Greenbacks Pave the Way For
Brooklyn Greenway

August 8, 2005

BY GARY BUISO
CARROLL GARDENS/COBLE HILL COURRIER

The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway project last week inched a step closer to becoming more than just a flight of fancy.

Project planners, including the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative and the Regional Plan Association received notification that $6.6 million was secured by Rep. Nydia Velazquez, money that is expected to advance the ambitious $50 million project.

The project is funded through the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (TEA-LU), a $286 billion package reauthorizing federal highway safety and other surface transportation programs through Fiscal Year 2009.

On July 28th, the bill overwhelmingly passed the House. TEA-LU is now awaiting the signature of President George Bush.

"This takes us out of the vision column and into the reality column," said BGI Chairman Brian McCormick.

The plan calls for the construction of a 14-mile waterfront path that will stretch from Newtown Creek in Greenpoint to the existing Shore Parkway Greenway in Bay Ridge.

The greenway could reverse what critics have said the Gowanus Expressway accomplished de facto upon its construction: it rejoins neighborhoods that have been balkanized by the highway.

Cyclists, pedestrians and all non-vehicular traffic will be welcome along the greenway, planners said.

Because there is no single property owner along the waterfront, the greenway will be constructed in pieces. For it to succeed, the BGI must secure rights of way on property owned by a host of entities, both public and private. Construction could begin in one or two years, BGI officials have said.

McCormick said planners are now poised to enter the design and engineering phase of the project. He acknowledged that there exist plenty of great plans that "never go anywhere," so this recent infusion of funds is, "exciting and good news."

Further, he said it could help raise even more funds from state and private sources.

Velazquez also secured $8 million for the Sunset Park Bush Terminal Access Improvement project, which will provide access along a greenway located at and leading to the Bush Terminal Piers, along the Sunset Park waterfront.

The project provides the first major waterfront access for Sunset Park residents, connecting the neighborhood to the larger greenway project.

"This is an opportunity for a diverse community to exercise ownership over what the greenway should look like," said Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director of United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park (UPROSE).

Through funding provided by the New York Department of State, UPROSE has organized a host of meetings and workshops to hear -- and listen to -- local residents.

"We're hoping the money is used for the implementation of the greenway," Yeampierre added. "There are people clearly rallying around seeing the greenway happen."

Dan Wiley, a community coordinator for Velazquez, said his boss has long held waterfront access dear.

Velazquez, he said, grew up in Puerto Rico and has always had a strong "affiliation with the waterfront."

"The greenway creates another kind of link which emphasizes the waterfront, by foot or wheels, while giving those local communities access to the waterfront they've been cut off from for so long," he continued.

Aside from the allocation of funds, the congresswoman's office has also been involved with the planning process, which emphasizes community involvement, Wiley said.

The many property owners along the proposed path have generally been "very cooperative," he said, including the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

"It enhances anyone's property as opposed to being a problem," Wiley said.