Beginning Monday, Sept. 8, the entire northern stretch of East River Park, from Houston Street north, will close as crews working on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) continue clearing the land.
Meanwhile, the Corlears Hook Pedestrian Bridge will reopen on Thursday, Sept. 5, reconnecting the Lower East Side to the waterfront via a new overpass. The day will also bring back the flagpole area at Corlears Hook Park, plus a batch of long-awaited East River Park Phase 1 upgrades: six more tennis courts, a new amphitheater, esplanade and seating areas, and direct access to Pier 42 and the Corlears Hook Ferry Terminal.
The closure means that the three East Village access points to the Park — from Houston, Sixth and 10th streets — will shutter, and all park access, including the track and field area and esplande off of the Sixth Street Overpass, will no longer be available to residents for the duration of the billion-dollar stormproofing, expected to be complete by the end of 2026.
The 10th Street overpass and access closed on July 13.
The city spent $2.8 million to upgrade the running track off of Sixth Street during a year-long renovation in 2017-18.
This map shows the areas that will be open and closed as of Sept. 8...
The city has stated that it will maintain public access to at least 42% of the park throughout construction.
The "phased work operations" in East River Park commenced in November 2021, in Project Area 1, located between Montgomery Street and 15th Street. Workers have been burying the park under fill and cutting down hundreds of trees as part of the billion-dollar-plus ESCR. They are elevating the land 8 to 10 feet above sea level to protect the area from future storm surges.
9 comments:
I guess Carlina must have accidentally left a couple of trees standing
Orbiters! We will rise again!
I'am still in mourning for the loss of those beautiful trees near the Corlears section, which provided ample shade on sweltering afternoons not to mention refuge for wildlife. This entire project is a waste of resources and energy.
Such a waste typical nyc City still looks third world in many sections
Before the REBNY trolls make their appearance on this thread (especially with the lie how a major % of trees were lost-almost none were lost), a couple of years ago the East River Park Action org summed up the history of this CF:
"A little history–There were better plans that would have preserved our park and given us flood protection. After Hurricane Sandy raged through New York in 2012, Lower East Side/East Village residents and organizations worked for four years with officials to plan flood control. Flood walls and berms (long hills) would be built along the FDR Drive for storm surge protection. The park itself could be flooded during a hurricane. It would help absorb the overflowing waters and quickly recover (as it did during Sandy). It would cost about $770 million. The plan was not perfect–and the city kept revising it until it became a bloated mess. However, there were the bones of excellent, attractive, community-responsive flood control plans. These trees survived Hurricane Sandy. They did not survive the city's plan for "resiliency." These trees survived Hurricane Sandy. They did not survive the city’s plan for “resiliency.” By late 2018, the city suddenly decided the whole park should be erased to build a giant levee with a new park on top. They based their decision on a report they later insisted did not exist. Our Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request and appeals shook the report loose, but it was heavily redacted. The city grudgingly unredacted part of it, revealing many alternatives to the current plan in the Value Engineering Study. Now, they are carrying out the most destructive, least-community-friendly option: they closed nearly 60 percent of the park in early December 2021 and began demolishing it. They have reopened a big synthetic turf ballfield so far. Soon, they will close the rest of the park for demolition and levee building. It is scheduled to take five years (but when has NYC ever done anything on schedule?). Costs are exceeding the original $1.45 billion budget."
https://eastriverparkaction.org/
The amphitheater will get its covering at a later date.
Track people: where are you planning to do your workouts when it closes?
I like to do occasional speed workouts and for this I always use the track.
I used to live on e 12th street and have moved further south. My favorite thing in the world was to run from the 10th st entrance all on the east river all the way down to battery park. It's a shame how that has now been impossible for years and will be for another year and half.
What a shame for them to cut down the last of the great tall trees in the north section of the park. I have been to the finished section of the park down by Delancey Street and the trees they planted will take decades to grow as tall as the ones they cut down.
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