March 19, 2010

Dear East Side Elected Official,

The East River Greenway Initiative seeks to create a world class waterfront esplanade and
greenway along the East Side of Manhattan. The current gap that stretches from East 38th Street
to East 60th Street along the East River presents a significant barrier to providing the waterfront
access, open space, healthy lifestyle, and sustainable transportation infrastructure that this
densely populated area of the city so desperately needs. We are building a coalition of residents,
businesses, elected officials, and community organizations that support closing the gap. We
encourage you and all the public stakeholders to work together towards an acceptable solution
before any opportunities are lost. Specifically we ask you to take the following measures:

! Write a public letter of support for the completion of the Greenway;

! Request Federal funding to complete the Greenway in the next Transportation bill or
Stimulus/jobs bill;
! Work with the local task force, which includes Councilmember Dan Garodnick and State
Senator Liz Krueger, as they are working through the various impediments to completing
this project.

A greenway is important to our community for many reasons:

! It will create open space in a highly populated neighborhood that currently fails to meet
City Planning’s open space to density ratio;

! It will contribute to healthy living by providing a place for active recreation such as
walking, jogging, roller-blading, and bicycling;

! It will offer access to the waterfront, an important resource that has been cut off to
residents since the turn of the 20th century. East Side residents–who are currently
deprived of public space–will be able to picnic, fish, learn about the river’s ecology, and
enjoy the view;
 ! It will serve as the backbone of a sustainable transportation network that will help foster
an already growing population of commuter cyclists both North and South of the gap.
The completion of the Hudson River Greenway is directly responsible for spurring the
amazing rise in NYC cycling commuters over the past few years. Completing the East
River Greenway would similarly provide a safe and uninterrupted route for thousands of
people along the East Side of Manhattan.

! It will promote economic development, as demonstrated by the Hudson River Greenway

experience, by enticing residents and businesses to locate near such a desirable urban
amenity.

Please help us to create this much needed green space where people will be able to relax, play,
exercise, and travel safely. Please email or call me directly with any questions:
caroline@transalt.org or (646) 873-6021.

Sincerely,

Caroline Samponaro Michael Auerbach

Transportation Alternatives Upper Green Side

Pasqualina Azzarello Dennis Markatos-Soriano

Recycle-A-Bicycle East Coast Greenway Alliance

cc: Representative Jerrold Nadler, Senator Bill Perkins, Senator Liz Kreuger, Congresswoman
Carolyn B. Maloney, Representative Nydia M. Velazquez,
Senator Thomas K. Duane, Senator Josè M. Serrano, Senator Daniel Squadron,
Assemblymember Jonathan L. Bing, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh,
Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick, Assemblymember Richard M. Gottfried, Assemblymember
Micah Kellner, Assemblymember Adam Clayton Powell IV,
Council Member Daniel R. Garonick, Council Member Jessica Lappin, Council Member Melissa
Mark-Viverito, Council Member Margaret Chin, Council Member Rosie Mendez, Chairman
Edward Rubin
The following is a list of organizations which have signed on to this letter in support:

305 East 40th Street Co-Op Board

Turtle Bay CSA
Straphangers Campaign
Urban Trail Conference
Bike New York
Earth Day New York
Tri-State Transportation Campaign
Citizens Committee for NYC
Regional Plan Association
Project for Public Spaces
New Yorkers for Parks
Environmental Defense Fund
GrowNYC (formerly CENYC)
Neighborhood Open Space Coalition
Go Green Lower East Side
Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance
Brooklyn Greenway Initiative
Times Up!
SolarOne
New York Streets Renaissance
The Weekday Cyclists
Shorewalkers
Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy
Hester Street Collaborative
The Earth School
Hunter College Center for Community Planning & Development
Friends of Luther Gulick Park
Friends of Hudson River Park
Lower East Side Ecology Center
East Village Community Coalition
Turtle Bay Association
Murray Hill Neighborhood Association
Common Ground NYC
5 Borough Bicycle Club
New York Cycle Club
NYC Velo
Larry’s Bicycles Plus
My Bike Heaven
Manhattan Velo
Spokesman Cycles
Conrad’s Bike Shop
Bike Works
Bicycle Habitat
Bike and Roll Rentals
Sid’s Bikes
Bicycles NYC