Let's start with some history. The area along the western waterfront was first a landfill. That is why it's so flat. LANDFILL! Dig down a couple of feet and you're going to start digging up trash from a century or two ago.
After that it was and still is in many places, but getting rarer, waterfront (docks). Meat processing, industrial complexes and warehouses adorned the area then. Only very recently has much of it become recreational areas. The trees being recent installments are small. Have you ever heard the phrase: " By the time the tree is big and wide, the planter has died? Give it a couple of hundred years, and those trees will give plenty of shade if they're still around. Go north up the Greenway, and you'll see areas that have long been used for recreation with plenty of flora & fauna.
Basically, you aren't seeing any cute little foxes disemboweling squirrels and chihuahuas in the area like you do in Central Park because the area hasn't had TIME to grow and develop.
"I thought that I saw the first robin of spring the other day but I was mistaken. It was only a pigeon with a chest wound" - paraphrase from a David Letterman monologue.
Welcome to the big city. You 're in the wrong place if you're looking for interesting wildlife. Go to one of the best zoological conservatories in the country, the Bronx Zoo if you're interested in cute little animals scurrying about.
Even though you might not find those, you will find plenty of interesting things IF YOU LOOK. The road might be the same, but the scenery changes daily. The boats at the boat basin. New Jersey shoreline. The palisades if you venture far enough North. (These were so beautiful to the Astors that they bought the area that is now Palisades Interstate Park to save them from quarrying.) Fort Tryon Park. The guys playing ball under the West side Highway. The ladies (and gentlemen if that's your preference) sunning themselves. The families enjoying themselves and having cookouts. I could go on for much longer too.
I haven't been down that way in a while, but when I did venture down that way frequently, I almost always enjoyed my rides and the scenery. It might not be very shady, but it's an interesting ride if you're willing to look. If I were you, and disliked the heat of noon, go mornings or evenings. Noon to 3pm are the hottest parts of the day anyway.
The more you post the more you are sounding like a troll. Go out and open your mind and eyes and let life happen. It might not be what you wanted, but it won't be dull.