On the Waterfront — Discover Brooklyn’s shoreline, an increasingly popular running route

Spring 2004

New York Runner

Story and photographs by Peter Krebs

One beautiful morning last summer, an unusual assembly of cyclists set out from the Pulaski Bridge at Brooklyn’s northern edge. The group included a United States Senator, a member of Congress, the borough president, several City Council members, and a host of community activists.

Their itinerary followed the Brooklyn waterfront all the way to the Shore Parkway near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, about 18 miles, tracing the future course of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. The greenway will create a continuous pathway for recreation, spanning the entire East River shoreline from Queens to existing greenways in Brooklyn, and on to Coney Island and beyond.

Once merely a dream of alternative transportation advocates and those with a romantic bent, the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is now almost certain to become a reality in some form. And that is very good news for runners. Indeed, much of the Brooklyn waterfront is already a worthy and increasingly popular destination for all outdoor exercise enthusiasts.

Hotly Contested Property

Big changes are on the horizon for the entire Brooklyn waterfront. Major projects in development or already underway will utterly transform the shoreline from its current underutilized state. As shipping has declined along the East River and factories that once lined it have moved elsewhere, most of the river’s edge now sits vacant. Many constituencies have awakened to the value of the precious riverside land, including real estate developers, remaining commercial interests, and advocates of open space.

As a result, the waterfront’s future is being hotly contested. Happily, public access to the water’s edge is a major component of the city’s rezoning plans. That is likely to connect a necklace of new and refurbished parks and waterfront promenades with a long greenway route similar to the one that surrounds Manhattan.

The result, it is hoped, will be a meandering traffic-free path some 18 miles in length from the northern tip of Greenpoint to the existing Shore Parkway Greenway. There will be additional well-marked connections to existing cross-borough greenways and the bridges spanning the East River, all of which are runner-friendly (see “Mileage With Vistas,” spring 2003 New York Runner). Advocates led by the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative are calling for an off-street right-of-way that is a minimum of 30 feet wide with separate lanes for bicycles and pedestrians and a belt of grass, trees, and plantings, with 24-hour public access and adequate lighting and public signage.

The negotiations required to create a new public right-of-way are exceedingly complex, involving hundreds of private land owners and at least a dozen city and state agencies. Though all might agree that waterfront access is a noble concept, knitting it all together into a contiguous, consistent, and fully accessible whole is another matter. Nothing is ever certain in this city, but it is clear that the waterfront will become far more accessible than it is today.

The greenway’s northern tier – spanning Greenpoint and Williamsburg – is perhaps the most contested portion, with discussions between government, industry, developers, and citizenry often becoming quite heated. Still, the Department of City Planning, the city agency responsible for developing a coherent waterfront strategy, is calling for vastly improved public access to the water’s edge. Plans include a waterfront promenade along the Greenpoint and Williamsburg shorelines, incorporating new and existing parks. Most notable will be the addition of a new state park at North Seventh Street that will provide badly needed green space and athletic facilities, which would accommodate the archery and beach volleyball events should New York succeed in its bid to host the 2012 Olympics. Several other spots along the North Brooklyn waterfront are slated for new or refurbished parks and piers of a smaller scale.

At the greenway’s southern extremis, plans call for public access to the piers along Sunset Park and a major new public space to join the Bush Terminals together, creating a shoreline wilderness park. Plans are also underway to transform and rehabilitate the Gowanus Canal, creating an inland spur for recreation on both land and water.

More Parks Coming Soon

While it may be years before runners can reap the benefits of these efforts, development is more advanced along the keystone portion of the waterfront greenway from the Brooklyn Navy Yard to Red Hook. This is already a great place to run, and it will soon get better. In a surprising and historic move, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation has agreed to move its boundaries back away from bordering streets in order to accommodate the greenway.

Farther south, the new Brooklyn Bridge State Park – which surrounds and seamlessly abuts Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges – is currently fairly small. Several new additions will extend the park, incorporating the first five Port Authority piers all the way to Atlantic Avenue, making it the most ambitious park project in Brooklyn since Prospect Park. The piers will be transformed in an innovative redevelopment that will mirror and exceed its cross-river neighbor, the South Street Seaport. The project combines the greenway, commercial and recreational facilities, and even a landing site for cruise ships. The greenway will continue south along city streets all the way around the tip of Red Hook to the Erie Basin (once the southern terminus of the Erie Canal), with as much waterfront access as is feasible. Indeed, several piers – both publicly and privately owned – are already open to the public.

Proposals for this central portion of the greenway are quite detailed, down to the shape of the light fixtures and the locations of individual trees. Construction is planned in two stages. First will be an interim project that utilizes existing sidewalks and, in some cases, marked street lanes for cyclists. The entire route will be blazed with greenway medallion signs plus uniform directional signage when required. The interim course will be replaced with a landscaped strip that includes green space, trees, meandering pathways, and separate lanes for cyclists and pedestrians, not unlike the Battery Park City portion of the Hudson River waterfront. The chief difference, of course, will be that because so much of the Brooklyn waterfront is still in active use, the greenway will in many cases be located a block inland with the waterside alternating between operating commercial piers and those that have been converted to recreational use.

