14
Bridging Two Boroughs—From Downtown Brooklyn to Downtown Manhattan
This route traverses the East River via its two southernmost bridges and visits the downtown areas of the two boroughs they connect—Manhattan and Brooklyn. You’ll pass Brooklyn’s Fulton Ferry Landing, one of the borough’s most historic spots, where ferries to Manhattan launched in 1642. You’ll then cross the East River via its oldest bridge, cycle down some of Manhattan’s oldest alleés in downtown Manhattan, and return to downtown Brooklyn via the Manhattan Bridge.
Start: The fountain in front of Brooklyn Borough Hall, at Columbus Park
Length: 13.0-mile loop (11.6-mile loop if you bypass Trinity Church and the 9/11 Memorial)
Approximate riding time: 2 hours
Best bike: Hybrid, road, or mountain bike
Terrain and trail surface: The route is paved throughout except for 4 blocks of cobblestones in South Street Seaport area. The Brooklyn Bridge bikeway is partially made of smooth wooden planks, as is the East River Bikeway at the South Street Seaport. The terrain is mostly flat with slight inclines across both bridges. There’s also one steep downhill jaunt from Brooklyn Heights to Fulton Ferry Landing. It then goes gently uphill to Cadman Plaza.
Traffic and hazards: Most of this route leads along on-road bike lanes in downtown Brooklyn or narrowly snaking roads in downtown Manhattan. Although it’s a city route with moderate traffic, cars travel slowly. Stay alert as you exit the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan and head north. You’ll cycle alongside cars exiting the bridge. Along a short optional stretch southward along Broadway and northward along Trinity Place in Manhattan, traffic is heavy. Skip this section if you want to avoid heavy traffic. The route requires city cycling comfort. Keep an eye on parked cars throughout the journey to avoid getting doored.
Things to see: Brooklyn Borough Hall, Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn Heights Promenade, Fulton Ferry Landing, Brooklyn Bridge, Trinity Church, 9/11 Memorial, City Hall Park, South Street Seaport, Stone Street, Manhattan Bridge
Map: New York City Bike Map
Getting there: By public transportation: Take the 2, 3, 4, 5, R, or N subway to the Brooklyn Borough Hall station. Columbus Park is on Court Street at Remsen and Montague Streets. GPS coordinates: GPS N40 41.602’ / W73 59.433’
THE RIDE
Standing majestically at the south end of Columbus Park, Brooklyn Borough Hall is the borough’s oldest public building and has formed the heart of its civic center ever since its completion in 1848. Leave the civic center behind you, heading west through Brooklyn Heights toward the East River. At the end of Montague Street, the neighborhood’s main drag, you can access the famed Brooklyn Heights Promenade. It offers some of the best-known views of Manhattan’s skyline. To explore, dismount and walk your bike on the promenade. (Biking prohibited.) To continue, head north along Pierrepont Place, which leads to a steep descent toward Fulton Ferry Landing, offering water views along the way. At the foot of the hill, dismount your bike to explore the landing (biking prohibited) and check out historic Brooklyn scenes depicted along the pier deck. Then return to Old Fulton Street to continue en route.
Slip under the Brooklyn Bridge along Washington Street to reach Cadman Plaza, an expansive park space lined with civic buildings all the way southward to Borough Hall. Pass the state and federal court buildings along the edge of the park, and the Brooklyn War Memorial, a granite-and-limestone structure with two 24-foot-tall victory figures, at its center. Tillary Street then soon brings you downhill to access the Brooklyn Bridge bikeway. Heed the pedestrian traffic signal to access the bikeway.
As you cross the bridge, keep to the right of the painted line (the left side is for pedestrians) and stay alert for pedestrians who might wander across the divider. Be prepared to stop. Take in the views of the Manhattan Bridge and Midtown Manhattan on one side, downtown Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty on the other. Slow down as you approach the end of the bridge. You’ll veer right to descend from the bridge at the pedestrian crosswalk. Descend with the pedestrian signal to then head north into Manhattan’s civic center along Centre Street, passing Foley Square and numerous colonnaded court buildings.
Having reached the north end of the civic center at White Street, you’ll return southward. This soon brings you to the African Burial Ground memorial off Reade Street. Here, for about 100 years beginning in the 1690s, free and enslaved Africans were buried. Continuing south, you’ll then reach the west side of City Hall Park, where you have two route options. You can continue south to follow the main route past three defining lower Manhattan landmarks—Saint Paul’s Chapel (Manhattan’s oldest public building), Trinity Church, and the 9/11 Memorial. It then returns to this spot via Trinity Place. This route has heavy traffic, though. So, to bypass this traffic, turn left through City Hall Park, yielding to pedestrians and skip ahead in the miles.
Views from the Brooklyn Bridge bikeway, heading toward Manhattan with the Empire State Building in the distance.
Either way, after traversing City Hall Park, you’ll leave Manhattan’s civic center behind for good and enter downtown Manhattan’s mazelike historic streets. In the South Street Seaport area at the end of Fulton Street, cobbled roads are lined with restored nineteenth-century buildings that now house clothing stores, bars, and cafes. Bike toward the waterfront, where you’ll access the wood-planked East River Bikeway to go south. The seaport’s pier deck just ahead, with a pair of restored historic ships moored offshore, is a lovely spot for a waterside break.
