Major improvements are coming that will positively impact NYC bikers and pedestrians! On Friday, May 6 New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a $47.6 million budget for Brooklyn and Queens greenway improvements.
“Every New Yorker deserves access to open space, transportation options, and parks — and greenways are the key to making all that a reality,” said Mayor Adams. “This investment of more than $47 million will connect communities that have historically been underserved by our existing system to bike paths and New York’s 520 miles of shoreline, building a greener and more connected city for all.”
This investment will bridge gaps in existing greenway routes (shared bike and pedestrian paths). This investment will fund a total of six projects led by Parks, which has oversight of a lot of NYC’s greenways, with on-site work done by DOT which is in charge of street work throughout NYC.
Projects will first be started in Brooklyn and Queens. Brooklyn’s Leif Ericson Park in Bay Ridge will see new greenway segments improving access to the waterfront while part of an existing greenway in Shore Road Park will be reconstructed. Queens’ Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Kissena Corridor Park, and Kissena Park will also be home to new greenways, helping to close the gap between historically disconnected neighborhoods.
A recent Parks and DOT study called Destination: Greenways!, which looked at gaps in the networks of Queens and Brooklyn, stands as inspiration for the first two projects.
A discussion regarding building out the greenway network in the Bronx was also discussed, though Parks Commissioner Susan Donoghue stated, “We realized that there needs to be more funding and more work done and planning for expanding the greenway in that area. There are complications, no doubt, but we’re not going to let that hold us back and we are interested in going forward, absolutely, with further visioning for the Bronx.”
Though there’s not yet a timeline for when the upgrades will be implemented, all together the funding will add up to 20 miles of greenway to the city’s already existing 150-mile network.