October 17, 2024

(Updated December 2, 2024)

Dear Commissioner Donoghue and President Smith,

We are a group of students, parents, teachers, administrators, and educational support staff who regularly ride bicycles and other wheeled micromobility devices to school through Central Park, or we support our friends, neighbors, colleagues, and classmates who do.

With few direct routes and prohibitions of wheeled devices on 99% of paths controlled by the Conservancy and Parks Department, cycling through the park is a challenging prospect that leaves us unsupported, in both policy and practice. For the sake of community, childhood well-being, and the climate, this needs to change.  

We call on the NYC Parks Department and the Central Park Conservancy to formally acknowledge the need for numerous, convenient, and legal paths for wheeled devices crossing Central Park and to begin immediately making such paths available to children and families who rely on the vital infrastructure of Central Park for a safe, practical, and healthy way to get to school.

The Central Park Drives are some of the only truly family- and kid-friendly places to ride a bicycle in Manhattan. Wide and largely car-free, there is ample room for younger riders to maneuver, sometimes unsteadily, and for social cycling—riding casually, parent and child, side by side. While the Drives offer a safe and supportive environment for recreational and sport cycling, they fail at a key need for those of us cycling for transportation: providing convenient access across the park.

Of the handful of east-west routes, only one of those—Terrace Drive at 72nd Street—fully crosses the park. The others simply connect the East and West Drives and require lengthy, circuitous routes when a straight line is more practical and intuitive, especially for kids on still-developing legs. 

In fact, only 0.83% of the 58 miles of paths in Central Park are legally accessible to people using wheeled devices. Add in the Drives, which fall under DOT jurisdiction, and just 10% of all paved surfaces are available for us to ride, and in almost all cases, fail to get us where we need to go.

This leaves us with no truly good options:

• Dismount and walk for a significant portion of our commute, pushing a device meant to make that journey easier and faster. 

• Ride on the DOT-controlled transverses or park-adjacent streets, which lack suitably safe infrastructure and pose risks that most families are, rightfully, unwilling to take.

• Take the most direct route, by riding respectfully and sharing space on Conservancy-controlled park paths, which invites hostility and scolding (and often intimidation and aggression) from fellow park users.

• Choose not to ride and find another way to get to school.

For most of us, riding a bike to school is a transformative experience for adults and children alike. And the benefits go well beyond any one individual. Here are just a few of the reasons the Conservancy and NYC Parks should be actively encouraging and supporting children getting to school by bike: 

Climate. The stewards of Central Park are in a position to lead by recognizing the park plays a vital role in supporting and normalizing more sustainable modes of transportation. 

Health. Children who get physical activity early in the day are more focused and ready to learn, in addition to the myriad other benefits of active transportation. 

Independence. Affording kids the opportunity to get to school on their own power fosters a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence that helps head off mental health issues as they age.

Joy. Riding a bike is fun! And it connects children to their community in a mutually supportive way.

For these reasons and more, the Conservancy and NYC Parks should proudly support families who ride bicycles and other wheeled micromobility devices to school. You can do this by:

• Immediately designating several paths as pedestrian priority shared with wheeled devices. Done thoughtfully, by inviting a culture of care through lane markings and signage, this would increase predictability and safety for everyone. 

• Over the longer term, developing several micromobility priority paths based on strategic climate and sustainability goals and robust data collection about the needs of park users. 

• Acknowledging the role of Central Park’s 843 acres as vital infrastructure in the fabric of the surrounding neighborhoods, which includes supporting sustainable ways to get to and through the park.

• Prioritizing the comfort and safety of all park users without neglecting entire user groups.

Biking to school offers a consistent and predictable commute time, exercise and fresh air, self-esteem and confidence, and a joyful connection to the community. 

You are in a unique position to support children and families by giving our kids the gift of fresh air, exercise, and independence. Help them ride their bikes to school.

