New York’s population exploded in the nineteenth century – from 33,000 people in 1790 to 3,400,000 by 1900. Beginning around 1800, reservoirs were built in the lower Manhattan countryside to quench the growing city’s thirst. As the city continued to grow, more and much larger reservoirs were built in the countryside – now called midtown and Central Park – to satisfy the city’s insatiable need for water. The City of Brooklyn also built reservoirs to serve its own growing population. This ride will look at some of those early reservoir sites.

We’ll start at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, then visit Manhattan sites of the first reservoirs and a natural water source around the City Hall area, a fire suppression reservoir in Greenwich Village, the original Croton Reservoir at what is now the New York Public Library and Bryant Park, and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park. We’ll have lunch in Long Island City and visit the Ridgewood Reservoir on the Brooklyn/Queens border. Finally, we’ll stop at the former Mt. Prospect Reservoir – now Mt. Prospect Park – squeezed between the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Brooklyn Public Library. In a sense, this ride will be a prequel to other 5BBC rides (wholeheartedly recommended) to Westchester County’s New Croton and Kensico reservoirs, which were built later at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

Ride with GPS link: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41298187. The cue sheet will be ready in the near future.

This will be a moderate ride and we will be taking a few minutes to discuss the reservoirs at several locations. Please be sure your bike is in good mechanical order, and bring your helmet, spare tube, hydration, and money for lunch.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: YOU MUST HAVE AND WEAR A MASK WHEN NECESSARY ON ALL 5BBC RIDES AS INDICATED BY THE RIDE LEADER. THIS RIDE HAS THE POSSIBILITY OF SPENDING SOME PERIOD OF TIME INDOORS. IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE AND JOIN ANY INDOOR ACTIVITY, YOU MUST BE MASKED, VACCINATED AND BRING PROOF OF VACCINATION. ADDITIONALLY, THE 5BBC MAKES NO REPRESENTATION AS TO THE VACCINATION STATUS OF ANYONE ON THE RIDE OR ENGAGED IN ANY ACTIVITY, INDOOR OR OUT. THE RISK INVOLVED IN ANY ACTIVITY ON THE RIDE IS ASSUMED BY EACH INDIVIDUAL RIDER.