Circle Line, on Foot

Q. As springtime walking weather approaches, I am reminded that it was once possible to circle Manhattan Island on foot. Is it still possible?

A. Depends on how closely you want to hug the shoreline. A biking and walking path, the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, spans much of the Hudson and East River shorelines.

Nevertheless, there are several missing pieces, according to Wiley Norvell and Caroline Samponaro of the Transportation Alternatives advocacy group. A stretch on the East Side that includes the United Nations and the site of a former Con Edison plant is closed for security reasons.

Along the Harlem River, a waterfront park and greenway is being built, but parking lots for construction trucks bar public access at certain points, Mr. Norvell said in an e-mail message. Public waterfront access is limited or absent in Inwood, where highways cut Inwood Hill Park off from the Hudson.

John Finley Walk, a path in Carl Schurz Park on the Upper East Side, is named for John Huston Finley, a president of City College of New York and an editor of The New York Times who took a walk around Manhattan on each birthday for 30 years.

FYI By MICHAEL POLLAK

NY Times