waterfront parks along the Queens East River North Shore Greenway. According to Hoppa, it is hoped that the Flushing Bay path can be fixed up to have real access to La Guardia Airport rather than the current "desire trail." That is expected to be difficult because of resistance over "security" by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.

Finally, there is an opportunity to reclaim the abandoned rail line that runs from Forest Park towards Howard Beach. The area's community boards support the idea. The Parks Department has purchased a few spots along the right-of-way, and has jurisdiction of some of the property around the former LIRR elevated rail line in eastern Queens.

Staten Island. BIKE NY regulars should be aware that there is a proposed path from New Dorp to Fort Wadsworth; it is based on the existing boardwalk paths. There is also Federal funding in existence that can be used to reclaim the Clover Lakes horse trail as a greenway segment of a larger greenway that would run through Silver Lake and Clove Lakes Park, and then connect to the Greenbelt and Historic Richmondtown. In addition, this proposal allows the popular biker's destination of Conference House Park to be linked to the greenbelt from the South and West Shore Greenway.

Manhattan. Manhattan's Greenway development has been completed in fits and starts, but Hoppa thinks greenway progress going forward will be much more cohesive. In particular, the Mayor's Manhattan Waterfront Greenway resulted in a 32-mile interim trails, and there are plans for the outstanding segments.

First of all, Hoppa said there are plans to restore the gantry at West 70th St, near the Boat Basin. When the new South Ferry IRT station is finished in 2007, there are plans to build the Battery Bikeway, which will extend from Hudson River Path along Battery Park's perimeter. In 2006, the missing link in Riverside Park from 81st to 91st should finally get built, as the paperwork hurdles for the cantilevered path have been conquered. Up at the northern tip, the Lighthouse Link has partial funding of $2 million, allowing it to go from the Little Red Lighthouse north along the waterfront, via another cantilever. Extending to Dyckman Street, this will bypass the tough climb up to Washington Heights. The Greenway plan also has $1.5 million to link the Inwood Park waterfront to the Henry Hudson Bridge, meaning that the Broadway Bridge option can be bypassed. There's even a rumor that the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority may be interested in widening the lower level bike path on the Henry Hudson Bridge.

There is still more good news for Upper Manhattan. The NYC DoT is studying how the High Bridge can be fixed and re-opened, and Congressman Serrano, as noted earlier, has earmarked $5 million in pending funds for the High Bridge in Highbridge Park to get an access path once DoT approves a viable plan.

Bronx. According to Hoppa, all greenway development in the Bronx will be taken care of through City, Federal, State, and private funds. In addition, funding for greenway projects will also be made available through the Croton project.

Starting with the Regatta Park plan for a waterfront path from Yankee Stadium to 225th Street, the plans are ambitious. There is some money to start a park at the "Fordham Landing" former industrial site. For years, ownership of the Putnam Line was disputed and rail trail development was stalled. Now that CSX has been determined to own the line, Federal Transportation Funds have become available to fund the acquisition. There are plans for a 6-mile trail to run from Soundview to Ferry Point Park, with some portions built by the private developers building other waterfront projects. Finally, the Hutchison River Parkway Greenway now has funding for trails to run from Ferry Point Park to Pelham Bay Park, with plans to eventually run to Westchester County.

One landmark was noticeably absent from Greenway plans that involve the Parks Department -- the long-wished-for bicycle/pedestrian path on the Verrazano Bridge. The reason, quite simply, is that the Bridge is not under Parks jurisdiction and they are not in a position to seek the political support – needed at the Federal level – to sponsor such legislation.

Jennifer Hoppa spent the remainder of talk to the 5BBC getting feedback from the capacity crowd about what can be done to improve the cyclist's lot in New York City. Meeting attendees cited a "wish list" of improvements that would make life safer and easier, and they include:

• The Parks Department may revisit the idea of using the Botanical Gardens in Queens for the greenway, rather than local streets.

• Better lighting of pathways is needed, particularly along parkways. Oncoming traffic can "blind"greenway users. Among the locations sited were: 110-125th Street Cherry Walk along the Henry Hudson Parkway, Harlem River Speedway, and Mosholu Pelham Greenway, near Kazimiroff.

• There is currently no interim lighting from 59th-72nd Street in Riverside South, making night riding dangerous.

• Several attendees would like to see the use of Bollards for the area around the Bronx's Allerton Ballfields, to prevent people from parking on the greenway

• For the planned Soundview to Ferry Point Park Greenway, NYC Parks Department can review the route of Transportation Alternatives' New York City Century ride and consider making that a dedicated greenway

• The use of LED lighting powered by solar cells along the greenways would improve night visibility. They can be activated by motion detectors, and this would avoid having to extend electrical lines and would not have power costs.

• Nassau Parkway in Queens is worth exploring as a future greenway area.

• Improve bike access to both LaGuardia and Kennedy Airports

• Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn goes to JFK and is in need of repair, and the greenway to JFK completed.

• Explore recreational boating as part of Greenway planning, such as kayak access to Coney Island beach.

• Manhattan's 79th Street Boat Basin in Riverside Park has numerous pedestrian and bicycle conflicts. In addition, there are concerns that the rubber "rumble strips" put on the path at the entrances to the marina may cause problems.

• The maintenance problem caused by migrating sand along the Shore Parkway east of Sheepshead Bay's Knapp Street should be investigated, and see if more regular upkeep is possible.

• The outer roadway detour along Manhattan's FDR Drive from 51st to 61st Streets might be able to see re-use as a greenway link

• For everyone's safety, the sidewalk along Rangel Houses, just south of the Harlem River Speedway should to be modified for greenway use.

• To avoid costly cantilevering, construction of a bridge from the waterfront to the upland at 145th Street might enable a greenway to be developed along the Harlem River Drive service road from 145th to 162nd Streets, where the Harlem River Speedway starts.

• There is a possibility that a portion of the Putnam Rail Line at 230th Street and Broadway in Riverdale, the Bronx may be acquired through private acquisition.

• In Jamaica, Queens, Community Board 9 passed a resolution supporting of the use of the elevated LIRR corridor as a greenway.

Finally, Jennifer Hoppa emphasized that she is available to work on these improvements. In fact, when Hannah Borgeson pointed out that some of the bridge crossings on the NYC Cycling Map were incorrect, Hoppa asked her to send any recommended revisions.

If any 5BBCer wants to contact Jennifer with ideas about improving the Greenway system, they should contact Programs Coordinator Barry Hartglass at Programs@5BBC.org or Ed Ravin at eravin@panix.com.

Our thanks to Mr. Lee Armstrong & Mr. James J. McHugh of The Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc. for allowing the 5BBC the use of their rooms, and for an excellent set-up.