To proceed en route, continue south toward the Whitehall Ferry Terminal before heading inland onto Manhattan’s oldest streets at Hanover Square. Take note of Stone Street on your left, which dates back to the mid-seventeenth century and feels as though frozen in time. Old-fashioned street lanterns line the pedestrian-only cobblestone road, framed by historic homes and dozens of cafes and bars with outdoor seating. You’ll snake northward along William Street from here, and soon pass the 1840s-era former Merchant’s Exchange at 55 Wall Street. The diminutive Maiden Lane then returns you to William Street for a last jaunt along narrow Manhattan streets.
Gold Street then brings you to wider roads once more before you’ll retake the waterfront route again, this time heading north into Two Bridges, a neighborhood roughly delineated by the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. Access the Manhattan Bridge from Canal Street, where you’ll use the traffic signal at Forsyth Street to pick up the bridge bikeway. Stick to the right to avoid Manhattan-bound cyclists as you cross the bridge and check out the Williamsburg and Queensboro Bridges in the distance. As you approach the end of the bridge, slow down. The bikeway loops 360 degrees to the left and deposits you on Jay Street. Use the pedestrian signal to cross Jay Street and turn left, heading toward downtown Brooklyn.
When you spot the Marriott hotel on your right and Starbucks on your left, turn left onto Metrotech Commons, a car-free promenade that leads through downtown Brooklyn’s business center. At the end of the commons, you’ll enter downtown Brooklyn’s main commercial drag on Fulton Street. Farther east you can see Brooklyn’s emblematic clock tower. Completed in 1929 as part of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, it now houses luxury condos. Pass the New York Transit Museum along Schermerhorn Street on your left and then return to Brooklyn Borough Hall.
MILES AND DIRECTIONS
0.0 Descend onto Montague Street, heading west from Columbus Park.
0.5To access Brooklyn Heights Promenade, dismount your bike and walk onto the promenade. (Biking prohibited.) To proceed en route, bike north on Pierrepont Place, hugging the edge of the playground up ahead to continue onto Columbia Heights.
1.0Turn left onto Old Fulton Street. Dismount your bike at Fulton Ferry Landing to explore the pier deck. To continue, go uphill (southeast) on Old Fulton Street.
1.2Turn left onto Front Street.
1.4Turn right onto Washington Street.
1.8Turn left onto Tillary Street, using the bikeway along the north side of the road.
1.9At the bottom of Tillary Street, use the traffic signal to cross the motorist exit road to the Brooklyn Bridge and access the bikeway.
3.4Slow down and veer right at the end of the Brooklyn Bridge to descend onto the road at the pedestrian crosswalk. (Use the traffic signal to descend with the pedestrians.) Head north on Centre Street.
3.8Turn left onto White Street, followed by a left onto Lafayette Street.
4.1Turn right onto Reade Street. The African Burial Ground memorial is accessible via a quick right onto Elk Street. The memorial is on your left at Duane Street. Walk your bike back to Reade Street to continue en route.
4.3At City Hall Park, south of Chambers Street, you have two options. Continue straight, following the main route or, to bypass heavy traffic, turn left through City Hall Park, yielding to pedestrians, and skip to mile 5.9 below. Continue south to follow the main route.
5.0Turn right onto Morris Street, followed by a right onto Trinity Place.
5.7Turn right onto Warren Street. After crossing Broadway, enter City Hall Park.
5.9Exit City Hall Park with a right onto Park Row. Then turn left at the first traffic signal to catch Spruce Street.
6.2Turn right onto Gold Street, followed by a left onto Fulton Street. Enter the South Street Seaport area at the end of Fulton Street.
6.5Turn left onto Front Street, followed by a right onto Peck Slip. Cross South Street (underneath FDR Drive) to catch the bikeway next to the water’s edge. Turn right to head south along the bikeway.
7.4When the waterside bikeway hits Whitehall Ferry Terminal, access the bikeway along the south side of Whitehall Street. At the end of Whitehall Street, use the traffic signal to cross to the north side of the street and go east up Water Street.
7.6At Hanover Square/Old Slip, turn left onto Hanover Square. Historic Stone Street leads to your left just ahead. To continue, follow Hanover Square and veer right onto William Street.
7.9Turn right onto Wall Street, followed by a left onto Water Street.
8.1Turn left onto Maiden Lane, followed by a right onto William Street.
8.4Turn right onto Ann Street, followed by a left onto Gold Street, and a right onto Frankfort Street.
8.8Cross Pearl Street and access Dover Street on the other side. At the end of Dover Street, cross South Street at the pedestrian crosswalk to access the bikeway by the water’s edge, turning left to go north.
9.3Turn left onto Pike Slip. Use the separated bikeway along the median.
9.8Turn left onto Canal Street. After crossing Forsyth Street, use the traffic signal to access the Manhattan Bridge bikeway on your left.
11.3Cross Jay Street and turn left to go south on Jay Street, slightly uphill.
11.8At Myrtle Avenue at the Marriott hotel, turn left onto Metrotech Commons (next to Starbucks). Bike down the alleé along the right side of Starbucks.
11.9At the end of the mall at Oratory Place, turn right onto Duffield Street.
12.1Turn right onto Fulton Street, followed by a quick left onto Hoyt Street.
12.3Turn right onto Schermerhorn Street.
12.7Turn right onto Clinton Street.
12.9Turn right onto Remsen Street.
13.0 Arrive at your starting point.
RIDE INFORMATION
Restrooms
Mile 1.6: There’s a comfort station and there are water fountains in Cadman Plaza Park.
Mile 7.3: There are public restrooms and water fountains in the Whitehall Ferry Terminal.