Signed by:

Deborah Kerzhner – Park East Day School – Parent

Rachel Hodges – Neighborhood ally

Kevin Fagan – Sprouts Daycare, Parent

Phil Levin – Neighborhood ally

Brian Hoberman – Neighborhood ally

Mara Tucker – P.S. 125 – Parent

Todd Lee-Millstein – The Dalton School – Alumni

Deb McCleary – Nightingale Bamford, Columbia Prep – Neighborhood ally

Brad W Taylor – P.S. 333 Manhattan School for Children – Parent, Neighborhood ally

Julia D Day – P.S. 87 – Parent

Laura Sachs – Neighborhood ally

Katharine Rice – Neighborhood ally

Julie Margolies – Studio School – Parent

Kate Brockwehl – P.S. 87

Jesse Pringle – Neighborhood ally

Lisa Lawrence – Manhattan County School – Parent

Erik Marzolf – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Colin Macdonald – Neighborhood ally

Ira Gershenhorn – P.S. 166, M.S. 54, Laguardia H.S. – Neighborhood ally

Kevin Guzman – P.S. 217 – Parent

David Warren – Neighborhood ally

Regina Koehler – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Rachel Grosso – P.S. 166, Neighborhood ally

Katie Hartke Quinn – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Carl Mahaney – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Claire Cox – Rudolf Steiner School, City-As-School – Parent, Teacher

Julian Mahaney – Rudolf Steiner School – Student

Shira Drossos – Rudolf Steiner, Kipp Infinity Charter School – Parent, Teacher

Juan Carlos Cabeza – Ethical Culture, Rudolf Steiner, West Side Montessori – Parent

Rich Resnick – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Oscar Solarte – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Whitney Burke – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Kanza El Hamel – Neighborhood ally

Charlie Todd – P.S. 212 – Parent

Peter Chowla – East Side Middle School – Parent

Trevor Sheade – P.S. 6 – Neighborhood ally

Shairi Turner – Neighborhood ally

Rachael Kaighin-Shields – Brooklyn Prospect – Parent

Emily Stutts – Bergen Bike Bus – Parent, Teacher

Caroline Worthington – Park East High School – Teacher

Milena Kellner – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Lisa Orman – Metropolitan Montessori School, Avenues The World School – Parent

Grant Aumell – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Naomi Sladkus – Metropolitan Montessori School, Avenues The World School – Alumni

Chelsie Nectow – Metropolitan Montessori – Teacher (retired)

Sara Lind – M.S. 54 Booker T. Washington Middle School – Parent

June Gonzales – P.S. 87 – Parent

Anna Cantor – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Julie Kowitz Margolies – Studio School – Parent

Ken Coughlin – Neighborhood ally

Sharon Schuur – The Brearley School – Parent

Kate Elliott – The Brearley School – Parent

Shawn Fields – The Brearley School – Parent

Angelina Ren – The Brearley School –Student

Rebecca Carter – The Brearley School – Parent

Dan Beale – The Brearley School – Parent

Sabrina Hsueh – Hunter College Elementary School, The Brearley School – Parent

Susan DeWolf – The Brearley School, Trinity – Parent, Alumni

Jonathan Steinman – Trinity – Parent

Laura Kirk – The Brearley School, Buckley – Parent

Grace Schuur – The Brearley School, Metropolitan Montessori School – Alumni

Sarah Bramwell – The Brearley School – Former parent

Aanika Veedon – The Brearley School – Student 

Alex Teplitz – The Brearley School – Alumni

Angelica Falloon – The Brearley School – Parent

Pamela Ehrenkranz – The Brearley School – Parent

Danielle Lewis – The UN Int’l School, Brearley, Professional Children's School – Teacher, Alumni

Justine Lee – Collegiate, Brearley – Student, Parent

Elizabeth Kurnetz – P.S. 6 – Neighborhood ally

Joohee Meister – Brearley and Collegiate – Parent

Nicholas Lee – Collegiate School – Student

Alexander Dumitriu – Brearley – Parent

Julia Pershan – Trinity School, Brearley School – Parent, Alumni

Shayna Podhoretz – The Brearley School – Alumni

Lana Tamaro – Brearley – Parent

Alex Garbuio – Collegiate, Marymount – Parent

Vijay Brihmadesam – Brearley, Horace Mann – Parent

Jeff Novich – P.S. 180, Columbia Secondary School –Parent

Kimberly Kahn – The Brearley School – Parent, Alumni

Jennifer Chu – The Brearley School – Parent

Alison Smith  – The Brearley School – Alumni

Mark Gorton – P.S. 87, Bank Street School for Children, Ethical Culture Fieldston – Parent

