Photo Courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
“This grant will help us do the necessary planning to make the city greener and more bike-friendly in the communities that most need that infrastructure,” Adams said.
By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced that the City has received a $7.25 million federal grant to plan for a major expansion of the greenway network across the five boroughs, with a focus on historically underserved, lower-income communities that lack access to affordable transportation and job opportunities. The funding comes from a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant and will be used to develop a comprehensive vision plan to fill critical gaps in the city’s greenway network, improve cyclist and pedestrian safety with improved infrastructure, and enhance quality of life with green transportation options and greater waterfront access. The grant application was prepared by the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), the City Parks Department (NYC Parks), and the City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC).
With the new funding, NYCDOT, NYC Parks, and NYCEDC will together create the city’s first comprehensive greenway vision plan in 30 years to guide future projects and track cycling growth and related trends. As part of that vision plan, the city will work to identify approximately five planned “Early Action” corridors across the five boroughs — prioritizing low- and moderate-income communities outside of Manhattan — and conduct robust planning studies for each to prepare the projects for funding and implementation. These new corridors would complement NYCDOT’s network of on-street bike lanes and NYC Parks’ public open spaces by dedicating more space to walking and cycling. The vision plan and corridor studies would include robust public engagement processes and would be developed in close collaboration with communities and key stakeholders, including the NYC Greenways Coalition.
“All New Yorkers deserve access to our beautiful greenways, and we’re making that happen thanks to millions in federal funding,” Adams said. “This grant will help us do the necessary planning to make the city greener and more bike-friendly in the communities that most need that infrastructure. Thank you to USDOT, Senator Schumer, and all our partners in New York and Washington for helping to ‘Get Stuff Done’ for New Yorkers.”
The new greenway vision planning process follows a $47.6 million investment by Mayor Adams to complete six projects that will improve existing greenway routes in central Queens and along Brooklyn’s southwest shoreline through NYC Parks’ “Destination: Greenways!” plan. The city is simultaneously working to fill five key gaps in the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway in Inwood, Harlem, East Harlem, and East Midtown, representing an investment of over $1 billion. The first of these projects — the East Midtown Greenway, from East 53rd Street to East 61st Street — is expected to be completed in 2023.
“Federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support the greenway network expansion is an example of how federal dollars can be used to successfully support state and local projects,” said Rep. Greg Meeks (D-Jamaica). “With this grant, we are now able to better plan for a greener quality of life in our city. I applaud Mayor Eric Adams and his administration for prioritizing low-income and underserved communities that often don’t have access to clean, safe green spaces dedicated to activities like walking and cycling.”
