By Jordan Heller
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — The “missing link” in the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway was officially opened on Thursday, marking the completion of an uninterrupted bike path between Battery Park and Dyckman Street on the west side of Manhattan.
The $15.7 million, half-mile stretch of pathway was built over the water and runs parallel to the Henry Hudson Parkway between West 83rd and West 91st streets. Before the path's construction, bicyclists had to detour through Riverside Park, dodging and weaving between park-goers.
“This is like the joining of the Transcontinental Railways in the 19th century,” said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe after a ribbon cutting ceremony with Council Member Gale Brewer and Assembly Speaker Linda Rosenthal. "The missing link has been added to the greenway!"
Benepe added that for those that grew up in the ’60s and ’70s, when the parks were a disgrace and the waterfront was inaccessible, "you could never have envisioned this day."
Upper West Side native Anthony Bellov, 44, echoed the parks commissioner's sentiments.
“People were afraid to come in here,” said Bellov, during a ceremonial procession up the new riverwalk.
“This is a step in the right direction for continuing to improve what we have here in New York; to be able to come down to the river and enjoy nature. As a kid, this was just unheard of.”