Kasandra Stark – The Brearley School, Special Music School – Parent, Teacher

Alejandro Navarro – LREI – Teacher

Kate Bullock – Brearley – Administrator

Emily Kirsch – The Brearley School – Parent, Alumni

Karina Otoya-Knapp – St. Luke’s School – Administrator

Joanna Delson  – The Brearley School – Alumni

Christina Burns – P.S. 151 Yorkville Community School,  St Ignatius, St Joseph’s – Parent

Geoff Gregoire – Yorkville Community,  St Ignatius, St Joseph’s – Parent

Charles de Segundo – The Brearley School – Parent

Addie Leavitt – M.S. 54 Booker T. Washington Middle School – Student

Aneeta Chowdhury – MS 54 Booker T. Washington Middle School – Student

Subrata Chowdhury, PhD – MS 54 Booker T. Washington Middle School – Student

Howard Yaruss – Neighborhood ally

Patrick Weir – The Parkside School – Parent

Suzannah Weir – The Parkside School – Parent

Jennifer Abadi –  M.S. 54 Booker T. Washington Middle School, MCSM High School – Parent

Timothy Niemann – Hostos-Lincoln Academy, Central Park East II – Teacher, Former parent

Ismael – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Carolyn Kelly – P.S. 180, Columbia Secondary School – Parent

Brian Palmer – The Brearley School – Parent

Irina Tsoneva – The Brearley School – Parent

Olivia Peterson – Beit Rabban Day School – Teacher

Ewa Brown – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Bianca Pryor – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Smita Baliga – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Sproule Love – Ethical Culture Fieldston – Parent

Jenny Guevara – Manhattan Country School – Student

Michelle Montgomery – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Charlie Maciejewski – M 348, Central Park East 1 Elementary – Parent, Teacher

Elizabeth Levy – Parent

Andrew Hawkins – Parent

Anna Genser – Parent, Neighborhood ally

Corrine Kohut – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Casey Law – Parent

Christopher Guajardo – Manhattan Country School – Parent, Teacher 

Carole Maisonneuve – P.S. 84, Manhattan Country School – Parent (MCS Bike Bus organizer)

Douglas Reich – P.S. 9, Columbia Grammar and Prep – Alumni

Marquis Bell – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Eliza Lehner – The Brearley School – Alumni

Valerie – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Jay Rosen – Parent

Jully Hong – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Jermaine Lloyd – Manhattan Country School – Parent 

Scott Keddy – Parent 

Ashton – Researcher

Anna Minsky – SAJ Makom (Hebrew School), SEED Harlem, CUNY J School – Parent, Librarian

Anna McKelvey –  Dalton – Parent

Elizabeth Clarke – Neighborhood ally

Elenna Dunham – LaGuardia, Ethical Culture Fieldston School – Parent

Michael Siegel – Neighborhood ally

Erica Vogel – Neighborhood ally

Ben Dubin – Manhattan Country School – Parent 

Lauren Macioce – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Heather Mattie Kaiser & Sage Kaiser – PS 87 – Parent, Student

Michel van der Kloor – Bank Street – Parent

Kevin Simek – St. Ignatius Loyola – Neighborhood ally 

Laura Lewis – Manhattan Country School and LaGuardia – Parent

Vanessa Arce – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Patricia Satterstrom – Manhattan Country School – Alumni, Parent

Anne Detjen – Basis Independent Manhattan – Parent

Maida Galvez – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Jayne Jordan-Levy – Manhattan Country School, The Calhoun School – Parent 

Hindy Schachter – Columbia – Neighborhood ally

Thomas Gorman Reilly – Neighborhood ally

Carmine Branagan – Manhattan Country School – Administrator

Inie Park – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Solomon – NEST+m – Student

