February 12, 2012 · www.gothamgazette.com

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Environment
Internet resources for what you need to know on NYC Environment
Sites For Beginners

The Topic
"Environment" refers to the places where New Yorkers live; our surroundings; the air, water and land that make our existence possible.
The Context
With more than 22,000 people per square mile, NYC must take considerable measures to protect the environment from the effects of such population density. Problems like asthma, PCBs, lead poisoning and waste disposal compromise the quality of the City's natural resources and threaten the health of its residents. The policy implications for solving environmental problems are complex: Should commercial activity take priority over environmental protection? To what extent can we require changes in lifestyle and consumption through legislation? How far does our responsibility extend to those in other places and future generations?
The Reporter
Alison Blackman Dunham is the former Director of Special Projects for the Recycling Division of the New York City Department of Sanitation, and former Executive Director of The Green Guerrillas, a citywide community gardening
The Archives
See past monthly updates for Environment.

by Alison Blackman Dunham

Walkways And Greenways

(July '01) It has been nearly a 40-year wait, but one of the two existing Manhattan Bridge Pedestrian walkways finally has opened. With the opening of the Manhattan Bridge path, all four of the East River bridges connecting to Manhattan are accessible on foot and bike, increasing alternative commuting options and shortening the route for many who wish to travel between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Anyone who has experienced the pleasure of walking on some of the city's more stellar pedestrian walkways, such as the Brooklyn Bridge, or Shore Parkway in Brooklyn, know that they are popular recreational venues and significant commuting options for New York residents and visitors. In any season, in virtually every type of weather there are myriad recreational users: cyclists, joggers, "health" and leisure walkers, couples, families, and tourists from around the world (using the city as a backdrop for their vacation photos). These walkways also offer an increasingly attractive alternative to cars, busses and trains for the city's commuters . According to Susan Boyle, one count of pedestrians in a single day last August tallied an astonishing 27,542 people on the Brooklyn Bridge, 936 people on the Williamsburg bridge, and more than 1,600 per hour on the length of the Hudson River Greenway to 59th Street.

The city's pedestrian walkways and greenways offer a lot more than just popular options for recreation and unique views of the city. By connecting neighborhoods to one another, they create an opportunity for spontaneous interaction between strangers.

The walkways are significant as a recreational resource, but they also have important environmental and community development benefits. According to the 1990 census, less than half (44 percent) of city households have access to an automobile. Walkways expand the city's transportation options and offer useful alternatives to polluting cars or crowded trains and busses. In areas now under-served by public transportation, greenways and walkways provide increased mobility for city residents. Brooklyn's Shore Parkway, and the Brooklyn Bridge, are among the most popular for commuters. Additionally, as more walkways are created and their use increases, they can help to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. In cases where the Greenway has been developed with a significant amount of trees and vegetation, such as along the Hudson River Greenway, these paths can actually help refresh the air and even filter runoff into streams and rivers.

Greenways also provide a means to encourage and sustain the biological diversity of plant and animal habitats. There are health benefits, too. The city's urban walkways and greenways offer many of the same advantages that wilderness and hiking trails offer since they provide a way for people to get out of doors, and to exercise. The city's greenway system also offers economic benefits by beautifying and making useful property adjacent to these often-idle land. This raises property values and encourages the development of small private enterprises along these routes (e.g. refreshment and souvenir stands) and auxiliary businesses including bicycle repair and rental shops, restaurants, and other services. They can also function as formal partitions that separate residential and commercial areas, or highways and residential neighborhoods.

The June 25th opening of the Manhattan bridge's South side path on the lower level is just a start. Pedestrians and cyclists will have to share the path until the Spring of 2004, when the North side path re-opens, separating cyclists and pedestrians, making the route safer for both groups. Details about future projects through the Department of Transportation were unavailable, but according to the Department of City Planning's web site, 17 percent (59 miles) of the 350-mile proposed system of the city's greenways already exists in good or useable condition. Another 31 percent (106 miles) are public pathways in need of substantial improvement, and about half the system 52 percent (183 miles), is in the proposal stage, with some of the proposed routes already programmed for development.

"It's incredible that the city is starting to recognize biking and walking as legitimate forms of transportation," says Susan Boyle, director of bicycle programs for Transportation Alternatives, "but the roads are still designed for cars. There needs to be more education so that motorists, pedestrians, and bikers can safely co-exist with one another." Still, "things are moving in the right direction," says Boyle.

