Manhattan’s 31-mile waterfront bike loop is whole again as Battery path returns
Riders can circle Manhattan's southern tip without a detour again. The rebuilt path is the final element of a $221 million effort to shield South Battery Park City from storms.
Cyclists can once again pedal around the lower tip of Manhattan without a detour. The Battery Bikeway in South Battery Park City, rebuilt and unveiled last week, is the last element to be finished in the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project, a $221 million program meant to shield the neighborhood’s waterfront from severe storms and higher seas.
Where the Battery Bikeway runs
On the west end, the path picks up where the Hudson River Greenway leaves off, and on the east it hands riders over to the East River Esplanade. Along the way it goes by Pier A Plaza and the Jewish heritage museum at the water’s edge before tracing the Battery’s northern boundary, with New York Harbor in view.
Closing this gap means Manhattan’s 31-mile waterfront loop for bikes is continuous again. Riders had been rerouted for years. The Wagner Park stretch was shut starting in November 2022, and the section through the Battery followed in October 2023.
How the South Battery Park City flood project works
Right beside the bikeway sits Wagner Park, which came back in July 2025 after two years of reconstruction. Crews lifted much of the 3.5-acre park by 10 feet and hid a floodwall under its central lawn to help keep storm surge out.
Other pieces of the work include a cistern that stores stormwater, a better storm drainage system, stronger street-side security along Battery Place, and fresh landscaping and plaza features.
According to Gov. Kathy Hochul, the finished project “delivers critical flood protection while creating a more vibrant public space.” The Battery Conservancy’s head, Paula Recart, said the park’s contours are shifting to meet storm surge and rising seas without losing the beauty and character of the space.
The effort belongs to a larger program, Lower Manhattan Coastal Resilience, aimed at keeping future floods out of the area. In May 2024, city officials started work on Battery Coastal Resiliency, a separate project budgeted at $200 million. Construction on the Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resilience project got underway in fall 2022. East Side Coastal Resiliency, which carries a $1.45 billion price tag, opened its first two public areas in 2022 and 2023.
Quick answers
Where does the Battery Bikeway run?
It starts where the Hudson River Greenway ends on the West Side and carries riders east to the East River Esplanade, going by Pier A Plaza and the Museum of Jewish Heritage and along the Battery's northern edge.
How long was the Battery Bikeway closed?
The Wagner Park stretch was shut from November 2022, and the section through the Battery from October 2023.