Jessica Cho – Buckley – Alumni

Daniela Markowicz – Manhattan Country School – Parent

Jeankarlos Cruz – Special Music School – Parent

Maiya Jackson – Manhattan Country School – Administrator

Preeti Parikh – Collegiate – Parent

Jennifer Most – Dwight – Neighborhood ally

Ryan Devlin – Neighborhood ally

Livia Nguyen – Collegiate School – Parent

Jinny Prais – The Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Alexandria – Steiner – Parent

Edward Davidson – Rudolf Steiner – Parent

Stanislav Zhelev – Rudolf Steiner – Parent

Roxiny Nicholson – Rudolf Steiner – Parent

Josefina Rivera-Zhelev – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Christina Lonsdale – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent

Aaron Butler – P.S. 87, Bloomingdale School of Music, The School at Columbia, the Weekday School at Riverside Church, Lucy Moses School – Parent, Teacher

Hayden Brockett – Booker T Washington – Parent

Jehiah Czebotar – Wagner – Parent

Meg Reitz – Neighborhood ally

Caleb Pollack – Hunter College High School – Parent

Adam Taylor – PS 087 – Neighborhood ally 

Samuel Richardson – PS 125 – Parent

Jerald Tenenbaum – Rudolf Steiner – Parent

Antonio Augusto Ferreira Carneiro – PS 290 – Parent

Tad Low – Dalton, Spence – Parent

Talya Schwartz Naor – Parent, Neighborhood ally 

Michael Sutherland – Neighborhood ally

Eric Parker – Neighborhood ally

Rob Carlson – Rudolf Steiner – Parent

Joaquin E. Boldrini Lopez – Rudolf Steiner – Parent

Tom McEvoy – Prep for Prep – Support staff

James Klayern – Neighborhood ally

David VassarManhattan School for ChildrenNone—I'm a neighborhood ally, 

Stuart Aaronson – CSSW – Teacher, Alumni

Richard Fine – Brandeis – Neighborhood ally

Kenny Moll – Fordham University – Student

Khyber Sen – Columbia University – Alumni

Dana Minaya – Birch Wathen Lenox – Neighborhood ally

Isabel S – Spence – Alumni

Chelsea Reichert – York Prep – Athletic coach

Bernardo – Manhattan Children’s Center – Parent

Maggie Grise – Brearley – Parent

Todd Ruffins – Morningside Immersion PlayCare – Support staff

Gabe Suleiman– Park East Day School – Parent

Eric Koch – PS 87 – Parent

Hannah Saunders – Rudolf Steiner School – Parent, Teacher

Kate Itzkowitz – PS 125 – Parent

Aaron Glazer – Anderson PS334 – Parent

Emma Larson – Purple Circle – Parent

Matt Choi – CUNY Hunter – Alumni, Neighborhood ally

George Beane – Neighborhood ally

Julien Tizorin –  Lycée Français de New York – Parent

Etienne Ardant –  Lycée Français de New York – Parent

Simon Letort – Ethical Culture Fieldston School – Parent

Astrea Ravenstar – Rudolf Steiner School – Administrator

Gabriela Cordo – Rudolf Steiner School – Administrator

Greg Karnilaw – PS 9 – Neighborhood ally

Roan Karnilaw-Maurice – PS 9, Bronx High School of Science – Student, Alumni

Tara Maurice – PS 9 – Parent, Alumni

Piper Karnilaw-Maurice – WESS, Hunter College – Student, Alumni

Peter Frishauf – LaGuardia Arts High School – Alumni

Lauren Phillips – Bedrock Preschool – Parent

Anziz EL HADJ – Lycée Français de New York – Parent

Rebecca Capua – PS 261 – Parent

Erica DePiero – PS87 – Parent

Kevin Chiu – Dwight – Parent

Solomon Blecher – NEST+m – Student

Christine Trotter – P.S. 199 – Neighborhood ally

Jonah Lowenstein – Neighborhood ally