Run With a View

While the future of the waterfront is bright, it is not necessary to wait to run, walk, or cycle there. It’s well worth a visit right now – the views are extraordinary – and a run along its central portion is very easy.

It is five miles from under the Brooklyn Bridge to the end of Red Hook, most of it flat with few if any traffic light interruptions. Restrooms and water fountains can be found in the parks, piers, and playgrounds that line the route. The tour offers a voyage back in time to a period when the area was the nation’s busiest and most modern port. It’s also a glimpse of the present-day shipping industry, as portions of the waterfront have converted to modern container shipping, and you can still hear the occasional fog horn. The journey thus alternates between the surreal and the sublime.

Your run begins at Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, located at the water’s edge between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. The park boasts amazing vistas, perhaps the most beautiful in all of New York. With its refreshing breezes and beautiful landscaping, this park is worth a trip in itself.

Get there by taking the F train to Jay Street, or the A or C to High Street – or bike or run across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan’s City Hall (about a mile). There is also a ferry from Manhattan’s South Street Seaport directly to the park. For information, visit www.nywatertaxi.com. Once in Brooklyn, you cannot miss the bridges’ massive feet, between which the park is nestled. Head downhill toward them (and the river) via Washington Street. In the park, you will find friendly park rangers, historic buildings, restrooms, and plenty of grassy area for stretching.

Head south (left as you face the river) to Furman Street and along the inland side of the Port Authority piers. Although the greenway will move to the piers as soon as feasible, this interim route uses the sidewalk, passing canyon-like between warehouses and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade (more on that later). At Atlantic Avenue, the right-of-way widens considerably and your sense of space opens up. Follow Columbia Street past the Port Authority terminal and turn right on DeGraw Street, then left on Van Brunt Street. Meander along the waterfront on streets with names like Commercial and Ferry.

Catch your breath if you like at Valentino Pier (named for fallen fire-fighter Louis Valentino, Jr.) and enjoy a perfectly framed view of the Statue of Liberty. Continue south amid Civil War-era warehouses and surreal post-industrial ruins out to the end along Beard Street Pier. One of the last remaining historic warehouse piers, the location holds a tiny museum, artisan shops and exhibition spaces that are open to the public, and the terminus of the future Red Hook trolley line.

The tip of the pier is the turn-around point of your run. However, if you want to sneak in some mid-session speed work, continue four more blocks along Beard Street to Red Hook Park, with its newly renovated track. Red Hook Park, an oasis of green among the industrial ruins, was one of four New York City parks that received funding from the ING Run for Something Better in 2003.

For your return trip, either retrace your steps or take a more direct route via Van Brunt Street, though this option does include traffic lights.

Worthwhile Diversions

Whether you choose the full 10-mile round trip or something shorter, on your way back be sure to take a detour inland (and upland) to the Brooklyn Heights promenade, Brooklyn’s most romantic locale. If you can, time your visit to coincide with the sunset, an occurrence not to be missed from this glorious vantage point. To get there, after crossing Atlantic Avenue on your return trip, watch for Joralemon Street, which will slope steeply upward to your right. Turn right and climb one block, then take the first left onto Hicks Street, which runs parallel to the Promenade. Then take the second left, Remsen Street, to the Promenade, where it’s more than likely that you’ll find a wedding photography session or two in progress. Savor the panoramic views of Lower Manhattan.

At the north end of the esplanade, follow the sloping road back down to the bridge’s feet and your journey’s end. Spent yet refreshed, you can cool down with some stretching, grab an ice cream, and then head for home, with a new running route added to your portfolio.

Visit the changing waterfront again and again. Like just about everything else in New York, it is endlessly evolving, though it promises a consistently satisfying run.

The Making of a Greenway

The Brooklyn waterfront is one of the city’s greenest and most underutilized treasures. Undoubtedly, it will change dramatically in the years to come, yet whether that future will be friendly to runners is by no means certain.

To describe the greenway as a work in progress would be a gross understatement. Like other runner-friendly city improvements (e.g. those that have transformed Central Park into the recreational oasis that it is today) the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway depends on advocacy and hard work. Those who wish to see it become a reality are encouraged to get involved, not only by running there and becoming a visible presence, but also by joining in the planning process as well. Runners have done much to make many places in New York greener and more accessible and enjoyable for all. The Brooklyn waterfront presents an opportunity to continue that tradition.

For more information on the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, start by visiting the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s Web site at www.brooklyngreenway.org or calling 718-852-1420.

The five miles from the Brooklyn Bridge to the end of Red Hook are historically interesting, alternating between the surreal and the sublime.

A working artist and a life-long runner, Peter Krebs is the former Web editor of NYRR.