We are calling for New Yorkers to show up on September 11th with our bodies to oppose the city’s destruction of East River Park — a preventable health hazard and an ecological disaster and to demand flood protection that does not strip this environmental justice neighborhood of its greenspace.
We need a truly resilient plan that addresses root causes of climate change instead of prioritizing traffic flow on the FDR. Heat is our city's number one weather-related killer. Trees reduce heat.
After September 11, 2001, the shabby, fenced-off amphitheater in East River Park was rebuilt by the city. Companies all over America contributed materials to repair it. The new amphitheater was dedicated to the children whose parents died when the twin towers collapsed.
Now in total disregard of history, the will of the neighborhood and the more than 100,000 New Yorkers from all boroughs who use the park, the city is planning to demolish East River Park and clear cut 1,000 trees for the East Side Coastal Resiliency plan.
Meanwhile, as previously reported, Comptroller Scott Stringer's office reviewed the $1.2 billion contract from IPC Resiliency Partners.
Stringer subsequently sent the contract back to the Department of Design and Construction (DDC) for more information, including "how the project's lead contractors plan to meet the legal standard that minority/women-owned business enterprises receive 30 percent of the work," as The Indypendent reported.
However, Mayor de Blasio reportedly "overruled" Stringer's office and asked that he register the low bidder's contract for the massive floodproofing project.
Through a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, East River Park Action obtained a copy of Stringer's report. (You can find a PDF of it here.)
According to Jack L. Lester, an attorney for East River Park Action: "The Comptroller's report highlights the deficiencies and inadequacies of the qualifications presented by this private company slated to receive a huge amount of taxpayer money. We want the new Mayor and City Council to investigate and follow up with the questions raised by this disclosure."
To date, Council Speaker Corey Johnson has refused to hold an emergency hearing on the matter and has not provided any comments as to why.
35 comments:
If the city truly cares about flooding, they would stop deflecting and do a better sanitation job.
Those "this is not a trash can" stencils around sewers misses the point.
Trash, carried by rain water to city sewers are causing basement flooding.
I understand that the city has been neglecting regular clearing of sewer drains and do a better job of emptying trash bins regularly.
The city sanitation department needs to up their game.
This entire issue makes me ill. But at this point, nothing can be done sadly. We screamed until we were blue in the face, marched, fought, resisted, yelled, wrote to our congressmen and congresswomen in our districts, attended rallies and council meetings, asked for better, more logical reasons why this was actually needed, and demanded to know where the scientific evidence was to substantiate how it could positively impact the community, lower Manhattan, and the overall environment itself not to mention the financial burden of it. Nothing stuck or worked. Their rationale or lack thereof was and still is pathetic. We were left with more questions then answers. Very exhausting! And our city officials and government failed us epically all in the name of greed and financial gain, perhaps even a professional bolster along the way. We seem to care more than them. How crazy is that? It's futile at this juncture. It's like we are talking to a brick wall. No one is listening and no one cares. The project will no longer be halted much to the dismay of myself and many of my fellow neighbors. It will begin shortly and will disrupt our enjoyment of the park for at least a decade, if not more. Much thanks to DeDorkio, Riveria, Stringer, and Johnson perhaps even Maloney for putting their selfish needs ahead of us as loyal, tax paying citizens of the EV and LES who cherish this beloved piece of land. Out with the old and in with the new, right?
Save the park! Don’t let De Blasio destroy the city more on his way out! There’s no reason to bulldoze the park!
The city has been neglecting regular clearing of sewer drains and sanitation needs to do a better job of emptying overflowing trash bins to prevent flooding in basements.
Thank you for publishing this. EV Grieve is the ONLY place I've seen comprehensive coverage of this extremely important issue. Most people in the city don't even know this is happening, or they are only aware of the need for flood protection and don't see the downside to the current corrupt plan. This needs to be publicized everywhere. Why aren't the big news outlets interested? What is Corey Johnson's problem? Overruling the comptroller's office is a major red flag. I really hope the new mayor can do something but am not counting on it.
Thank you for reporting on this Grieve.
"The new amphitheater was dedicated to the children whose parents died when the twin towers collapsed."
