Building a bridge is no one person job, and neither is getting pedestrian and bike access. Here are some of our partners and local congressman who have similar goals and share our vision of a greener, more accessible New York.
Please contact [email protected] for any partnership inquires.
Transportation Alternatives has led the movement for safe streets and successfully advocated for over 1,000 miles of bike lanes and over 70 public plazas on New York streets. Their North Shore Greenway campaign imagines a pedestrian and cyclist greenway that stretches around Staten island’s North shore, from the Verrazzano to Goethals bridge
Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to the development, establishment and long-term stewardship of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, a vital part of the Harbor Ring route. The 26-mile Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway connects pedestrians and cyclists of all ages and abilities with Brooklyn’s storied and iconic waterfront, parks and open space, commercial and cultural corridors, and burgeoning tech, media, and innovation hubs.
Sunrise Movement NYC is the local chapter of larger youth movement with the mission to stop climate change, and create millions of good jobs in the process. “At Sunrise Movement NYC, we firmly believe that climate action insists on more sustainable, accessible, and equitable transit infrastructure in all of our communities. For the sake of climate justice and our future, the city must expand bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure to the Verrazzano Bridge.”
Bike South Brooklyn was created to give an underrepresented South Brooklyn a voice in the fight for safer, more comfortable streets. Their Bikes on Bridges campaign advocates for legalizing cycling over Marine Parkway, as well as pedestrian and bicycle access over the Verrazzano bridge.
The Waterfront Alliance imagines accessible coastlines for all communities by bringing together a coalition of more than 1,100 organizations to bring change to our region’s waterways. They have recently released a Mayoral Platform that emphasizes public access by connecting greenways along the perimeter of all five boroughs, making it both bike-able and walkable.
REI is a specialty outdoor retailer with a flagship store in SoHo and several stores throughout the Tri-State. As a member-owned co-op, REI actively works with nonprofits across the country to connect people to the outdoors. This includes advocating for pedestrian and bicycle access on the Verrazzano-Narrows bridge that will benefit health, equity, and climate alike. We look forward to working together to see this vision become reality.
The East Coast Greenway is a transformative infrastructure project of regional and national significance. It is an integrated recreation and transportation corridor for safe walking and biking stretching 3,000 miles from Maine to Florida, connecting our nation’s most populated corridor. Currently, 35 percent of it is built. The ECGA is proud to partner with the Harbor Ring, recognizing that a number of trails are designated as spine and complimentary routes in our system.
CityRise is an exciting new campaign from the team at Open Plans (the home of StreetsblogNYC, Streetfilms, and StreetopiaUWS). The CityRise plan harnesses this unique, transitional moment in New York City’s history to push for a city with world-class surface transportation. It empowers advocates and community partners to build on New York’s COVID-19 response successes, with local advocates’ knowledge, while incorporating bolder, more innovative elements into their work. CityRise works with local advocates to create neighborhood-scale plans for streets and other public spaces. These plans include a connected, low-stress bike network; Open Streets for community, business, eating, and entertaining; and dedicated bus lanes.
Bike JC is a citizen-based local advocacy organization with the goal of making Jersey City streets safe and welcoming for bicyclists by helping create bike infrastructure through traffic law enforcement, bicycle lane creation, education, and group rides. Jersey City is an integral part of the harbor ring route, and we’re happy to support their mission to make JC safe and accessible for all.
Get Women Cycling’s mission to elevate and sustain female bicycle ridership and introduce an alternative, and safe means of transportation is one we stand behind. Their #OneRoadManyChoices campaign helps raise awareness of alternative transportation modes and commuter choice. It’s always a good reminder that we need to commute responsibly, slow down, and be aware of our surroundings in order to keep everyone safe.
RETI Center is a climate-focused nonprofit born out of Superstorm Sandy and based in Red Hook, Brooklyn. We share a vision for cities of the future to encourage the use of bicycles and other-carbon-free transportation and recreation, and fully support the idea of Harbor Ring – a path that would allow all New Yorkers to circumnavigate America’s largest and greatest harbor. Bringing people to the water builds enthusiasm and support for restoring it as a natural system and defining feature of our city, a string of islands adorning the East Coast.