Here's where to go if you're interested in enjoying one of the city's pedestrian bridge walkways:

  • Brooklyn Bridge: Manhattan entrances- Park Row and Centre Street, across from City Hall Park. Brooklyn entrances - Stairs to Cadman Plaza East and Prospect Street, ramp to Tillary and Adams Streets.
  • Manhattan Bridge: The Manhattan entrance - Canal Street off Bowery.
  • Williamsburg Bridge: Manhattan entrance - Delancey Street at Clinton, a stairway in the middle of the street. Brooklyn entrance - Bedford Avenue, between Broadway and South 5th Street.
  • Queensboro (59th Street) Bridge: Manhattan entrance - 60th Street, between Second and First Avenues Queens entrance - Queens Plaza and Crescent Street
  • Roosevelt Island Bridge: - Queens entrance: Vernon Boulevard at 36th Avenue Roosevelt Island entrance: no ramp open to pedestrians or cyclists, but there is an escalator and elevator by Sloan's
  • Ward's Island Footbridge This is only open during Spring and Summer Manhattan entrances - 103rd Street and East River Promenade
  • Triboro Bridge: Queens entrance - Long, steep stairs at Hoyt Avenue and 26th Street, Manhattan entrance - 124th and 126th Streets and Second Avenue, plus First Avenue at 124th and 126th Streets, Bronx entrance - 133rd Street and Cypress Avenue

Suggested links:


Sites For Beginners:

  • Natural Resources Defense Council - Their report, entitled "New York's Vital Signs," offers an excellent summary of NYC's overall environmental health. Mixed conclusions: in the last 25 years, air, rivers and bays have improved, but the quality of drinking water has declined.
  • NYC Department of Environmental Protection - Find out about the NYC's water supply, wastewater treatment, environmental planning and other environmental issues. Especially recommended: their info on the 3rd Water Tunnel. Great graphics.
  • U.S. Environment Protection Agency, Region 2
  • Environmental Advocates - An aggressive, Albany-based advocacy group for environmental concerns throughout the state. Reports on many different issues (some NYC-specific), voters' guides and volunteer opportunities, as well a terrific list of links.
  • New York Public Interest Group - A notoriously flinty organization, NYPIRG performs some heavy lifting in unglamorous environmental topics. Check out their report on waste plant emissions.


Other Recommendations:

  • Wind Power New York (WPNY) - A project of the American Wind Energy Association, was formed to promote the development of wind-powered electricity generation in New York State. For more information about the PG&E project in Madison, follow their link to The windmills of Madison County, a feature of Syracuse Online.
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension - Entomologists from Cornell University tell you everything you want to know about the Asian Longhorn Beetle, from how to identify it to how it can be destroyed.
  • Audubon Society - Founded in 1905 and named for famed ornithologist, explorer, and wildlife artist John James Audubon (1785-1851), the National Audubon Society's mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity. Learn why birds are an "ecological litmus paper".
  • www.moregardens.org - This pro-garden web site provides background on Esperanza Garden and efforts to preserve the city's other community gardens. Log on to learn about the Samson Bill, which would make all New York City community gardens permanent State parkland, and SLR 61, a complimentary bill that the City Council must endorse before the State can act.
  • Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities - Environmental concepts made easy. A great little Web site that provides comprehensive information about lead, environmental estrogens and, in case you were wondering, environmental astrobiology.
  • The Environmental Defense Fund - In conjunction with several other prominent environmental groups, presents a comprehensive explanation and analysis of global warming. Contents range from a simple explanation of how global warming works, to a discussion of its likely impact in the coming century. Be sure to check out the map of early warming signs.
  • Environmental Health Center's Asthma page - The Environmental Health Center, a division of the National Safety Council, provides voluminous, easy-to-understand background information on a comprehensive array of environmental and safety issues. If you live in New York City, this is a good place to start learning about asthma risks and prevention.
  • The Fire Island Ecology Coalition - Fans of Fire Island who can't bear the long winter separation may visit this comprehensive site, but they won't get the languorous summer feeling associated with their traditional summer visits. Instead, it offers a vigorous examination of threats to the island that demand serious attention„from the proliferation of jet skis and deer to global warming.
  • The New York City Environmental Justice Alliance - This page belongs to a coalition of grassroots organizations concerned with providing a clean and safe environment to communities of color and low-income communities, with topics such as "What's Transportation got to do with Environmental Justice?" This site connects you with such groups and shows you what they're doing . . .and how you can help.

Visit the Topic Archives!