Protestors hold mock ribbon cutting as Queensboro Bridge project delays continue

Advocates and officials protested the cancellation of a ribbon cutting on the new Queensboro Bridge pedestrian roadway with a ribbon cutting of their own on Saturday. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

Pedestrians and cyclists alike are getting tired of the delays to the plan to open a new pedestrian path on the Queensboro Bridge.

After the city once again failed to meet a self-imposed deadline to open the new pedestrian walkway on the crossing and canceled a planned opening last month, protestors held a fake ribbon cutting of their own over the weekend.

Transportation advocates, locals and elected officials cut the mock ribbon at Honey Locust Park on the Manhattan side of the bridge on Saturday, then marched across the seemingly completed walkway which has yet to be officially opened by the city.

The South Outer Roadway was built to provide more space for pedestrians crossing the bridge, and was scheduled to open before the end of March.

It didn’t, marking the fifth time the city and Department of Transportation has missed a deadline to open the walkway.

In March, the city apparently scheduled a ribbon cutting ceremony, but then canceled it, claiming the mayor had yet to be fully “briefed” on the roadway which has been under development since 2021.

“We were supposed to have our final ribbon cutting on March 10, about a month ago, and less than 24 hours before that ribbon cutting, the rug was pulled right under us,” said City Councilmember Julie Won. “We've had enough.”

Won’s elected colleague Senator Michael Gianaris called it “government ineptitude.”

“We have been here for so many years,” he said. “We could have built an entire new bridge.”

Issues on the bridge have been prevalent for years. Currently, both cyclists and pedestrians share the narrow North Outer Roadway, leading to stressful and often physically dangerous situations.

“Every time I go over [the bridge] I have to brace myself,” said David Morant, an activist with non-profit Transportation Alternatives. “I know that we're trying to use this space that's too small for everybody that needs to use it.”

“When something inevitably happens that's dangerous, it's easy to look for the person walking next to me or the person biking in front of me, and be mad at them, but that's not who we should be mad at,” Morant added. “We should be mad at those that have the power to give us more space and choose not to. Every crash, every injury close call that happens on that path is due to Mayor Adams. He's not keeping his word to give us the space that we deserve.”

Under the delayed plan, the South Outer Roadway would open to pedestrians, leaving the north side for those on two wheels.

Protestors on Saturday rode and marched across the still currently-closed South Outer Roadway but effectively appeared to have been completed.

“What we're doing here today is walking the lane, showing people how delightful this pedestrian path is, how much it's ready for people to walk on,” said Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives.

“This could be open right now, but for some strange reason, the Adams administration has not actually opened it up for pedestrians,” Furnas added, pointing at the already drawn pedestrian symbols on the roadway’s pavement.

City Hall repeated past claims that the opening is not delayed, because the mayor hasn’t signed off on the project yet.

Mayor Eric Adams is currently in the Dominican Republic, with DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, following the collapse of a night club roof that killed over 200 people.

“As Mayor Adams has said, this is a major project that will impact several communities and two boroughs worth of traffic, which is why we must ensure New Yorkers can continue to get to where they need to go efficiently,” said a City Hall spokesperson. “We will share more at the appropriate time.”