Tuesday, January 27, 2026

The East River shows off a rare winter look

EVG reader Roger Bultot shared this photo from between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, capturing a rare sight on the East River: chunks of ice. 

The East River rarely freezes solid thanks to its saltwater mix and strong tidal currents — but it's not unheard of. 

As Ephemeral New York has documented, the river fully froze a handful of times in the 1800s, when hardy New Yorkers could actually walk between Manhattan and Brooklyn — no bridge tolls, ferries or $38 Lyft required.

2 comments:

  1. Informational addition ... the City uses dumptrucks to move accumulated snow from the FDR and other roads, and closes the block of Broad Street at Water Street to receive the truckloads in massive piles. From there, loaders dump snow in the river, forming snow blobs/bergs. So you're seeing ice accumulations not just the frosty low temps!

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