Committee

New York Committee for the East Coast Greenway

The New York Committee for the ECG consists of volunteers who coordinate route selection and undertake our advocacy efforts to move the Greenway ahead in New York. By building support and partnerships with citizens, public agencies and organizations at the local and state levels, the New York Committee is helping to get the ECG on the ground, mile by mile.

Stay up-to-date on the latest NY events and news! Send an email to eastcoastgreenwayNY@gmail.com to be added to the New York e-news list.

 

News & Events
Current Committee Goals
Committee Resources
Support the Effort in New York
Contact Information

 

ECG NY NEWS: 

  • NYC COMMITTEE MEETING, Thursday, JUNE 17, 4 to 6 pm, NYC Parks & Recreation, 24 W. 61st Street (west of Broadway), 4th floor conference room, Manhattan.  Subways: 1, A, B, C, D to 59 St/Columbus Circle.  Post-meeting social event being planned—stay tuned!  Open to all.  Progress reports and planning.
  • BRONX RIVER DOINGS.   Choose from among a variety of events – walking, paddling, pedaling, fishing – that celebrate improvements in the Bronx River and parks along its path (the ECGA’s eastern route), sponsored by the many community-based organizations in the Bronx River Alliance.  For the May Calendar of Events: www.bronxriver.org/?pg=content&p=calendarandnews&m1=54&month=05&year=2010
  • Westchester’s BICYCLE SUNDAYS resume May 2.  Joggers, walkers, scooters, and inline skaters are also welcomed to a stretch of the Bronx River Parkway closed to cars.  For schedule and other details:  www.countycenter.biz/BikeSkateSundays.htm.
  • ECGA TRAIL COUNCIL MEETING, Saturday, MAY 1, 9 to 3 pm, Rutgers Campus (Engelhard Hall, 190 University Ave. at New), Newark.   Info: www.greenway.org.
  • THE GREAT SAUNTER 2010, Saturday, MAY 1.  See Manhattan at 3 MPH.   Info:  www.shorewalkers.org.
  • The “BIG WALK” is a one-day, 50-mile walk on Sunday, MAY 23, along the East Coast Greenway starting in Metropark Station in Iselin, NJ, and ending at NYC’s Penn Station. Join the group at various points along the trail that are in proximity to rail and bus lines.  For event details and (free) registration: www.nj2ny50.org.   The project leader, Paul Kiczek, has arranged that the East Coast Greenway Alliance will benefit, through tax-deductible donations made at www.firstgiving.com/ny2nj50.
  • NY-ECG’s third annual BRONXVILLE-TO-BATTERY PARK BICYCLE RIDE, Sunday, JUNE 6, meet 8:30 am at Slave to the Grind Coffee Shop, Bronxville.   Ride along greenways and low-volume roads at an easy pace for 25 miles through Westchester County and the Bronx, then along the Hudson River to Lower Manhattan.   Note route improvements made since last year’s ride.  Return options.  Free but a tax-deductible donation to the ECGA is expected.  For details and to register:  www.bronxville2battery.eventbrite.com.
  • RIVERDALE RiverFest, Sunday, JUNE 13, 1 to 5 pm, Marillac Lawn on the campus of the College of Mount Saint Vincent, with its spectacular views of the Hudson and the Palisades.  The event – designed to support and increase awareness of the Hudson River Greenway link – will feature a rotating schedule of musicians, entertainers, and performing arts groups; environmental, river-oriented educational programs and exhibits; and food and crafts vendors.  For information, www.riverdaleriverfest.org.
  • ECGA TRAIL COUNCIL MEETING, Saturday, MAY 1, 9 to 3 pm, Engelhard Hall, 190 University Ave. (at New St.), Rutgers-Newark campus,
    NJ.   Representatives from states along the entire Greenway route meet semi-annually this spring in Newark -- to guide trail development.  Come hear staff reports about East Coast Greenway progress, region by region, from Maine to Florida. Open to all, but attendees must pre-register with     Kitty@greenway.org.  Details to follow, on http://www.greenway.org    .
  • NOT riding in the TD BANK FIVE BORO BIKE TOUR, Sunday, MAY 2? Will you staff an information table for ECGA at the finish, Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island?   To volunteer, call 212-262-6880 or email ebrody8@nyc.rr.com.
  • WESTCHESTER BIKE SUMMIT 2010, Thursday, MAY 6, from 3 to 7 pm, Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Ave., Greenburgh 10607.  Open to all.  Free but pre-register at
    http://westchesterbikesummit.eventbrite.com.
  • MAY IS BIKE MONTH!  Visit www.bikemonthnyc.org for NYC rides and events.  Pick up the new (and free) NYC Cycling Map 2010 from your local bike shop.
  • Third annual BRONXVILLE-TO-BATTERY PARK BICYCLE RIDE, Sunday, JUNE 6, meet 8:30 am at Slave to the Grind Coffee Shop, Bronxville.   Ride along greenways and low-volume roads at an easy pace for 25 miles through Westchester County and the Bronx, then along the Hudson River to Lower Manhattan.   Appreciate improvements made since last year's ride.  Return options.  Free but a tax-deductible donation to the ECGA is expected.  For details and to register http://www.bronxville2battery.eventbrite.com.
  • "The Bike Walk Alliance of Westchester Putnam, a new advocacy group, maintains a website westchesterbikewalk.org. Visit it periodically to keep up on local developments and to learn about upcoming events and meetings."
  • Close the Gap East River Greenway midtown Manhattan:.   Four NYC advocacy groups have formed the East River Greenway Initiative to build public support for closing the midtown stretch of the Greenway along the East River.  Here  is the sign-on letter prepared by Transportation Alternatives (T.A.), East Coast Greenway Alliance, Upper Green Side, and Recycle-a-Bicycle.    We are collecting signatures from organizations and individuals to present to elected officials whose political and financial support is essential for this gap to go forward.  For further information on the Initiative, see www.eastrivergreenway.org.
  • Support new Greenway trail across the Hackensack River in Jersey Meadowlands.   How to route the Greenway across the Hackensack River has been the region’s greatest challenge.But now a solution is possible:  Require NJ Transit to build a two-mile-long, 20’-wide pedestrian and bike trail adjacent to railroad tracks and on a new Portal Bridge, connecting Belleville Pike in Kearny with West Side Avenue in Jersey City, adjacent to Hudson Generating Station.   This solution is possible because NJ Transit is statutorily obliged to “mitigate” its permanent “taking” of two-and-a-half acres of public parklands (from nearby Laurel Hill Park in Hudson County).   Building this stretch of the Greenway would satisfy the obligation.
    Among the groups helping the ECGA advocate for this solution are the NJ Conservation Foundation, the Embankment Preservation Coalition, the NJ Bicycle Coalition, and several area bicycle clubs.  Stay tuned for revised hearing date!!!


