Photos by William Klayer
The demolition/reconstruction of East River Park continues its northern march. Most recently workers have demolished the south ramp at the Houston Street overpass...
The north ramp remains open for park access.
And here's a look at the work to date... with what looks like nearly half of the park closed down and gutted...
This is part of the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project. Workers have been burying the 57.5-acre park under fill, cutting down trees and will eventually elevate the land by 8-to-10 feet above sea level to protect the area from future storm surges. The city has said they will maintain public access to a minimum of 42 percent of the park throughout construction, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2026.
The "phased work operations" began in November 2021 in Project Area 1 between Montgomery Street and 15th Street.
Last week, CB3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee received an update on the project. You can find a PDF of the presentation here.
Thanks for posting. When I look at the destroyed part of East River Park, it looks like nothing is happening, so I appreciate reading about work being done. However, the update doesn’t include anything about the “pinch point” — I hope that will get fixed!
ReplyDeleteEvery time I read about this absurd project, it makes this grown man almost weep at the loss of all those hundreds of trees that I’ve been around/sometimes sat under, for 40 years.
ReplyDeleteCutting down hundreds of 80-year-old trees and adding substantionally to carbon emissions and air pollution to a lower-income neighborhood in the name of climate change "resiliency." Plus new park is going to be 60% plastic turf and hard surfaces because underfunded Parks doesn't want to bother with taking care of actual living things (i.e., "maintenance"). Historic buildings like the amphitheater junked and thrown into a landfill somewhere in NJ or SI. Same old, same old with an extra-thick layer of meaningless greenwashing.
ReplyDeleteI hope Rivera and DeBlassio are gleeful about their efforts in achieving this. As a long term resident, I am certainly not, much like many of my neighbors here in Alphabet City, who visited this park on a daily basis. I hate to be a pill, but I highly doubt the completion of this mass destruction and rebuild will be completed by 2026. Try 2030 instead. And 1.45 billion? Try 3 billion. Those trees were so beautiful not to mention the view. I could go on, but I will refrain. I am sickened just thinking how bare this land will be. Sad.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious what will happen when someone is attacked along the river behind the sea wall between 20th and 23rd street. If noone is around, how will anyone hear or how will one be able to get help quickly?
ReplyDeleteCutting down all those trees is (and I'm sure already has) going to directly affect the amount of heat reflected off this whole area. The trees provided shade in summer, as well as CO2 processing. Saplings will offer nothing for at least 20-30 years. Such a short-sighted and unintelligent plan that served to line the pockets of the former Mayor's buddies.
ReplyDeleteAnd why is it I never hear of anyone else from outside this area screaming about this? City Council seems not to care, and people from other parts of the city seem to know nothing about it. How can this be when so many are affected?
Because people who don't live in the immediate area realize that climate change is causing sea levels to rise and storms to become more intense, so to protect land that boarders the sea from washing away it has to be raised and have storm walls built.
DeleteIt's strange to me for people to not see the logic and necessity.
The same reason why people from this neighborhood aren't screaming about the same thing which is about to happen at Battery Park City.
ReplyDeletere: anonymous@9:51
ReplyDeleteThe people involved in this mess haven't read Jane Jacobs and know nothing about Kitty Genovese.
Thanks for keeping us updated with this information and posting the map. Now if I want to get into the East River Park (or what is left of it) I have to walk all the way up to the 6th Street pedestrian bridge from Delancey Street. That is until the Contruction companies make it up there and demolish that bridge as well. Terrible.
ReplyDeleteI feel same as commenter who says nearly weeps at seeing the 80 year old trees destroyed. This is so horribly wrong—just even the idea of killing 100s of urban trees to protect us from climate change effects? Talk about a downward spiral!
ReplyDeleteI am a resident who regularly showed up for protests... and I got exhausted by it. I loved that park, every tree, every plant... and now it's a dirt heap. I expect I'll be dead before it's actually anything resembling a park. And even then, as someone pointed out, it's going to be all plazas and easy to maintain as opposed to what was there. We tried so hard... at least we succeeded in derailing Ms. Rivera from getting into Congress.
ReplyDeleteSo disgusting that even when this shit is finally done, it's all plastic, perfect, manicured and not a natural feeling park with decades of natural growth. Nobody wants plastic grass and fake shit everywhere. I'm moving from this disgusting place.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm annoyed at the slow pace of construction, I'm glad this is being done. The commenters here seem to believe that flood waters can be held back with some activist placards alone. That's not how it works.
ReplyDeleteThis is for 5:59
ReplyDeleteCities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen have endured flooding. Both are below sea level. Do you see either going to this extreme? This construction was about politics and money. Other parts of Manhattan were also flooded during Hurricane Sandy. Why is this type of operation not happening there and just here on the LES?
