Bike Tour and Public Actions

The WATERWAYS bike tour along the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, with stops for viewing actions along the greenway and culminating in a water tasting.

Sunday, October 4th, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm:  Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway
Meeting point: 11:30 am at the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative´s booth at Atlantic Antic, Brooklyn

In association with the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative: http://www.brooklyngreenway.org/

Bike tour and public actions, as described by Klara Elenius:

On Sunday, October 4th, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm, we did a bike ride in Brooklyn with actions along the way.  We met at the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s booth at Atlantic Antic, the Brooklyn fall festival in Brooklyn Heights.  From there we biked north, through Dumbo, Williamsburg and Greenpoint, to our end stop at Newtown Creek – one of the most polluted waterways in NYC. 15 people showed up on this beautiful sunny Sunday and several more joined us spontaneously along the way. The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is designed as bike and walking paths separated from the traffic and will run as close to the water as possible.  The project is not completed yet in the part of Brooklyn where we biked, but it is taking shape and you can see the progression of bike paths along the way, moving from a painted line to independent bike lanes.  Surrounded by old industrial buildings and fences, there are still not a lot of possibilities to enjoy the actual waterfront in this area, but there are a few openings that permitted us to go all the way to the water, and with the Greenway Initiative’s admirable effort, these openings will expand in the near future.

We made three stops for public actions in parks situated along the East River. This journey was designed as a “best of” collection of our previous actions, showing small pieces from each brought together in a new frame.  At the first stop on the bike ride, you could experience dancers on the shore, set to music heard within headphones, and you could have a closer look at the park, the city and the dancers through binoculars.  At the second stop, we had a percussionist playing on dry ice with different metal objects.  These vibrating sounds enclosed the visual experience of the vapour of the dry ice and the melting of mini glaciers placed in the same area.  At our last stop at Newtown Creek, dancers guided the audience into the park through long concrete aisles, where live water music was performed. The pathway and bike tour culminated in a water tasting, where people could compare sips of tap water, spring water and salt water.

Thanks to the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative for all their help in organizing this bike ride!