The Bronx River Greenway has produced a map of 8 in-progress or completed Greenways that will become part of the ECG.  Here is a map of the new Bronx River Greenway trails
See the new ECG and NYC Parks Department Greenway signs  that  have been installed along the Bronx River Greenway.


Committee Information:

Newsletter, April 23rd 2010

Newsletter, March 29th 2010

Newsletter, March 20th 2010

Newsletter, January 2010

Newsletter, December 2009

Newsletter, November 2009

Newsletter, October 2009

Newsletter, September 2009

Newsletter, July 2009

Newsletter, May 2009

 

New Yorker appointed new executive director of ECGA.  Dennis Markatos-Soriano succeeds Karen Votava, the first and only executive director. Read the offical press release here.

Sustainable Energy Transition blogs about greenways, specifically the Hudson River Parkway

Great NYT Article on the proposed Westchester path: County Presses Proposal for Bike Trail

Article: Bronx River trail tapped for Maine-to-Florida bike route

New York Committee

The New York Committee consists of volunteers who dedicated their time and resources to advocate for the creation of local trails in New York. Please help the Committee by volunteering your time, becoming a member or sponsoring a mile of trail.

Recent accomplishments of the New York Committee include:

  • Conducting the first ECG state summit
  • Worked out an agreement with NYC DOT to sign the ECG route from Van Cortlandt Park to the Broadway Bridge
  • Worked out an agreement with NYC Parks to sign the ECG route on park paths in the Bronx
  • Organized a campaign to support Westchester County’s application for federal funding to develop a 4-mile pathway on Westchester Avenue
  • Getting www.greenway.org on the NYC Cycling Map

The New York Committee currently needs volunteers to:

  • Write support letters to their public officials for various projects
  • Represent the ECG at events
  • Help maintain the NY committee website
  • Advocacy Toolkit – ECG advocacy, communications, and graphics guides and materials
Sponsor a Mile of the ECG in New York

    Mile sponsors will have their inscriptions posted on our website and eventually posted in a kiosk along the route in New York. Learn more.

Become a member of the ECGA

Your membership dues support our advocacy work in New York!

Contact Information:

ECGA Mid-Atlantic Trail Liaison
Mike Oliva: mike@greenway.org
(914) 844-0728

State Committee Chair:
Jackson Wandres: jwandres@rbagroup.com
(212) 741-8090 x103

State Committee Secretary:
Maggie Scott Greenfield: maggie.greenfield@parks.nyc.gov
718-430-4635

Acting Editor, NY-ECG Newsletter:
Elizabeth Brody: ebrody8@nyc.rr.com
212-262-6880

Manhattan Coordinator:
Larry Reilly: lreilly370@aol.com
212-866-8573

Staten Island Coordinator:
Robert DeBiase
ridebiase@earthlink.net

Bronx Coordinator
Sheila Somashekhar,
Sustainable South Bronx, ssomashekhar@ssbx.org
646-400-5295. 

Westchester Coordinator:
David Wilson: davidmckaywilson@aol.com

914-207-5600

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