Brooklyn Greenway Initiative

Construction on the two-way protected bikeway is underway, three years behind schedule.

A project that slims a dangerous section of Kent Avenue in South Williamsburg and straightens out an awkward stretch of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway route is nearing the finish line.

Last night, Brooklyn Community Board 1's transportation committee voted 3-0 in favor of a preliminary design for the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway's first capital project on West Street in Greenpoint, and, in a separate 3-0 vote, endorsed pedestrian safety improvements for Borinquen Place in Williamsburg. These projects will bring major improvements for biking and walking on these two North Brooklyn streets.

The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway started out as a glimmer in the eyes of a few dedicated volunteers 14 years ago. Now it's a comprehensive city plan to build out a ribbon of parkland from Greenpoint to Sunset Park.

The Brooklyn Greenway Initiative is in the running for a grant from Green Mountain Coffee and needs your online support. To help out, click over to JustMeans to cast your vote and leave a comment in favor of the project. Says the Greenway team:

Teresa Toro, one of New York City's most productive livable streets activists in recent years, has been deposed as chair of Brooklyn Community Board 1's Transportation Committee. CB1 covers the Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods of Brooklyn and has recently been embroiled in bitter fighting over the new bike lanes on Kent Avenue. CB1's executive committee voted unanimously to remove her.

Here's how space is divvied up on Kent Avenue today...

Congestion pricing may be dead for the moment, but livable streets advocates can't afford to let that sap our strength or motivation. There are plenty of changes to be made that need grassroots support -- and not one iota of approval from Albany -- to reach fruition. One of those measures will face a crucial test later today.

When I first met Brian McCormick, Milton Puryear and Meg Fellerath in the spring of 2002, they were picking up trash and planting tulips alongside a Brooklyn-Queens Expressway off-ramp in Cobble Hill. I asked them what they were up to and they told me they were working to create a waterfront greenway for Brooklyn -- a linear park running from Greenpoint to Red Hook. I didn't have the heart to tell them they looked like a gang of juvenile delinquents paying off 40 hours of community service for shop-lifting. Clearly, these people were either insane or visionary.