The Brooklyn Greenway Initiative

Pedestrians and cyclists are now able to travel between Pier 1 and Pier 6 mostly inside of the park as its construction continues. Working with NYC DOT, Brooklyn Bridge Park has created a continuous connection from Old Fulton Street to Atlantic Avenue. In the vicinity of Pier 5, a temporary connector will run on Furman Street protected from traffic by new jersey barriers installed by DOT.

Brooklyn Bridge Park greenway route just south of the newly completed Pier 1.

Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s office will be closed for the month of August, but that doesn’t mean that things stop happening along the greenway! Every Tuesday in August, you can ride, run or walk the greenway route to Valentino Pier to enjoy a flick from Red Hook Films. Or, on Thursday evenings, you can head to Brooklyn Bridge Park to take in Movies With a View and other programs. Also along the greenway, check out the exciting summer offerings from PortSide, taking place aboard the Mary A. Whalen in Atlantic Basin, or grab the ferry to Governors Island from Pier 6. Enjoy your summer and we’ll see you on the greenway!

An invitation from NYC DOT to join the fun at Summer Streets:

Summer Streets starts THIS SATURDAY! From 7am – 1 pm three Saturdays this August (7, 14 and 21) nearly 7 miles of city streets are yours for playing, running, walking, biking and just enjoying! We’ve got: Free bike and skate rentals > Free fitness classes > Dumpster Pools for swimming > FringeNYC Theater and workshops for kids > Crafts and activities for families > Free bicycle helmet fittings > Local bike makers showcase and lots more!

Come out and join us from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park via Lafayette > 4th Avenue > Park Avenue > 72nd Street.

Visit www.nyc.gov/summerstreets for a full line-up of activities and directions.

The next meeting to discuss the Newtown Creek Mitigation Funds will be:

Wednesday, July 28th
6:30PM
Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Visitor Center
329 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn
(Entrance is through the main gate at the intersection of Greenpoint Avenue and Humboldt Street)

Please RSVP as space in the meeting room is limited. RSVP to 212.360.1310 or NewtownCreek@CityParksFoundation.org.

The primary purpose of the meeting is to develop a list of possible projects that can be funded by the $7 million that has been allocated to City Parks Foundation, together with an initial sense of the important criteria to be used when judging projects.

After this meeting, City Parks Foundation staff will develop cost estimates for the projects that have been suggested and will identify any relevant feasibility issues or barriers to completion.  We will then reconvene in the Fall, so that everyone can express specific preferences from among the list of projects; this information will be vital to the Department of Environmental Conservation as they make a final decision on which projects should be funded.

At the meeting on July 28^th, you will hear about four specific projects that have already been suggested to the Department of Environmental Conservation by the groups that successfully advocated for this $7 million of funding.  You will also hear about a recent brainstorming session held among Brooklyn groups about community preferences for open space projects.  In addition, you will hear about the results of the surveying that City Parks Foundation is now conducting in Brooklyn and in Queens.

Most of the meeting will be spent in small groups, with facilitators from City Parks Foundation, allowing everyone to suggest projects and express opinions on project ideas.  Each group will report its findings to the entire group.  We expect the entire meeting may take 2 – 3 hours.  We will have food and beverages available.

Please feel free to forward this e-mail to your networks.  Hope to see you there!

To receive 20% off tickets for the August 8th tour, use discount code: oystersummer2010

Pedal along with us on this bicycle tour as we explore the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s transition from being one of the nation’s foremost naval shipbuilding facilities to becoming a national leader for sustainable urban industrial parks. Learn about the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation’s sustainable development efforts including the nation’s first multi-story “green” industrial building, first solar and wind-powered street lamps, NYC’s first building-mounted wind turbines, adaptively reused historic structures, and new green buildings certified by the US Green Buildings Council. Length of Tour: 2 hours

Requirements: Each participant must supply his/her own bicycle & bring and wear a safety helmet at all times while on the Brooklyn Navy Yard tour.

Need to rent a bicycle? Our bike rental partner at Recycle a Bicycle is a community-based bike shop and non-profit organization that provides educational/job training programs and encourages environmental stewardship and everyday bicycle use. RAB offers bike rentals to Urban Oyster’s tour goers for a discounted rate of $25 and proceeds go to support their youth programs. RAB’s shop is located in DUMBO, just a short ride away from the start of the tour. You must reserve your rental in advance. Click here for more info about bike rentals or call 718-858-2972 to reach RAB’s DUMBO office. If RAB is out of rental bikes you can also check Ride Brooklyn Bike Shop.

Admission: $24 per person/ $20 for Brooklyn Greenway Initiative members, Brooklyn Historical Society members & Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation tenants and employees. Advance ticket purchase required. Click here to check availability and purchase tickets.

To receive 20% off tickets for the August 8th tour, use discount code: oystersummer2010

An invitation to Greenway supporters from our friends at the Astoria Park Alliance:

Support a Car-Free Astoria Water Walk at Shore Blvd
Sunday, July 18th
4:00pm – 8:00pm
On the Astoria Waterfront, at the home of Joan and Fernando Manriquez
18-05 21 Road @ Shore Blvd
 
The Astoria Park Alliance is working towards a Car-Free Astoria Water Walk on Shore Blvd will close the street down to traffic on August 1, 8, and 15 and open the street up to people!
 
It is a project we are undertaking in hopes of enhancing park use, improving air quality, and encouraging additional recreation spaces to bring Shore Blvd to its full potential as Astoria’s waterfront promenade.
 
There’s about a $2,000 funding gap for our event currently!  We have many generous partners donating their time and services and  as a result there is a great line up of music, fitness, visioning, recycling, and gastronomic experiences lined up for Astoria this August.  But we just need to close a $2,000 budget gap in order for the show to go on!
 
