Greenway gets bucks, but eager bicyclist gets ticket

March 26, 2005

The Brooklyn Papers

By Jess Wisloski

Plans for a pedestrian and bike path along Brooklyn's waterfront -- known as the Greenway -- have been boosted by an infusion of greenbacks from state and private funders.

Funding announced by Rep. Nydia Velazquez last week as part of the Transportation Equity Act allocates $8.25 million for the Greenway stretch from Greenpoint down to Red Hook.

An additional $10 million was granted to the Sunset Park Bush Terminal Access Improvement Project in CB7, which includes the stretch of Greenway along that portion of the waterfront.

"Securing funding for these projects will enable us to improve public access to our waterfronts, enhance our streets and bike paths with green landscaping for pollution mitigation, and make pedestrian crosswalks safer and easier while calming traffic," said Velazquez, adding that she hoped the projects would help "relieve traffic congestion, while at the same time open up our waterfronts, enhance economic development and improve the quality of life."

At a Feb. 21 meeting on the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, Director of Planning Milton Puryear announced that implementation of an interim bike path could occur as soon as early April, pending a right of way granted by the Department of Transportation.

Coinciding with the funding windfall to the project came an award of $20,000 from the J. M. Kaplan Fund, granted for planning the creation of the 14-mile waterfront Greenway.

"Their support has enabled us to increase the visibility of the project," said Puryear.

But the visibility, or presumed presence of the project is exactly what landed bicyclist Alan Mukamal a ticket recently.

"I was riding my bike home from work," said Mukamal, which is part of his daily commute from Bowling Green, in Manhattan, to his home in Red Hook. His typical southerly route moves down Furman Street onto Columbia Street where, he said, "I often make use of the interim Greenway route on the west side of Columbia Street."

Only problem -- there is no interim Greenway route…yet.

Mukamal mistook the Jersey barriers -- freestanding wooden fence-like posts -- as cordoning off a section of street for his evening bike ride. In fact, the space is part of the DOT's Columbia Street reconstruction project.

As a result, Mukamal is fuming that he was stopped and ticketed by officers for "riding on the sidewalk."

Mukamal said he'd thought it was part of the interim path ever since he'd done bike tours promoting the Greenway to elected officials, including Velazquez, Councilmen David Yassky and Bill DeBlasio, and Borough President Marty Markowitz.

"On these tours we rode this exact stretch of sidewalk on which I was stopped and ticketed," he said. "On the ride, participants were regaled by pledges from all the elected officials of the importance of this project for the development of Brooklyn and the importance of establishing an interim route," he said.

While the reconstruction does provide for an interim bike route, a spokesman for the DOT said construction of the Greenway route on Columbia Street is not expected to begin until this fall.

At that time, salivating bike riders may finally see the official off-street path that will run from Atlantic Avenue to DeGraw Street, with a 5-foot passageway in each direction, creating a 10-foot wide path. The route will remain off the street as it turns the corner at DeGraw Street and follows down Van Brunt Street to Sackett Street where it widens to 11 feet. Along Van Brunt Street from Sackett Street to Hamilton Avenue, said DOT spokesman Craig Chin, the path moves onto the roadway with two separate lanes.

Brian McCormick, chairman of the Greenway initiative, said they definitely weren't Greenway barriers.

We're shooting for interim by the end of the year," he said.

Photo caption:

Bicyclist Alan Mukamal, of Red Hook, was ticketed by police for riding on this sidewalk along Columbia Street -- a sidewalk he thought was part of the initial efforts to create a waterfront Greenway.