NYC's new greenway master plan plots world of possibilities to get around city

City transportation officials cited the Harlem River Greenway's expansion as a model for future bike path projects.

Imagine walking the entire perimeter of Manhattan without needing to detour onto local streets, or cycling the waterfront from Far Rockaway through Brooklyn and back up to College Point without dodging trucks and cars.

That’s just part of the vision laid out in an ambitious new plan published by New York City officials Wednesday to build dozens of miles of new greenways across the five boroughs in the coming years.

The plan, called “Greater Greenways,” takes stock of the city’s existing 500 miles of greenways with an eye toward connecting them to create a more unified network of paths for pedestrians and cyclists.

Officials billed it as the first master plan for the city’s greenway network in more than 30 years. It includes 40 new miles of paths that could be built in the short term, with construction beginning as soon as 2028.

The vision was published by the city transportation and parks departments alongside the Economic Development Corporation. But the agencies made no promises it would actually be realized and offered no cost estimate or exact timeline for the work.

Its release comes as Mayor Eric Adams seeks re-election as an independent candidate following a term where he faced sharp criticism for scaling back efforts to build new bike lanes and other street redesign projects. The mayor was required to publish the greenway master plan thanks to a law passed by the City Council in 2022, which lapsed into effect after Adams declined to sign the bill.

“ This is a plan for future generations that leaves no neighborhood behind,” said Councilmember Carlina Rivera of Manhattan, who introduced the legislation.

The report’s release comes seven months after the law required it to be published.

The plan eyes six corridors where crews could quickly add new greenways, including a 7-mile stretch in Southern Queens from Spring Creek Park to Brookville Park near JFK Airport. Officials said it could help make the airport, which has 35,000 employees, accessible by bike.

The proposal would also add a 10-mile waterfront greenway on Staten Island's North Shore between the Goethals and Verrazzano-Narrows bridges.

A plan to fill in gaps along Upper Manhattan's existing greenway network is also on the table. What’s more, the report pitches a long-term plan to convert the majority of Broadway into a car-free greenway, which would offer cyclists and pedestrians an alternative to the busy waterfront paths along the Hudson and East rivers.

Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said the plan would boost quality of life for thousands of New Yorkers.

“Our street is the backyard for many residents,” he said.  “What we are doing with this plan is turning many concrete areas into a greenway so that all New Yorkers, regardless of their socioeconomic background, should be able to enjoy our waterfront and be able to bike and walk safe.”

Rodriguez cited the ongoing construction on the Harlem River Greenway in the Bronx as an example of the city moving forward with initiatives to fill in other holes in the greenway network.

The plan's release also comes just after the transportation department removed protections for cyclists along a stretch of Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, a key connection in the borough’s bike lane network. The decision outraged activists who unsuccessfully fought the move in court and pointed to a reduction in injuries along the corridor despite high-profile incidents of children entering the lane and running into the path of oncoming cyclists.

Jon Orcutt, advocacy director for nonprofit group Bike New York and a former policy director for the transportation department, said the plan sets up the next mayoral administration with a clear vision to deliver miles and miles of new pathways for walking and cycling.

“ I think this plan rightly identifies that we need to go beyond Manhattan and start developing and or redeveloping the stuff in other areas,” he said. “ Under a proactive administration, I think it'll be a great tool to fill in the pipeline of needed plans and capital projects.”