Copenhagen is building an artificial island to protect storm surge. Here's a quote from article about it.
Delete"But ever since then, climate activists, scientists, and city residents have been on a mission to stop Lynetteholm. (It’s pronounced something like “Lunetta-holm.”) They say authorities are ignoring the damage Denmark’s largest ever construction project could do to the local environment, and the carbon pollution it will create."
This was a really bad idea from the get-go and there is no justifying it. It is disgraceful what our dumb politicians did.
ReplyDeleteNone of us here (I include myself) lamenting the loss of trees have suggested that we should have instead done nothing to prepare for future flooding. There was a plan in place developed with the community to actually extend the green space west creating an earthen hill of sorts that would cover the FDR so that few or no trees would be removed and there would actually be more greenery and soil to absorb ground water. That plan was replaced in secrecy without community input, presumably because various VIP car drivers didn’t want the FDR traffic interrupted.
ReplyDeleteThe current plan will reduce the greenery, forcing more water to go elsewhere and flood other areas. Not all water comes from the sea as we have learned from the series of recent deadly thunderstorm driven floods in the city.
And the sea wall that is now being built will simply funnel any future East River storm surge elsewhere. That water has to go somewhere, too, and will presumably cause greater flooding in Brooklyn or LIC or above 23rd St in east Manhattan or wherever the water will go.
And the many thousands of people who live in Alphabet City and the LES will have to breathe hotter, dirtier air because there are less trees to clean the air and provide shade.
What NYC needs is not these partial walls so much as more wetlands and green space for groundwater to flow into, not more concrete funneling water into subway vents and basements.
I empathize with how disappointing it must be to think your input is being considered in an issue that affects you so deeply only to have the decision makers pull the rug out from under you without clear explanation. I'd be mad about that for sure.
DeleteI also have huge, deep appreciation for trees and green space, especially older trees believe me.
But there is no logic to the argument that areas of land next to the sea shouldn't be raised because then the storm water that would flood that area would cause more flooding in other places. How does that jive with your
berm blocking plan?
It's raise land adjacent to sea and build retaining walls or letting areas between land and sea revert back to marsh land by ripping out any buildings or highways or landfill or concrete put in place the last couple hundred years, but that's not really feasible.
I, as someone not directly affected by the loss of the beautiful trees and beloved space can accept that the berm plan that offered less storm protection with shutting down the highway and having to move major unground utility lines to get it done makes less sense than what they're doing.
So many short-sighted folks here. Losing the trees sucks. But low-income areas being flooded in the future would be worse than what’s lost now and the temporary awfulness. The project is far from perfect but nothing is. At least action is being taken in this mess of red tape
ReplyDeleteTo those who approve of the current plan as "necessary". You obviously don't know much about the history behind this project.
ReplyDeleteThere was an original plan that was formulated over a year's worth of meetings with the community. It consisted of an 8 ft wall between the FDR Drive and the park. This would provide a buffer between the community and flood water. Both NYC officials and the community approved of this plan.
Suddenly 9 months later a new plan was presented by the city as a "fait accompli". The cost was triple that of the original plan. The city had the nerve to say there was no original plan. Residents had to resort to a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) to find the original plan. Somehow the city (and Carlina Rivera our City Council representative) prevailed and the costly new developer plan was put into action.
Now all the residents of the housing developments along the East River have lost 1,000 trees that provided shade and fresh air, lost any place for summer picnics or parties, lost areas for their children to play baseball, soccer, basketball, lost an amphitheater for musical events and just a place to enjoy the breezes off the East River in the hot summer months.
Interesting note: Ms Rivera now lives in Kips Bay where "expanding flood walls" were developed to thwart flood surges.
@2:26 PM
ReplyDeleteOr, instead of making that long trek to 6th Street, you could do what the sign says and use the North Ramp at Houston St.
At 12:01, Christopher Pelham said...
ReplyDeleteWhat NYC needs is not these partial walls so much as more wetlands and green space for groundwater to flow into, not more concrete funneling water into subway vents and basements.
This is what we have been saying all along, and why we've tried to expose ESCR as a farce. The wetlands would act as a sponge, diverting flood waters and protecting structures; sadly, all our protests fell on deaf ears.
There was a plan in place developed with the community to actually extend the green space west creating an earthen hill of sorts that would cover the FDR so that few or no trees would be removed and there would actually be more greenery and soil to absorb ground water. That plan was replaced in secrecy without community input, presumably because various VIP car drivers didn’t want the FDR traffic interrupted.
And you know how good cars are for the environment!
This project was never needed and ruined the only good park on the east side with tennis courts. Now just the 1% can enjoy and afford Tennis. Thank you former Mayor for another worthless spend of our tax dollars
ReplyDeleteDelighted with the progress can’t wait for the new park something had to be done. I live on the river fully supported this.
ReplyDelete