The public engagement process for a Harlem River Greenway in the Bronx is beginning on Tuesday.
Mayor Eric Adams announced the greenway expansion plan on March 22, which will stretch seven miles from Randall’s Island to Van Cortlandt Park. Virtual workshops that are open to the public will take place this coming Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as the following Wednesday.
Greenways are paths that run along roads or through parks for people to walk, run or bike in a space separate from traffic.
The workshops are categorized by three sections of the route, with the most northern sections first. The sessions will influence the shaping of the plan for the greenway, a DOT spokesperson told the Bronx Times. The potential timeline, costs and route proposals will be described in the plan, which isn’t slated to publish until “later” next year, according to the spokesperson.
In this first round of workshops, DOT planners will talk about the conditions along the waterfront and ask for input from Bronxites, according to DOT. There will be another round of workshops this fall.
The project aligns both with the city’s ambitions to reconnect communities that were impeded on by highways and to expand its greenway network in the outer boroughs.
The Bronx Harlem River Greenway will restore access to the Harlem River waterfront that was lost from the 1930s construction of the Major Deegan Expressway, according to the mayor’s office and DOT. The public engagement effort comes on the tail of the first round of open houses for reimagining the Cross Bronx Expressway.
Last month’s announcement to create the greenway comes after an August announcement of $7.25 million in federal grant funding to plan for a citywide greenway expansion. However, despite various mentions of the Bronx Harlem River Greenway in the city’s announcement of the federal grant, this greenway’s implementation plan will instead be funded by about $1 million of city dollars that were secured prior to the federal grant being announced, the DOT spokesperson told the Bronx Times. The federal grant will go toward implementation plans for other greenway corridors across NYC that are in the process of being identified, he said.
The other funding sources for the Bronx Harlem River Greenway have yet to be determined, according to the spokesperson.
Register for the upcoming Bronx Harlem River Greenway sessions:
Tuesday, April 18, 6-8 p.m., Van Cortlandt Park to University Heights Bridge
Register here
Wednesday, April 19, 6-8 p.m., University Heights Bridge to Macombs Dam Bridge
Register here
Wednesday, April 26, 6-8 p.m., Macombs Dam Bridge to Randall’s Island Connector
Register here
Reach Aliya Schneider at aschneider@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4597. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