Shame on de Blasio and Carlina for destroying this historic amphitheater dedicated to honor the kids who lost parents during 9/11. And shame on de Blasio and Carlina for destroying 46 biodiverse acres of East River Park. What is happening is criminal. One of the reasons why Stringer rejected the contract is because the consortium of companies (a newly formed joint venture w/no proven experience in undertaking a project of this size & complexity) selected to carry out this non-transparent ecological disaster was not qualified. Shame on de Blasio and Carlina again, for pontificating on the recent storms and flooding but are responsible for destroying our most natural defense against climate change: trees and conservation of natural lands. This sudden switch to the current ESCR was based on a Value Engineering Study the city will not release to the public. Shame on Carlina who is compliant with the lack of transparency for her constituents.
They should just take the federal money, and do what they can with it. The money wouldn't go to waste, there would be no rash decisions caused by the deadlines and everyone would be happy.
All of these comments are right on; the way this plan has unfolded is so undemocratic that it deserves every criticism. I'm glad the issue of the drains has come up, and not just because of the recent "this is not a trash can" stencils. Outside of Manhattan, I have seen many cases where a development company buys a house as an investment property, and immediately paves over the garden so as not to spend one extra cent on property maintenance. City drainage systems were designed for a capacity that took garden areas into account for water absorption, including the berm between the sidewalk and the road. I would say this is absolutely a factor in those horrible basement floods. In our neighborhood, where those big "luxury" apartments replaced tenements on 14th and A, the neighborhood lost some of this additional garden space. When you look at the East River Park from the river, an 8 foot rise in the ground level seems minimally effective compared to the potential rush of water and additional measures that could/should be taken.
I TRULY admire the passion for the protection of our park (my wife and i bicycle there every day)---having said that---i find a lot of the narrative hypocritical and unnecessary---1,000 trees will be cut and probably an equal amount will be replanted---EVERYONE'S LOVE OF THE PARK---i don't think so---the place is a TRASH HEAP---the band stand has been ravaged with a never ending onslaught of graffiti---if we love OUR park so much---PICK UP YOUR DOG POOP AND CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES AFTER YOUR PARTIES !!
I feel completely disillusioned by our "representatives" in what has become the nightmare experience of learning about and protesting the ESCR. I was excited when self-proclaimed "progressives" like Rivera, De Blasio, Johnson, etc. won, thinking that at last this city might make some progress past the colonialist, capitalist, anti-environmental, top-down, Robert Moses-type real-estate and construction-driven policy decisions that have been so consistently destructive to our community (and our health and our air). I thought that these politicians had their constituents' health and well being as their priorities. And that they might at least respond to their constituents' very valid concerns about air quality, traffic pollution, bike and walking access, toxic fill, heat, 5+ years of construction and closing a large park in an underserved area DURING AN ACTIVE PANDEMIC. That at least they might find some real ways to mitigate the impact of this immense loss rather than tiny crumbs of repainted pocket parks and a few more street trees in sad little sidewalk holes.
NOPE!
Now I know what "you can't fight City Hall" really means. I hope each one of the politicians who didn't speak out against ESCR a) lose the next election b) are personally affected by bad air quality and lack of access to nature at some point in their sell-out lives c) lose at least one night's sleep over how badly they betrayed the people who supported them d) have recurrent nightmares of beautiful large trees being cut down while a large highway hums away nonstop alongside, continuing to spew carbon emissions into their windows.
Climate change is here, people, and NYC is NOT going to address it effectively, justly, equitably or well. Our history is land grab, decimation and destruction, and we haven't changed the playbook one bit. Forget wetlands, river access, cherishing mature trees for the marvelous climate change-fighting organisms they are, working *with* nature, or anything that actually makes sense both for the community and the planet. Concrete, glass, steel and astroturf seems to be the only thing these politicians appreciate.
"i find a lot of the narrative hypocritical and unnecessary---1,000 trees will be cut and probably an equal amount will be replanted"
"PICK UP YOUR DOG POOP AND CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES AFTER YOUR PARTIES !!"
This is a classic deflection of the issue at hand which was that this CF of a plan replaced the one that had years of community input. Soon the REBNY/Construction Union trolls will be out in force with their deflections as well on this thread.
Please try to keep up.
This has been in the works for years. Nothing will stop this project. Just acknowledging the harsh reality. I truly hope I am wrong.
To AFBP @ 1:19
Yes, the city will replace 1,000 80 year old, mature trees with baby trees.
Mature trees absorb over 40 tons of carbon dioxide/year as well as wind and flood waters.
They survived hurricanes Sandy, Henri and Ida.
Your passion about the replacement 10 year old baby trees will absorb zero carbon
The air quality for those of us who actually live here will lead to soaring asthma rates and worse health.
