From a distance, the only thing seemingly happening with East River Park's ongoing demolition and reconstruction is just more scorched earth and downed trees.
However, in a noticeable sign of progress, crews installed the new Delancey Street Pedestrian Bridge, one of the new access points for East River Park. (The previous bridge was removed in early 2022.)
Work took place late this past Saturday night. (Both sides of the FDR were closed overnight from Exit 2, the Brooklyn Bridge, to Exit 5, Houston Street and the Williamsburg Bridge.)
According to a City Department of Design and Construction spokesperson, the $32-million bridge weighs 125 tons (much larger than the previous one) and is fully ADA-accessible.
The 215-foot-long bridge was manufactured in Italy, assembled at the project site, and then installed by crane. It is expected to open for use by Sept. 1.
Here's a look at the bridge installation action from late Saturday (pics courtesy of the DDC)...
The "phased work operations" began in November 2021 in Project Area 1 between Montgomery Street and 15th Street.
As part of the billion-dollar-plus East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project, workers have been burying the 57.5-acre park under fill and cutting down trees. They are elevating the land 8 to 10 feet above sea level to protect the area from future storm surges.
The city has said it will maintain public access to a minimum of 42% of the park throughout construction, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
26 comments:
will there be any thing to provide shade or is this park just going to be useless in the summer months?
Beautiful! Some fine, Italian aesthetic sensibility is what’s needed as an antidote to the desecrations of our beautiful neighborhood brought on by the painted-lines-and-plastic-stick crowd.
Instead of tearing down the FDR Drive and turning it into a street just like on the wealthier West side, NYC is investing billions to preserve a multi lane speed way to poison us forever
Can’t hide the horror show of destroying 1000 trees in a dense urban center already lacking in green…We know from clear data this is a huge mistake but they are doing it anyway.
this bridge is really nice. now we can
walk over to the park and reminisce
about when the park had trees
Looks great!
I would be more excited about this if I didn't know the rest of the story/nightmare. Nice bridge, though.
Unless the fabrication of the bridge was dirt cheap I fail to understand why we had to import a BRIDGE from Italy???.....The shipping fee alone must have cost a ridiculous sum. Should have been made in the US. Not a fan of the boring plain af design. Should have hired the the sculptor from the Ave B gas station.
@6:06 AM
I don't know - maybe the 2000 trees to be planted will provide a hint of shade.
The comments hit all of the normal complaints.
Does anyone know, will there be separate lanes for bikes and pedestrians and directions? Or will this become a hellish crossover? I appreciated the sharp turns which cut down on speed crossing into park with kids. (And also for myself!)
There was no American Company that could have fabricate this bridge, and use American labor? I wonder why the Iron Workers Union did not complain.
rolling steel plates to form curved box beams like this would have limited it to a small number of factories capable of fabrication. but that's just fabrication of parts - Iron Workers flag on the bridge.
The graft involved in this project must be stunning. That it was bent over backwards to not inconvenience the FDR (an occasional nighttime closure. That's the 4th of July on occasion) is indicative of how the automobile is supreme even here in what is far and away the most walking and mass transit city in the country.
I hate the whole thing but won't miss that old bridge.
Close the FDR? Then what? Just send all the traffic through the local streets?
We tried that 100 years ago, highways were the solution.
I know, tap your shoes together three times, and repeat “Ban cars”, and it’ll all be fine.
Some people need to get over themselves with the complaining already. Do we forget the hurricanes and rising water, that we were without electricity and running water for 5+ days, and MANY trees were lost because of the storms as well? Something had to be done to help protect against the rising waters and storms resulting from global climate change...that is what the "complaining" focus should be. Was this the 100% perfect solution, likely not. But, something tells me that your children and grandchildren may be very happy that something was done to that park in 2024. Trees? of course there will be trees. No, they won't be 50 years old when they are planted, neither were the ones that HAD to come down, but they will be when your children and grandchildren are enjoying them. This is reality, not a utopia or fantasy land. I imagine the new park will be lovely when completed...and all the complainers will be enjoying it.
I
I'M CURIOUS TO SEE HOW THIS TURNS OUT.
> 8:57 AM
Seoul closed freeways and traffic declined. 100 years ago automobile supremacy seemed like a good idea. Now we know better. I wouldn't worry, however. The politics and general selfishness of the issue means you'll have your free parking and commuter exhaust until there's a crisis serious enough to make changes. Which I'm not looking forward to. Until then enjoy the bad air and traffic jams.
I have OPINIONS!
Enough complaints and perhaps it will start influencing LLM responses.
2000 saplings, you mean; it’s going to be a long time before they’re able to throw any shade.
How is parking free? I pay taxes. I pay to register my car and have it inspected. I pay tolls. I obey all traffic rules including moving so the sweeper can come thru, like the overwhelming majority of my neighbors. Enough with the free parking and car storage. It's like the go back to Ohio comments
A bridge to enter a plastic over manicured bullshit park
@longtimelesres please ignore those comments they're these obsessed bike activists and don't speak for any normal person that understands how vehicles are used, they must take horse and buggy everywhere and carry everything on their bike
I walked over the Corlears Hook temporary bridge on an 80-degree day to the promenade, and had to walk back because it was already so hot with no shade. I don't think I'll ever understand how a so-called "climate resiliency" project addresses climate change by removing the trees that actively absorb emissions and then drastically adding to carbon emissions via an immense amount of construction involving endless trucks, cranes, barges, cars, and bulldozers. Yes, we'll have our "flood protection" eventually, but meanwhile we have increased air pollution, a higher heat index, and a whole lotta of melting artificial turf surrounded by saplings struggling to survive in a foot of soil over fill brought in from who knows where. There has to be a better way.
Anyone with a BRAIN knows that before this graft-ridden federally-funded bonanza that was shoved down our throats, is anywhere near completion, the next big storm will render whatever they are doing there USELESS.
This is and was NEVER about preventing flooding or creating "resiliency", which could have been done at a fraction of the cost with a flood wall (earthen or cement), leaving East River Park and the FDR intact - it is and has always been about THE MONEY and about providing new amenities after the demographics of that area are changed.
The flood gate installed at Stuyvesant Cove doesn't even close. They have paved over the tracks that enable the gate to slide shut. It's utterly useless! That tells you all you need to know about the rest of this project that none of us voted for. Prior to DeBlasio shoving this through at the last minute, there was an actual PLAN that worked and would have been cheaper, more effective, and saved 1,000 trees.
To those criticizing the "complainers" - yeah, there's a good reason for the complaints.
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