NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams was joined by Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez, Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) Commissioner Sue Donoghue, and President and Chief Economic Development Corporation executive Andrew Kimball. Wednesday to announce a plan to provide essential public space to a community too often left behind by expanding the Harlem River Greenway in the Bronx.
Greenways are shared linear spaces on public lands, available for recreational uses such as biking, jogging or walking.
Beginning April 18, 2023, the Adams administration will lead a public engagement and develop a plan for the new greenway. The route will span seven miles, connecting Randall’s Island in the far south Bronx to Van Cortlandt Park in the north, with non-stop biking and walking, including a critical north-south transportation corridor for bikes .
The project represents an important new front in the administration’s leading national effort to reconnect communities divided by highways, focusing on the Major Deegan Highwaythat has cut off Bronxians’ access to the Harlem Riverfront since the 1930s.
“This administration continues to serve all five boroughs, and the expansion of the Harlem River Greenway in the Bronx is a great victory for fairness and justice,” Mayor Adams said. “Our administration is leading the way in reversing the devastation caused by freeways like the Cross-Bronx Freeway, the BQE and now Deegan, reversing the devastation left by others in communities of color. Greenways help us move forward as we fix the past, give people a place to exercise and breathe freely, and create a sense of community by bringing people together. That’s what the Bronx deserves and what this project will deliver.
“Historic divestment and freeway building, over decades, has severed the connection between Bronxians and their waterfront,” DOT Commissioner Rodriguez said. “This administration places equity at the center of all of its work, and that means ensuring Bronx communities have safe bike connections and pedestrian access to and along the Harlem River waterfront, l ‘one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the We look forward to working with Bronxians and our sister agencies to shape this project as we continue to work on our plans for the development of wider greenways.
The widening of the Harlem River Greenway will restore Bronxians’ access to the waterfront with a network of shared, off-street and multi-use trails along the waterfront, as well as on-street cycling facilities that will enable safe and convenient travel along and around the river.
Management will identify high-priority, rapid-build street redevelopments to support larger projects, and the implementation plan developed through community engagement will include short- and long-term projects on identified preferred routes.
Short-term projects will include the installation of markings, signs and limited concrete work on city streets. Long-term projects will include more complex improvements to be built as future capital projects.
“We believe that all New Yorkers deserve access to our city’s beautiful public parks, and greenways often serve as essential connectors for our parks, waterfronts and green spaces,” said the New York City Parks Commissioner. New York City, Donoghue. “We are excited to work with our sister agencies to expand the city’s network of greenways, including and especially in outlying boroughs, to strengthen connections between parks and increase recreational opportunities for all. New Yorker.”
Community outreach will be conducted in partnership with the Federal Urban Water Association of the Bronx and Harlem Rivers and the New York-New Jersey Ports and Estuaries Program, which are working to help reconnect community residents with their waterways. The DOT also works with the Bronx Center for Environmental Quality and the Harlem River Working Group, which have long advocated for improved environmental quality and access to and along the Harlem River.
“We can never go back in time to reverse the systemic damage caused by the construction of freeways that have divided entire communities, like the Bronx, and changed their trajectory forever,” said U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres. “But we can be intentional about how we move forward to reconnect these communities in a way that enriches their environment, creates vital green spaces and improves the quality of life for the people who live there. I am encouraged to see a city plan moving forward that promises to provide new and improved waterfront access for Bronxians for the first time in decades, while providing safe transportation and recreation options. and practices. My gratitude to everyone involved for making this possible.”