East River Greenway

Not much to say here. It’s a nice place to run. Clean walkway with nice fees. It’s well it and almost always has people on if but is rarely too crowded to run on. Keep heading south and you get to run by some nice bridges. Nice views of the city too without having to dodge traffic. Views are best at twilight in my opinion.

There is a lot to recommend this greenway. There are some seriously stunning views of the East River Bridges, plus the UN building and some nice views of Queens and Brooklyn. In many places, it is wide and accommodates runners, bikers, walkers, etc.
The reason I’m giving this three stars (and I’m not hating on this, I’m really not) is that there are a couple of really critical bottleneck points, such as at 15^th St. I know there’s not much they can do, but it’s a problem. Additionally, there are several places you’re running either right beside the FDR Drive or underneath it. There are plenty of spots where you can get some fresh air running right by the river, but the places where only a cement divider separates you from the highway, it’s very fume-​y.
A small nit pick, but sometimes running under the elevated portions of the FDR, your GPS watch or app might lose signal and give you some wacky readings. Plus, it’s pretty narrow for the most part under the elevated highway. The path is also very uneven once you pass the South Street Seaport area.
If you’re running a circuit of lower Manhattan, this is a great place to run, but the West side is in much better shape. Additionally, when you have old legs like me, running on the pavers is a lot harder than running on asphalt.
Again, not hating on this path, but if it were wider in places (which, I understand might not be possible due to geographic considerations) and more asphalt, I’d give it five stars.
It’s a decent place with great views but you’ll get better breathing and better paths on the west side.

Awesome to be on the water. There a tons of bunches but which there wasn’t so much construction! Other than that peaceful on most of the waterway, once you get near the ferry it gets a little loud and tight (due to construction parts are sectioned off). Overall good for relaxing with a book and not feeling like you are in heart of NYC

If you had asked me five years ago, I would have told you that the best runway/​bike path to go for ride was the Hudson River Greenway. However, since I’ve started biking across the 59^th street bridge on an almost daily basis (and taking the East River Ferry back when it’s late), this stretch has become a new favorite for my daily Greenway ride.
For me, it’s the «bridge» that leads me to all other biking routes in NYC/​Jersey, so I’ve learned to appreciate it.
Sure, it’s a lot grittier and in need of an upgrade (by the time you get around Chinatown, you start noticing bumpy pavement/​potholes and the smell of homelessness)… and yes, this is not like the well maintained Westside/​Hudson River GW, however, the views are spectacular. There is even a point along 23^rd to14th street, where there is a curve along the island — which allows you to view the Manhattan skyline while you are riding along the pathway.
At night — after sundown, the view is amazing — with the city lights flickering against the river — but I wouldn’t recommend riding along it by yourself without a partner or bike lights– as there tends to be a lot of people sleeping on the benches and at times, questionable characters smoking weed or drinking in the gazebos and under the FDR.
Either way, for a chill ride with friends, start early in the day (or before noon) around 35^th street and you can ride along the Greenway hassle-​free (until you get to South Street of course). Afterwards, you can choose to head to Governor’s Island for a few hours or go straight through Battery Park with a detour at any of the numerous great shops and eateries in the area (I prefer Shake Shack). Bike on through to the West side on Chambers and you will reach the West Side Highway/​Hudson Greenway. Ride on up and take a break or two. Now when you hit Inwood, you can decide if you want to take the glorious ride along 9W (In New Jersey) by ways of the George Washington bridge, which is an intermediate ride, or head back to the east side. Any choice would be satisfying and chalk full of breathtaking views.

I love running on this greenway by the East River. The ground is mostly flat with little incline and the bricks aren’t uneven so you don’t need to worry about tripping. Between 34^th St. and the Williamsburg Bridge, which is where I usually run my route (back and forth is around 4.25 miles), the view is great and the surrounding areas are clean! It gets a little weird around the Manhattan Bridge and south of there — lots of construction, people fishing, and you’re basically running under the FDR, but otherwise, a very nice pathway for runners, bikers (dedicated lanes), and walkers.

A solid spot for a w-​a-​l-​k on the east side. Certainly grittier than the Hudson River Greenway, as Chris mentioned (somehow there’s only a single review, and it garnered ROTD 2÷11÷14 and has yet to spawn any others).

4.5 Stars (for now)
Since Unilocal has already broken up the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway (NYC Greenway Path) and reviewed the Hudson River portion, I felt it only fair someone should finally recognize the apparent black sheep of that family…
Sure the paths themselves on the East River side aren’t as well maintained, nor in nearly as good shape (be careful biking at night).
Sure it isn’t continuous; it won’t take you from Battery Park, all the way up the eastern shoreline to Inwood.
Sure it’s under construction in many places– But hey, at least it’s under construction.
So yeah, I guess that makes it the 2^nd Avenue Subway line of bike paths– but, it’s a start. Until they can get the full funding, and figure out how to move some United Nations offices, we’re stuck with what we got. I’ve seen projections that say most of the Greenway could be completed by 2015, and others that say it won’t be fully completed until closer to 2020. Until then, take advantage of what we have.
I personally prefer the East River portion of the Greenway, as you get to see much more of NYC (as opposed to NJ, from the Hudson River side). I also prefer it because it’s much less traversed, so you can enjoy that scenery without being overly preoccupied looking out for pedestrians, bladers, runners, unattended children, and so on…
You get a great view of the Statue of Liberty and Verrazano-​Narrows Bridge as you round the bottom of the island and on around passed the Staten Island Ferry (where there’s a Citi bike kiosk) — there is still ongoing construction to this area (due to Sandy), so keep your eyes pealed for detours. From there you can see Brooklyn across the river as you ride north passed the South Street Seaport. Then you get to ride under the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges as you continue uptown. There are dozens of great spots to pull over and take in the beauty of the city along this path; I personally enjoy hanging under the Brooklyn Bridge on one of the benches.
As you’re nearing the Williamsburg bridge, you will be riding adjacent to East River Park (an oft overlooked gem of the NYC parks department) from here, if you want to get off the greenway, you can take the footbridge over the FDR at Delancey st/​Williamsburg Bridge. Otherwise, you can keep riding uptown, where the path narrows into a bottleneck around the Con Ed plant at 15^th st. In another 15 blocks, you’ll pass the Water Club (signs say to walk bike, no one does). From here, it isn’t too much further until the greenway breaks off at 37^th st (another Citi bike kiosk) and you must ride over to the 1^st avenue bike lane if you wish to continue uptown.
At 54^th street you can cut back east, towards the river, until you get to Sutton Place. Take Sutton north to 63^rd street where you can once again connect with the East River Greenway (Bikeway). Then you can continue on the path for another 60 blocks before you once again have to detour back into the city.
I know we all want our Big Apple Pie and eat it too, but until then– let’s be happy with what we’ve got. The East River Greenway is a wonderful, under-​appreciated pathway for us to enjoy. So do just that– enjoy.