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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Release #12-34

Friday, June 22, 2012



NYC DOT Commissioner Sadik-Khan Announces Blueprint for Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway

Implementation plan finalizes the route and outlines steps towards completion of the 14-mile foot and bike path connecting Brooklyn neighborhoods

Nearly five miles of interim greenway already in place, seeing huge ridership

New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan today released the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway implementation plan, highlighting the specific routing options chosen by Brooklyn communities for the 14-mile pedestrian and bicycle path as part of a years-long public visioning and planning process. The document includes the finalized route, implementation framework and funding options for the 23 capital projects that will complete the greenway as funding becomes available to connect neighborhoods from Greenpoint to Sunset Park. More than five miles of interim greenway, including sections in Brooklyn Bridge Park and along Williamsburg and Columbia streets, are already in place and welcoming large number of visitors. This implementation plan provides a blueprint for the remaining phases, including upcoming construction of permanent protected paths on West, Flushing and Van Brunt streets. The document marks the beginning of the capital project phase following three years of public outreach and community workshops and will help shape the future of the borough’s waterfront by enhancing access, improving safety, and increasing the number of recreational opportunities in these growing neighborhoods. These planning and construction efforts are made possible by $14 million in funding secured by Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez and the outreach efforts of the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI) and the Regional Plan Association (RPA). To explore the route and review the implantation plan, please visit nyc.gov/dot.

“This plan was designed by Brooklynites for Brooklynites, and it charts a course for a reimagined waterfront stretching from Newtown Creek to Owls Head Park,” said Commissioner Sadik-Khan. “This document marks both the end of the planning stage and the start of a new era, as these dynamic neighborhoods embrace the waterfront as New York’s sixth borough.”

“Once complete, the Greenway will not only expand recreational opportunities, but also spur local economic development,” said Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY). “This project is drawing support at both the local and federal levels and I am excited to see it move forward.”

“This is a huge milestone for a project initiated by community residents 14 years ago,” said Milton Puryear, co-founder of the BGI. “That Congresswoman Velázquez put it on the map in 2005 with $14 million in federal funding and NYC DOT has completed a comprehensive plan for its implementation is huge news for all of Brooklyn's waterfront communities.”

“The Greenway is helping transform Brooklyn’s waterfront, connecting neighbors and neighborhoods from Greenpoint to Bay Ridge,” said Robert Pirani, vice president for environmental programs at the RPA. “Thanks to the leadership of the mayor and Rep. Nydia Velázquez, the city’s Implementation Plan gives us the blueprint needed to create this green and safe pathway.”

This implementation plan follow years of community and agency efforts to create a Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway since portions of a route were first identified in the Department of City Planning’s Greenway Plan for New York City in 1993. For over a decade, the community-based Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI) worked to make the greenway a reality before the DOT joined the process in 2009 to formalize the community-led initiative. In recent years, DOT, BGI and the RPA held three rounds of community workshops to discuss potential routes and receive feedback. The public outreach efforts included the innovative Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway Portal, where visitors could post comments on the project, ask questions and view timelines, maps or other project information. This successful outreach tool preceded similar efforts to choose station locations for Citi Bike and other important DOT projects.

For more information, visit nyc.gov/dot.

Flushing Avenue

Kent Avenue

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