VERRAZANO

Residents looking to show support for a pedestrian path connecting Bay Ridge to Fort Wadsworth can join the advocate committee Harbor Ring for a rally on the ground of the Alice Austin House Museum on Saturday, October 18. (Staten Island Advance/ Bill Lyons)

(Bill Lyons)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Whether it be by foot or by bicycle, some Staten Islanders have long pined for car-less access to Brooklyn via the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

Residents looking to show support for a pedestrian path across the span can join the advocate committee Harbor Ring for a rally on the grounds of the Alice Austin House Museum on Oct. 18.

For Harbor Ring chairman Paul Gertner, the 50th anniversary of the Verrazano this year also represents half a century of commuters advocating for a walkway over the Narrows.

"The idea of a pedestrian pathway has been around as long as the Verrazano itself," Gertner said.

"As pedestrian and bicycle usage is growing in the city, a pathway is important for both community and tourist development," he added, referencing the allure of both the Brooklyn Bridge and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. "Staten Island's North Shore is ripe for development. It's important that the city realizes the role a walkway could play in the surrounding area's growth."

The Harbor Ring committee was founded in 2011 with an overarching mission of creating a 50-mile recreational route around the New York Harbor that would unite Staten Island, Brooklyn and Manhattan with New Jersey's Hoboken, Jersey City and Bayonne.

Last year, the committee launched a change.org petition looking to install a pedestrian/bike path on the Verrazano in time for the bridge's 50th anniversary. Since that time, it has collected more than 3,200 signatures. With enough public pressure, Gertner hopes that it could push the MTA to carry out its pathway feasibility study.

A few hundred people are expected to attend the rally on Oct. 18, which will begin at 11 a.m.

Among those attending is Staten Island Athletic Club publicity director Josh Pesin, who envisions a day when he can run from Sunnyside all the way into Brooklyn.

"Health enthusiasts should have the opportunity to walk across the bridge. It's about time that the city builds the pathway," Pesin said. "Imagine starting a run in Clove Lakes and finishing in Bay Ridge. It would be great."