Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

Sneak Preview: Stringer’s “Blueway Plan” for East River Greenway

The East River Blueway plan proposes an elevated greenway to improve connections for cyclists and pedestrians around the ConEd plant at 14th Street. Image: WXY Architects

Compared to its West Side counterpart, the East River Greenway needs some help. It could serve as a continuous waterfront park and a trunk route for bicycling on the East Side, but it's hampered by missing links, poor maintenance, and the barrier created by the FDR Drive. Today at his State of the Borough address, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is unveiling the East River Blueway Plan, laying out a vision for the park from the Brooklyn Bridge to 38th Street.

Among the plan's recommendations: replacing a pinch point on the greenway -- the section shoehorned between speeding traffic and the ConEd plant at 15th Street -- with an elevated path rising above the FDR Drive.

A big-ticket item like the new bridge won't be cheap, however, and so far there is no proposal for how to fund it. Stringer has pledged $3.5 million to construct marshland included in the plan, according to the Times.

The Blueway Plan, organized in 2011 by Stringer and Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh in partnership with the Lower East Side Ecology Center and Community Boards 3 and 6, is supported by a state grant dedicated to waterfront revitalization. A draft version from summer 2012 [PDF] identified neighborhood access and waterfront continuity as two of the project's five goals, and listed places where park access across FDR Drive could be improved.

To the north, a 2011 deal with the United Nations has cleared the way for a greenway connection between 38th and 60th Streets, which would bridge the longest gap on the East Side.

Stringer's final State of the Borough speech, where the plan will be unveiled, is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. tonight at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The bridge would deck over the FDR Drive at a key point where today the greenway narrows to five feet. Image: WXY Architects

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Power Play: City Can Now Padlock Businesses Violating Lithium-Ion Battery Rules

The city can now forcibly close repeat offender shops that sell illegal lithium-ion batteries. But will it?

October 10, 2024

Study: How The Last Three Presidents Helped Shape Our Local Transportation Landscapes

A deep dive on one of America's largest discretionary grant programs reveals the kind of transportation projects prioritized by the last three presidential administrations. What does it mean for the future?

October 10, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines: Duggan Gets the Story Edition

Our version of the BQE story was better than those written by people at the DOT's invite-only presser.

October 10, 2024

City Delays Road Diet Under BQE Despite Hyping Its ‘Reconnect Communities’ Effort

Officials touted new concepts to improve the streetscape around the BQE — but was wavering on plans to do just that on Third Avenue in Sunset Park, Streetsblog has learned.

October 9, 2024

A Father Speaks: Here’s Why The Speed Limit Must Be 20 MPH Everywhere

At an event on Wednesday, no one was more eloquent than the spotlight-avoiding father of the boy for whom Sammy's Law is named.

October 9, 2024
See all posts