Other critters have homes in, around, and under those mature trees, as well as in the shrubs and grasses that fill the gardens. This is so gross.
Anyone who has become “disillusioned” should show up on Saturday and enjoy the park and protest. It’s what we can do to show numbers. Ideally we’ll get enough people out there that the NYPD will want to beat us down.
This is completely ridiculous.
Here's what's important in the context of this issue: people and their homes in the East Village and Lower East Side. That's it. By raising the park, we will make sure that residents and their homes are safe as we experience more and more climate-change-related storms. The trees will grow back. The park - especially when it comes to access - will be far better once it's been raised. And let's not forget: it won't be vulnerable to flooding any more. Remember all the trees felled by Sandy? That won't happen again. End of story.
Of course what is a shame is the that park will be out of commission for a period of time. That's truly unfortunate but there's no alternative. The idea of the magic wall that goes up and down - and the belief that it will work as advertised and be properly maintained over the coming decades - is a complete pipe drain: the city just isn't capable.
Have fun at your tree-in, but you're fighting a ridiculous fight and wasting your time and energy.
What the city engineers should now be asking is if there are storms like Henri and Ida in the future, which did not affect the sea levels much if at all, will negatively impact the area because of this berm. Will the berm work against what they are supposedly trying to accomplish? It's now clear that there is more than one type of storm which can cause floods.
Cutting down 1000 trees; this is how NY thinks a "green" city should operate.
"Here's what's important in the context of this issue: people and their homes in the East Village and Lower East Side. That's it. By raising the park, we will make sure that residents and their homes are safe as we experience more and more climate-change-related storms. The trees will grow back. The park - especially when it comes to access - will be far better once it's been raised. And let's not forget: it won't be vulnerable to flooding any more. Remember all the trees felled by Sandy? That won't happen again. End of story."
"will be far better once it's been raised."
This is absolute junk. As I predicted, here they are. Also, zero response to all the issues bought up by the East River Park Action. One being that company that was contracted was never a legal entity before. More reasons in the link I posted. Also, as evidenced by the work they are currently doing from 23rd street to the Cove section (just north of the Con Ed plant), a joke. BTW, I get their email updates and basically there has been little or no progress. They keep BSing the same progress report over and over again. This whole plan is the usual BdB CF, helped along by the corrupt NYC CC.
https://eastriverparkaction.org/2019/10/01/stop-the-death-sentence-for-east-river-park-11-reasons-why/
To Anonymous September 9, 2021 at 6:01 PM, sorry there IS an alternative plan, the one that was painstakingly developed with the grassroots community over a period of years and APPROVED (to some degree), before being replaced in the dead of night by a highly redacted plan with no official explanation.
To Anonymous Sept 9th 6:01 pm.
You are really clueless.
First place there is an original less intrusive, and much less expensive plan that was agreed upon involving local residents. In addition, after Sandy the water that flooded the park was absorbed by the grassland after a few days. No trees were lost in the park (end of story). And no residents were killed by flooding. As to the destruction of the existing trees it would take 50+ years for new trees to match the natural biodefence against climate change that the existing trees provide.
And as a final note, I would imagine you have the assets to spend some time in the summer in the Hamptons or the Jersey Shore. The East River Park is the only green space that many of the residents of the projects have for a respite from the heat of the summer. This plan would never even be considered on the Upper East Side.
And if you really believe this project would be completed by the city by the lowest bidder for the project in the projected time YOU ARE INDEED CLUELESS.
Anon 6:01pm has it right.
All these people rhapsodizing about the biodiversity and the trees . . . Are we even looking at the same park? This is seriously one of the ugliest parks in Manhattan. Don't even get me started on the bandshell.
Give us the new park already! We are long overdue for the upgrade. Everyone trying to delay and obstruct is just prolonging the inevitable and making it worse.
This reminds me of when I lived next to the Neighborhood School during their remodel, and all the neighbors tried to henpeck the asbestos removal guys with constant noise complaints and 311 calls and it turned a short project into a multi-year ordeal. Shortened construction hours and constant work stoppages.
I just hope that once work begins, all the protesters will coalesce around one message: go faster!
1,000 mature trees clean our air, absorb water, provide shade and they are stunningly beautiful!
There is an alternative flood plan to preserve most of our park, protect everyone's health and our homes - thank you Carol, 11:21p.m.
Thank you EVGRIEVE!
Fast construction?
