Ben Turner enjoys biking on the Little Bay Park bike path in Bayside. Soon, he may be able to extend his ride to Long Island City, on the other side of Queens. 

The city Department of Transportation is in the process of planning a Queens Waterfront Greenway that would create a continuous 16-mile bike and pedestrian path. 

“I think it’s a great idea to give more people more options to getting around the city,” Turner said.

“It’s good for people’s health, it’s good for the environment, and it’s good for people’s pocketbooks,” he added. “It can save you a lot of money commuting by bicycle.”

The Queens Waterfront Greenway is one of five new greenways the city plans to develop in Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn and the Bronx. In October 2023, the mayor’s office announced it had secured funding for the city’s Greenway Expansion Initiative. 

Forty of the 60 connected miles would include new protected bike lanes. The Harlem River Greenway project in the Bronx is the furthest along in its planning stages, but they haven’t yet broken ground. The others are still being planned. 

“We’re early on in the two-year process to plan for a continuous family-friendly route, along and near the Queens waterfront, that will allow residents to comfortably access their parks and other important destinations by foot or by bike,” Carl Sundstrom, the DOT’s chief of cycling and micromobility, said. 

There are many existing bike and pedestrian paths, and the plan will close the gaps between them. The plan will connect Long Island City’s Gantry Plaza State Park along the East River to Bayside’s Fort Totten Park on the Long Island Sound. 

The reaction from Long Island City residents NY1 spoke with was mixed.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea, because where are the cars gonna go?” Jimmy Rivera, a Long Island City resident, said. 

Jimmy and Maria Rivera have lived in the neighborhood for nearly 60 years, and they feel the city favors cyclists and pedestrians over drivers. 

“I get it. They want us off the road and on a bike, but I’m not riding a bike in the snow,” Maria Rivera said. 

Fenny Lopez, though, who works at a doggy daycare called Pooches in front of Gantry Plaza State Park, says a new greenway will attract customers. 

“I don’t think it’s gonna be a problem for businesses,” Lopez said. “Businesses want people to pass through, because it’s more eyes, more people interested in the area.”

The DOT says the Queens Waterfront Greenway is still in the planning process, and there is no scheduled day for breaking ground. 

The agency expects to schedule a second round of public workshops later this year to continue gathering community input.