Roosevelt Island Bridge Loses 'Cheese Grater' Bike Lane; Pols Cheer

ROOSEVELT ISLAND, NY — City officials took a smooth bike ride across the Roosevelt Island bridge on Friday to celebrate the demise of its bumpy metal surface, which has been covered over following years of demands from cycling advocates.

For years, cyclists had blasted the bridge's "cheese grater"-like metal surface, which felt unpleasant in the best of times and outright dangerous when it grew slippery from rain.

That changed starting in October, when the Department of Transportation began laying down more than 300 bright yellow fiber polymer panels across both of the bridge's bike lanes. Now complete, the revamped lanes were christened on Friday by City Council members Julie Menin and Julie Won, who represent the bridge's Roosevelt Island and Queens sides, respectively.

"It's an enormous win for Roosevelt Island and for the city as a whole," said Menin, who had pushed for a speedy installation of the surfacing since she took office in January.

The weather-resistant panels are lightweight and flexible — a necessity for this particular bridge, which raises vertically to accommodate tall ships.

Won, who noted that Queens and Roosevelt Island could soon get to know each other better due to the state's redistricting process, said the bridge serves as "a connective tissue" between the two land masses.

"During the pandemic, we saw how important it is to have access to green space, and Roosevelt Island is beautiful, with so much green space," Won said.

Ed Pincar, DOT's Manhattan borough commissioner, also joined in Friday's ride. If the panels hold up under the elements for a full year, the city could consider testing them out on other bridges with similar needs around the city.

It cost the city under $100,000 to purchase the panels from England, plus more labor costs for DOT to install it, Pincar said. (Former Upper East Side Council Member Ben Kallos set aside $150,000 in 2021 to fund a version of this project, but it was misallocated as a capital project and the money ultimately had to come from other sources.)

Others on hand for Friday's celebration included Paul Krikler, a Roosevelt Island resident who has long pushed for improvements to the bike lanes, and Lynne Strong-Shinozaki, who co-chairs Community Board 8's Roosevelt Island Committee.

"This is so much more than what we had thought we could get here," Strong-Shinozaki said. "It'll encourage more people to come bike riding on Roosevelt Island."