A group of runners are hoping the city will add lighting to the new East River Park track

A group of runners who use East River Park are advocating for the city to add lights to the new track when it's rebuilt as part of the ongoing East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) Project. 

Per the petition:

The East River Park Track will soon close through at least 2026 and undergo a complete reconstruction ... The designs for the new track do not include sports lighting. Now is the time for our community to organize and petition our city to incorporate lighting into this fully funded reconstruction project, ensuring the rebuilt track meets the needs of the community now and in the future.

The volunteers state: 

• The track in its current and future planned form has inadequate lighting, which creates risks of personal harm and athletic injuries after dark

• Many of New Yorker City's 8+ million residents rely on evening hours to exercise due to work or school schedules. Lighting ensures the track remains open and usable year-round. 

• Maximize Public Investment: Adding lighting during the ESCR project reconstruction is far more cost-effective than retrofitting later. This ensures the track reaches its full potential as a safe, accessible, and well-used public space. 

And The East River Park Track is one of only two regulation tracks open to the public in Manhattan and the only one located south of 135th Street (the other regulation track is located at Riverbank State Park on the Upper West Side). It is a vital community resource that deserves to be ready to meet the community’s needs for safe all-year-round use after its reconstruction.

The group's effort received a boost last week when Community Board 3 passed a resolution in favor of the lighting, writing:

 ... Community Board 3 supports the efforts of community advocates in ensuring that the track remains a safe, accessible, and well-lit public resource year-round while also addressing environmental concerns related to lighting. 

Find the petition here.