PeopleForBikes has a mission to improve riding for everyone by creating a united voice for cyclists advocating its many benefits. They work with local communities, federal, state, and local leaders to improve their bike networks and advance pro-bike laws.
The Friends of Liberty State Park are an all-volunteer advocacy group dedicated to protecting this urban open space park, a recreational, historical and natural treasure from privatization plans. We support public access to this park behind Lady Liberty and support urban public spaces and green infrastructure to connect them. We strongly support the Harbor Ring vision as the pandemic has shown even more clearly that parks and waterfronts are an emotional, mental, physical and spiritual public health resource and that there must be safe connections for bicyclists, runners and walkers for people’s quality of life.
Parks & Trails New York is New York’s leading statewide advocate for parks and trails, dedicated since 1985 to improving our health, economy, and quality of life through the use and enjoyment of green space. PTNY is committed to improving safety and connectivity for cyclists and pedestrians across the state and views establishing a pedestrian and bicycle pathway on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge as integral to this mission.
Leaf Island is focused on the design, testing, and fabrication of modular, scalable and easily replicable green/blue infrastructure products that return ecosystem functions to cityscapes, roads and rooftops by scaling ecology on otherwise all too sterile surfaces to protect and aesthetically enrich inhabitants of cities by promoting local and regional biodiversity. Harbor Ring not only presents a wonderful transportation solution that preserves New York’s character as an accessible big city, but an immense environmental opportunity as well by expanding one of the most ecologically productive zones on earth – wetlands at the water’s edge. Combined, we believe this initiative would pay for itself tenfold over the next two decades.
Local Businesses that support our mission!
RG’s Bicycle Shop – Bayonne, NJ
Different Spokes NY – Williamsburg, NY
New Bo Bo Bicycle – Chinatown, NY
Bay Ridge Bicycles – Bay Ridge, NY
Champion Bicycles and Skateboards UWS, NY
Victor’s Bike Repair – Washington Heights, NY
El Frondoso Bicycle Shop – Union City, NJ
Flo on Wheels – Hoboken, NJ
“Since its opening, New Yorkers on both sides of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge have been fighting to make the bridge accessible to pedestrians and cyclists. Robert Moses’ ambitious but limited design left no room for anything other than cars and trucks. But we cannot be trapped by an outdated and failing transportation model. All roads are shared roads. It is time to create a pedestrian and bike path on one of the bridge’s 13 lanes. The climate crisis, economic uncertainty and the struggles of our mass transit systems demand that the Verrazzano be accessible to all”
– Assembly Member Mathylde Frontus
“The Harbor Ring is an exciting project that brings New York together in a unique way. I’m eager to see a bikeable Verrazzano Bridge, and I look forward to riding my bicycle around the Harbor Ring someday.”
– Council Member Brad Lander
“I am in support of the movement to bring a pedestrian and bike lane on the Verrazzano connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn and really connecting the entire city together in a network so that people can ride safely across the Verrazzano Bridge. We need to make this happen. The community is united on one front. Let’s do it now. Si se puede.”
– Council Member Carlos Menchaca
“I know that the construction and engineering for a bike/pedestrian lane is not going to happen overnight, but I call on the MTA to move forward with planning so that pedestrians and cyclists can cross the Verrazzano Bridge. All who use our roads should have access to this crucial link between Staten Island and Brooklyn.”
– Council Member Debi Rose
“I have always been in support of installing bike and pedestrians pathways on the Verrazzano Bridge. It has always made sense to me to link Brooklyn and Staten Island just like Brooklyn and Manhattan are linked. Why should cars be the only way to get across the bridge? I look forward to seeing this common sense proposal becoming a reality sooner than later.”
– Council Member Justin Brannan
“It is crucial that we fight for connected bike and pedestrian infrastructure for all New Yorkers to enjoy. This open space will be critical in contributing to vibrant economic growth as well as access to outdoor space and exercise for all. I am proud to champion the Harbor Ring Initiative and will continue to be a partner in the efforts to make it a reality.”
– Senator Andrew Gounardes