The Astoria Park Alliance will program Shore Blvd for three consecutive Sundays in August with partners including music with Astoria Music and Arts, waterfront visioning activities with Green Shores NYC and Partnerships for Parks, a swap with GrowNYC, fitness programs led by the Rock Health and Fitness, food tastings with Edible Queens, and more fun for all.  Additional support is coming from NYC Dept of Parks & Recreation, Build It Green!, and the NYC Dept of Transportation.
 
Please join us for food, drink and fun on Sunday, July 18th from 4-8pm.  For your pleasure and entertainment, there will be a meet and greet with Penni, Dearie and Esmeralda, the worlds’ smallest breed of Serama chickens.  Also, sangria made by Mix Master Mike, Martha’s Silician Pesto Dip, raffle goodies along with other surprises are coming to grace our event!
 
Our event host committee includes Clare Doyle, Connie Arroyo, Costa Constantinides, Dominic DeSavario, Helen Ho, Jules Corkery, Karen Overton, Katie Ellman, Kim Waber, Martha Gilpin, Matt Bishop, Mike Gilpin, Rebecca Schultz, Robert McMinn, Steve Simicich, Ted Gruber, and Thomas Ruks.
 
RSVP here   http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=136980139654991&ref=ts
Or donate now at   http://ioby.org/projects/queens/car-free-astoria-water-walk-shore-blvd
 
We hope to see you but please help us reach our goal of having a car-free Shore Blvd with free programming for all ages even if you cannot make it to our event by donating at Ioby now!  Any donation ($25, $45, $75, $100, $150, $250) will help us reach our goal!  Spread the word!

NYC EDC has scheduled the second community workshop for the BQE Enhancement project:

When: Tuesday, July 20th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Long Island College Hospital (LICH), Avram Conference Center, Rooms A & B, 339 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201

Please see two presentations that have been posted on EDC’s website for background on the project, including:

1)    The presentation from the 5.4.10 meeting on EDC’s website.

2)    A draft summary of the 5.4.10 workshop–we will refine and present it on 7.20.10

Thanks again for your interest in the project, please help us spread the word, and we hope to see you at the next meeting!

Best regards,

The BQE Team

Join Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, the Transportation Alternatives (T.A.) Brooklyn Volunteer Committee, and Regional Plan Association (RPA) for a 40-mile ride along Brooklyn’s entire waterfront that highlights the potential of a fully completed Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. We will have brief stops at Owls Head Park in Bay Ridge and a refreshment stop at the Carnarsie Pier with an update on plans to complete the Jamaica Bay Greenway. After the ride feel free to enjoy the beach, hop on the A train back to Brooklyn, or ride back with volunteers along Flatbush Avenue, the most direct route back to northern Brooklyn.

This ride is moderately-paced (12+ miles/hour), but goes at a steady pace. Be sure to bring some food, extra water, sun screen, money for tacos, and FULLY inflate your tires (we had several flats last year due to underinflated tires)

When: Sunday, July 18th, 10:00AM – 3:00PM(ish)

Depart: Manhattan Avenue at Newtown Creek, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Finish: Rockaway Taco on Rockaway Beach Blvd and Beach 96th Street

*Space is limited* Pre-register at brooklynepicride@gmail.com

 Want a little taste of the ride right now? Check out last year’s video recap!  http://bit.ly/BKepic09

It may have been the hottest day of the year, but rushing river breezes kept cool the 250 supporters of Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI) who gathered on June 23rd for New Views 2010. This year, BGI’s annual benefit took place on the waterfront at Northside Piers in Williamsburg. Northside Piers welcomed BGI’s guests with a refreshing frozen drink and soon everyone was off to the waterfront esplanade to enjoy spectacular new views, along with the “hot and sweet” jazz stylings of Michael Arenella and his quartet, and a light summer buffet – perfect complements to the good cheer and friendly spirit that prevailed throughout the evening.

BGI co-founder Milton Puryear expressed appreciation to BGI’s Board, host committee, event sponsors and guests for their support and their help in making the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway a reality, then introduced two special honorees.

New York State Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez was honored as Government Partner of the Year. Funding for planning the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is provided by the NYS Department of State Division of Coastal Resources with funds provided under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund. This funding is sponsored by the Office of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG) was honored as Community Partner of the Year. Eric Radezky, representative to Assemblyman Joseph Lentol introduced NAG Co-chair Ward Dennis, who accepted the honor in recognition of NAG’s ongoing work to clean-up and open the waterfront, as well as to encourage safe and sustainable transit in North Brooklyn.

A proclamation from State Senator Daniel Squadron recognized BGI, its supporters and the New Views 2010 honorees. Each of the honorees also received a large-format commemorative map of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.

As the sun set over the East River, BGI co-founders Brian McCormick and Meg Fellerath kicked off the raffle amidst a flurry of last minute ticket-buyers. Guests assembled near the stage and waited in suspense for the chance to win the following great items: a bicycle donated by Bespoke Bicycles, two bicycles donated by Trek; a party at Water Taxi Beach, a cruise on the Zephyr, and a speedboat ride on the Shark, donated by Harbor Experience Companies; and personal fitness training sessions donated by Annette Lang Education Systems. A live auction was then held for a stunning Dutch bicycle donated by Rolling Orange.

The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is now a NYC Department of Transportation project. Preliminary design and engineering is underway this year, using federal funding secured by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez. When complete, the greenway will be a 14-mile continuous landscaped route with separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists.

To learn more about upcoming events such as the 2nd annual Brooklyn Waterfront Epic Ride on July 18th and ongoing historic tours by bicycle of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, go to www.brooklyngreenway.org. Also, to celebrate the recent expansion of BGI’s office space, there will be an Open House in early fall, to which all of BGI’s supporters will be invited.