At the earliest, Brooklyn’s waterfront trail won’t be fully complete until the end of 2021, but this spring, cyclists can get a sneak peek.
After a hiatus last year, the 26-mile Greenway Ride returns 31 May, beginning in Greenpoint, ending at Shirley Chisholm State Park, and covering more ground than ever before. The ride will show off the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, a work in progress for almost two decades and counting, spearheaded by the nonprofit Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI).
BGI’s goal is “to raise awareness of the Greenway and what it provides to all Brooklynites, and to activate the Greenway as both a recreational trail and viable commuter route along the waterfront,” executive director Terri Carta said in a press release. From its starting point near Greenpoint Playground, the ride will wend its way around multicultural neighborhoods like Wallabout, Red Hook, Sunset Park, and Bay Ridge and through city, state, and national parks like Brooklyn Bridge, Erie Basin, and Owl’s Head, all against stunning backdrops like the Manhattan skyline and the East River bridges. It wraps with a big bash in Jamaica Bay, boasting music, food trucks, and refreshments of all sorts.
While the ride will highlight the portions of the trail that have been completed since the its last iteration two years ago, it will also draw attention to the gaps the city has yet to complete – namely, shorter sections in Vinegar Hill, Dumbo, and Red Hook as well as a good stretch in southern Brooklyn, between Gravesend at Coney Island Creek and Sheepshead Bay at Plumb Beach.
For more information on fees and registration, visit brooklyngreenway.org.
