Streetsblog New York City

Here's how space is divvied up on Kent Avenue today...

On Tuesday night, Community Board 1 in north Brooklyn voted 39-2 to support adding a separated bike path to Kent Avenue, a truck route through Williamsburg and Greenpoint. The path will be part of the Brooklyn Greenway, which is slated to follow the waterfront from Greenpoint to Red Hook when complete.

What makes the overwhelming "Yes" vote especially noteworthy is that the greenway section on Kent Avenue will displace hundreds of on-street parking spaces. "That was one of the biggest hurdles, getting a community to accept a loss of parking," says Milton Puryear, director of planning for the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative. "For people who have cars that’s a lightning rod issue."

...and how it would be allocated under the proposal approved by CB1 on Tuesday. (Rendering by the Regional Plan Association.)

The Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, a citizen-driven project that began with a handful of insane visionaries picking up trash and planting flowers beside a BQE off-ramp, is taking shape on Columbia Street.

Notice the space for greenery between the sidewalk and the curb. Plans call for the park to connect Greenpoint to Red Hook.

Photos: Clarence Eckerson

On Saturday, over 100 cyclists turned out for Brooklyn Greenway Initiative's annual ride. For nearly a decade, they have been working with numerous community & government groups to bring a Hudson River-style recreation path from Greenpoint to Sunset Park. In the next few years, much of the 15-mile route will finally become reality.

The tour highlight: It was the first public bike tour to be allowed to ride on the piers the future Brooklyn Bridge Park will occupy. Riders enjoyed vantage points of lower Manhattan few have ever seen. Along with Streetsblog reporter Sarah Goodyear, StreetFilms' Clarence Eckerson, Jr. was there with his camera. Afterwards, he produced this two minute video essay.

Opening this summer: East River State Park on the Brooklyn waterfront 

It was a dreamy spring day on the Brooklyn waterfront as more than 100 bikers set out to trace the proposed route of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.

Starting at the end of Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, cyclists were treated to views of the soon-to-open East River State Park as well as an unprecedented spin around the piers that will be part of the future Brooklyn Bridge Park. Watch a StreetFilm showing these rarely seen views here. 

Milton Puryear (right), vice chair and director for planning of the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI), led the ride and did a great job of explaining the group's vision for the future of Brooklyn's waterfront. A key part of that vision is the provision for separate lanes for bikers and pedestrians, so that, as Puryear explained, "Cyclists can keep their heart rate up and pedestrians can lower their blood pressure."

The challenge facing the greenway's advocates is considerable. Considering the multitude of owners and interests at work along these now prime pieces of real estate, coordinating the planning and construction of a world-class greenway is an extraordinarily complex undertaking. Community Board 1 will be holding a planning workshop on May 24th at 6pm where residents of Greenpoint and Williamsburg will be able to brainstorm about planning options for that section of the greenway.

Several riders commented on how quickly we got from Greenpoint, where condo towers are sprouting right and left, down to the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. It's easy to imagine how the construction of the greenway would provide a vital physical and psychological connection between the rapidly developing neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Greenpoint and the more established residential neighborhoods to the south -- Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Red Hook. Right now, these neighborhoods feel very distant from each other, in part because the only way to travel between them is by the G train or by car on the massively overcrowded BQE. But on a bike, cruising along the East River, you can become aware of how close together they all really are -- and how integrated the waterfront's recreational opportunities could become with smart development.

The BGI has a spiffy new map showing the proposed route as well as the current preliminary route along the waterfront. Contact them and get a copy at info [at] brooklyngreenway [dot] org. Then go out and ride it yourself.

Photos: Sarah Goodyear 

The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway Inititiave is one of the most inspiring and visionary development projects going in New York City right now. The project is very grassroots. Over ten years ago, three Brooklyn residents, Brian McCormick, Milton Puryear and Meg Fellerath got it in their heads that Brooklyn's waterfront should have a bike path and linear park just as good as the popular Hudson River Greenway in Manhattan (see the rendering of Columbia Street at right).

When I first met these guys in the Spring of 2002 they were going out on weekends planting tulips and picking up rubbish alongside a BQE off-ramp. The Sunday morning that I ran into them, that was all that they could do to make the Greenway a reality -- just get together as a group of volunteers, clean up some trash, and plant flowers. That was it. That was the Greenway. There was no office or federal funding. The Economic Development Corporation wasn't knocking on their door.

Today, the Greenway Initiative looks from the outside like a healthily-funded and well-oiled machine. Yet, as Brian, Milton and Meg have shown for well over ten years now, the vision will not become reality without strong community advocacy. Here is your chance to participate and make a difference:

The New York City Economic Development Corporation is rezoning piers 7-12, including Columbia Street, which is part of the proposed Greenway route. There is a public meeting this Thursday, October 12th at 6pm at Long Island College Hospital, corner of Hicks St & Atlantic Ave (use the Hicks St entrance & ask security guard to direct you). Greenway supporters need to be there.

It is very important that Greenway supporters tell EDC that the rezoning must be expanded to include the areas recommended by the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, and that the open space plan for the west side of Columbia Street should be included as part of the scope of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

More information and the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative's statement are available here.

EDC's proposal is available here. 

If you can't make the meeting you can send written comments to:

Ms. Meenakshi Varandani
Assistant Vice President, Planning
New York City Economic Development Corporation
110 William Street, New York, NY 10038