Bronx Park

Parks Cuts Ribbon On Northern Portion Bronx River Greenway

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Chair of the Bronx River Alliance Joan Bryon, Bronx River Administrator and Bronx River Alliance Executive Director Linda Cox, District Manager of Community Board 12 Carmen Rosa, and eighth graders from the NYC Outward Bound program today cut the ribbon on the $1.5 million reconstructed Muskrat Cove portion of the Bronx River Greenway. The new pathway, located between East 233rd and East 244th Streets in Bronx Park, offers recreational opportunities for walking, jogging, biking, and in-line skating along the northernmost segment of the Bronx River Greenway.

“The Bronx River Greenway gives New Yorkers the unmatched opportunity to walk, jog, bike, or skate along the banks of the Bronx River, one of New York City’s greatest natural resources,” said Commissioner Benepe. “Thanks to $1.5 million in federal and mayoral funding, the newly reconstructed Muskrat Cove portion of the greenway offer cyclists a safe and bucolic nature trail on which to ride all the way up to the Westchester County border.”

With $800,000 in funds allocated by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, and $682,000 allocated by Mayor Bloomberg, the existing half-mile bicycle path in Muskrat Cove was reconstructed to provide safer riding conditions for both adults and children. The reconstruction includes new pavement, on-street signage, guardrails, bicycle racks, planting beds, erosion control elements, and reconstruction of the stone wall. The area is called Muskrat Cove for the native muskrats that are sometimes seen on the river, particularly around dusk.

The Muskrat Cove portion of the Bronx River Greenway project, along with several others in design and construction, will form the Bronx River Greenway, a proposed 23-mile multi-use path that would connect Bronx River communities along the river in Westchester and the Bronx. Eight miles of the proposed Bronx River Greenway is located within New York City, and more than four miles of the greenway already completed. The City portion of the greenway stretches from the Westchester County border to the South Bronx and includes waterfront parks such as the recently completed $1.4 million River Park, the $3.3 million Hunts Point Riverside Park and the $10 million Concrete Plant Park, which is currently under construction.

A greenway is a linear open space, such as a path or trail, which links parks and communities around the City, providing public access to green spaces and the waterfront. Greenways expand recreational opportunities for walking, jogging, biking, and in-line skating. Greenways answer the growing public demand for safe and pleasant ways to travel about the City.

In 1993, the City of New York had a vision to create 350 miles of landscaped bicycle and pedestrian paths that would crisscross the City's five boroughs and enrich the lives of all New Yorkers. Currently Parks has built over 100 miles of the proposed greenway system.