Queens cyclists fight for right to use Astoria greenway
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Members of QNS Social Ride hang up signs in protest of signage limiting bicycle use on the public greenway behind Shore Towers in Astoria. Eagle photo by Jacob Kaye
By Jacob Kaye
Around two dozen cyclists clanged on their bells as they rode around a hidden public greenway in Astoria over the weekend. As their ringing reverberated off the water, the riders reclaimed a space they say has been uninviting at best, and stolen from them at worst.
The group of cyclists, known as QNS Social Ride, were calling for the greenway behind Shore Towers Condominium between 9th Street and Shore Boulevard near Astoria Park, to live up to its public promise by having its overseers remove a sign limiting bicycle use and keep its gates open throughout the day.
“For years we’ve fought this and it’s been a constant struggle,” said Eric Harold, the founder of QNS Social Ride. “They like to lock the gates so there is absolutely no access and they put up a sign saying you can’t ride your bike. And yet, it is a greenway.”
The small area along the waterfront, which is publicly owned but privately maintained by Shore Towers, is a city block long stretch of gray concrete outfitted with around 20 benches. The space sits on top of the building’s parking garage and has no greenery, save for an overgrown tree peeking up from the shore of the East River.
Riding a bicycle on the Shore Towers greenway is prohibited, though a group of cyclists, in protest, did it anyway. Eagle photo by Jacob Kaye
Shore Towers’ Certificate of Occupancy – a document issued by the city’s Department of Buildings that outlines a building’s legal use – says the building is required to “provide access to [the] pedestrian and bicycle path to residents and non-residents.” In addition, the space is listed as a greenway on multiple city maps.
The no bicycling sign and the practice of indiscriminately locking the gates violates the building’s occupancy agreement, the cyclists said.
A Shore Towers representative said the issue was being looked into.
At the heart of the cyclists’ complaint is the lack of connected greenway infrastructure along the Queens waterfront, especially when compared to Manhattan and Brooklyn.
If the gates to the Shore Tower greenway are locked, one of the only other options available for a cyclist coming from the south is to travel down several narrow streets riddled with potholes.
“In Queens, it always feels like we get second-rate infrastructure,” said Juan Restrepo, the Queens organizer with Transportation Alternatives. “A lot of the waterfront is built with the idea of preserving parking and forcing you to do little detours or just take a less safe path.”
The greenway, which is overseen by the New York City Department of City Planning, is maintained and funded by Shore Towers and its residents, a fact that homeowners and cyclists are equally upset about.
“[The city] says, ‘It’s your property, you take care of it,’ whenever there’s a problem,” said one resident who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisal from their fellow residents.
The condo owner, who said the gates get locked to keep out late-night partiers, added that while the sign has been up for years, “nobody pays attention to it.”
The north gate to the Shore Tower greenway has a sign prohibiting bike use. It was joined by signs posted by bike activists on Sunday, May 17, 2021. Eagle photo by Jacob Kaye
A spokesperson for the Department of City Planning said the greenway’s access issue will be “looked into,” and that the agency will coordinate with its “sister agencies on the community’s concerns.”
As a result of the successful attempt to keep people off the greenway, the area has been ignored, the cyclists say. On Sunday morning, few people passed through the block.
“It looks like a prison cell,” said Yi-Ling Tan, who has been riding with QNS Social Ride since its inception last July. “Even when the gates are open I’m questioning whether I’m in the right place. But now I know I have a right to go through there.”
The bicycle club, which was founded in response to the pandemic, isn’t normally so political, Harold said. Rolling into its 25th ride this weekend, the club has primarily served as a way for people to get exercise safely outdoors and explore Queens streets.
But the signage and locked gates have long frustrated Harold, who posts about the issue online every once in a while. As the city continues to experience a biking boom – Citi Bike usage hit an all-time high last week with 106,838 rides in a single day – Harold says enough is enough.
“We can’t let this happen,” he said. “This is a public right and we’re going to use it.”
