Apr. 29, 2025 By Czarinna Andres
Over 200 runners, walkers, and environmental advocates gathered on Saturday, April 27, to celebrate Earth Day with State Senator John Liu during a lively 5K Fun Run along the historic Long Island Motor Parkway, a route that once served as one of the nation’s earliest highways but now thrives as a scenic greenway through Queens.
The Earth Day Fun Run, held in Kissena Corridor and Cunningham parks, was more than just a race; it was a call to action for safer, greener and more connected pedestrian and bike routes across Queens and beyond.
Photo courtesy of the office of Sen. Liu
“This event brought together our communities not just to enjoy nature, but to champion its preservation,” Senator Liu said. “We came together to run, walk, skip, and sprint along the Long Island Motor Parkway, a living piece of history that we hope to extend further to create stronger parkway connections throughout Queens and Long Island.”
Photo courtesy of the office of Sen. Liu
The first 100 participants received free commemorative T-shirts, while others walked away with eco-friendly swag, including tabletop compost bins donated by Queens Botanical Garden and hip bags courtesy of the New York Road Runners. Educational and interactive nature exhibits from the Alley Pond Environmental Center added to the day’s festivities, complete with feathers, animal pelts, and live Madagascar hissing cockroaches that amused and motivated attendees of all ages.
Photo courtesy of the office of Sen. Liu
The run also served to highlight Senator Liu’s legislation, S4484, which proposes a state study on extending the Long Island Motor Parkway Greenway to eventually link with the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway and the statewide Empire State Trail. Supporters say such a project would create a continuous corridor for cyclists, runners, and pedestrians from Eastern Queens through Brooklyn and into upstate New York.
The Long Island Motor Parkway, originally constructed in 1908 by automobile mogul William Kissam Vanderbilt II, was the first roadway built specifically for automobiles and once served as a private toll road for early motorists. Decommissioned in the 1930s, the Parkway has since been repurposed into a linear park path and bike route through various Queens neighborhoods.
Photo courtesy of the office of Sen. Liu
The event was made possible through the support of numerous local organizations, including New York Road Runners, Jamaica Estates Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Korean Road Runners Club, Cup Zero, NYC Parks & Recreation, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Eastern Queens Greenway, Queens Botanical Garden, Alley Pond Environmental Center, the Korean American Association of Queens, and Kissena Synergy.
Photos courtesy of the office of Sen. Liu