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In addition to debuting the first section of what will become the second largest park in NYC, Mayor Eric Adams' administration spent last week launching a historic greenway expansion across four outer boroughs.
A few days ago, the politician announced that the city is going to build over 60 miles of new greenway spaces (40 miles of which will be protected bike lanes) while also improving existing infrastructures along corridors in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, in the hopes of helping New Yorkers easily commute from one borough to another.
“Bike lanes and green spaces are how we enhance transit safety and our city as a whole,” said New York City Councilmember Amanda Farías in an official statement about the news. “These new 60 miles of protected street infrastructure and corridors will reduce carbon emissions, ensure bike safety for workers and families alike, and so much more.”
According to an official press release, the targeted areas were chosen "based on the merits of equity, park access, transportation utility and economic development, among other factors."
They are:
Queens Waterfront, Gantry Plaza State Park to Little Bay Park (16 miles)
Historic Brooklyn, Coney Island to Highland Park (12 miles)
Staten Island Waterfront, Goethals Bridge to Verrazzano Bridge (10 miles)
South Bronx, Randall's Island Park to SUNY Maritime (15 miles)
Southern Queens, Spring Creek Park to Brookville Park (seven miles)
Given the scope of the project, it will be some time until New Yorkers will get to delight in the upgrades, but the city is clearly all-in on the endeavor: work has already kicked off by the Harlem River Greenway in the Bronx while planning on the Queens Waterfront Greenway is scheduled to start in just a few months, in early 2024.
According to officials, implementation plans for the other corridors will be announced every six months over the next two years.
This is the administration's latest effort at expanding the city's green footprint, a goal that has quickly become central to Adams' tenure. Just a few months ago, for example, the politician backed a transit plan dubbed NYC 25x25 that would turn a quarter of NYC streets into plazas and bike lanes.
We are, of course, here for it all.