Trees take decades to grow and bring the clean air we need to breathe
The purpose of de Blasio's plan is a developer-friendly park like Hudson River Park on the West Side. That will be deadly to NYCHA housing. That and the desire to privilege FDR car traffic over our neighborhood are why they rejected the community-developed plan for a wall. De Blasio btw is planning to run for governor and fantasizes that he will unify progressives behind him.
"All these people rhapsodizing about the biodiversity and the trees . . . Are we even looking at the same park? This is seriously one of the ugliest parks in Manhattan. Don't even get me started on the bandshell.
Give us the new park already! We are long overdue for the upgrade. Everyone trying to delay and obstruct is just prolonging the inevitable and making it worse."
Another deflection that always avoids the issues raised by this BdB/CC CF of a plan and avoids any details about the community based plan that was tossed. Again I get the NYC DDC East Side Coastal Resiliency email "progress reports" for the current work that is being done from 23rd Street to the Cove section and they are all BS! Sigh.
REBNY say what?
Hey, you've got to hear both sides! Even if one side misstates and misinforms.
I just don't understand. Build a levy as originally planned. Faster, cheaper, cleaner and more protective of the LES. If there is money left over, use it to refurbish the park and/or pay the Parks Department to keep it up.
@6:01 -
"By raising the park, we will make sure that residents and their homes are safe as we experience more and more climate-change-related storms."
The flooding from Sandy came from north of the park by the Con Ed station where there was a break in the wall. The water then poured down Aves C and B. ERP prevented the river from pouring directly west to the FDR Drive and the buildings on Ave D.
"The trees will grow back."
Sure, in 50-80 years. Will you still be alive?
"The park - especially when it comes to access - will be far better once it's been raised."
Please explain how there will be better access. I have seen no plans proposing additional pedestrian bridges over the FDR.
"And let's not forget: it won't be vulnerable to flooding any more."
You're kidding, right? Ida just dumped a bunch of rain on Queens causing massive flooding, a lot of it because water couldn't drain anywhere. How is inland rainwater supposed to drain out to the river?
"Remember all the trees felled by Sandy?"
No, I do not. Please provide examples.
@12:40am - BDB, is that you?
"All these people rhapsodizing about the biodiversity and the trees . . . Are we even looking at the same park? This is seriously one of the ugliest parks in Manhattan. Don't even get me started on the bandshell."
Obvious troll comment. You know what's ugly? A treeless swath of dirt and construction that will last a decade, if not more.
Why would anyone would be in any favor of eliminating over 1000k trees? It will take so many years for them to grow. And the wildlife will now have to find a new home. Sounds pretty fucked up to me. The eco system is already in disarray. But what do I know. I wish many of the people on this thread acted more like grown ups and treated one another with more respect, especially the individuals whom are advocating for the preservation of this park. It's not that I am completely against the new plans, but there just isn't enough evidence to support it. Too many holes. Not enough science from the experts in my opinion to do something so monumental like this. I look to my friends abroad who live in the Netherlands, which is technically below sea level. They aren't doing this shit to their towns or cities. Think about it.
6:01 pm please describe your bona fides for such certainty about the project's effectiveness. Are you a neutral party? A hired hand? An engineer with expertise in flood control?
I certainly am not an expert but when there is LOTS of money involved I am suspicious of everyone's motives.
The tree people: I get it, trees grow slowly. But what should we do? Once a tree grows somewhere that place can never be changed for all the rest of time? Our kids, our kids' kids, their kids must never again touch or move that tree?
Our generation has been plenty selfish cranking up the national debt, dumping carbon into the atmosphere, polluting all the oceans. Can we not just suck it up, endure a bit of a less-shady less-pollution-filtering park, so that our kids and their kids can inherit something better than we inherited?
Trees grow back. We won't get to enjoy the new trees ourselves in our lifetimes. The next generation will. And many generations after.
More important we leave our children clean air to breathe now.
We need to nurture every mature tree for future generations!
"Exposure to Pollution Has Long-Term Effect on Multiple Generations"
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/02/air-pollution-diminishes-future-generations-economic-opportunities.html
The park is beautiful and everybody uses it.
It doesn't need to be leveled, there's an alternative plan.
I agree and Bldg. Supts. loose half a day daily to sort the tenants recycling materials. Inspection should include visits where they wait in the trash areas undercover to issue fines to tenants, not landlords.
Also, there needs to be more recycling programs, reuse/ resell programs available at every school so we don't comply with discarding HHW with the trash and it sets a bad example to students who see that. Teach our children so they can develop ways to fight climate change while we still have dry land to walk on.
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