New York City greenway network expanding to all five boroughs
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday the expansion of New York City's greenway network to all five boroughs.
More than 40 miles of new green space will be laid out in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.
This will bring the city's total greenway corridors to 60 miles.
One of them will connect the Queens waterfront to the Little Bay Park. Another will link Coney Island to Highland Park.
Officials say the greenways will help expand transportation options and green space while enhancing pedestrian and cyclist safety.
"When our administration came into office, we promised New Yorkers a five-borough administration - and we are taking a 40-mile step to deliver on that promise again today," said Mayor Adams. "This historic expansion of our city's greenways in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island will transform the ways New Yorkers live, work, and get around. And with more New Yorkers biking than ever, it will connect every corner of our city with this safer, greener mode of transportation."
Adams said community members will be able to give their feedback about the greenway plans.
A $7.25 million federal grant is helping to pay for the additional green space.
The identified corridors include:
Queens Waterfront, Gantry Plaza State Park to Little Bay Park (16 miles):
This corridor will close gaps in cycling routes from Long Island City and Astoria to East Elmhurst and College Point, Queens. Running parallel to the Long Island Sound, this route will improve transportation options throughout New York City's most diverse borough and enhance park access for Queens neighborhoods with limited green space. Connecting these neighborhoods with an active transportation network will particularly benefit Queens residents living within much of the planning area who are underserved by public transit access.
Historic Brooklyn, Coney Island to Highland Park (12 miles):
This planning process will explore new connections to the United States' oldest bike lanes on Ocean and Eastern Parkways, addressing gaps in the greenway network running from the southern tip of Brooklyn at Coney Island to the border of Brooklyn and Queens. The route will connect to Broadway Junction, giving commuters at one of Brooklyn's busiest transit hubs new safe cycling access to some of the largest green spaces in the borough and complementing a nearly $500 million city-state investment in Broadway Junction, covering public realm improvements, station complex improvements, and accessibility upgrades. The implementation plan will also establish new design and maintenance standards for these historic greenway routes.
Staten Island Waterfront, Goethals Bridge to Verrazzano Bridge (10 miles):
This greenway will provide a safe east-west cycling and walking route across the entire North Shore of Staten Island. It will provide major connections to forthcoming NYCEDC projects identified in Mayor Adams' Staten Island North Shore Action Plan, including the Tompkinsville Esplanade and New Stapleton Waterfront, as well as existing destinations like the St. George Ferry Terminal, Goethals Bridge, and East Shore beachfront.
South Bronx, Randall's Island Park to SUNY Maritime (15 miles):
Due to decades of disinvestment, Bronxites have long lacked the kind of waterfront access that New Yorkers in other parts of the city enjoy. From Randall's Island eastward, the greenway will simplify and improve safety for commutes to industrial job centers like Hunts Point, as identified in Mayor Adams' "Hunts Point Forward" vision plan and improve the connections between waterfront parks in the Soundview and Throgs Neck neighborhoods.
Southern Queens, Spring Creek Park to Brookville Park (seven miles):
The Southern Queens Greenway will transform access to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), complementing ongoing work by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The roughly 35,000 people who work at JFK will have access to a fast, environmentally friendly mode of transportation connecting the airport to the remainder of the borough. This corridor - located in an area with limited cycling infrastructure - will also directly connect to the existing Jamaica Bay Greenway and parks in Southeast Queens, providing an important bike network expansion in the area.
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