Dead ends

On Tuesday, the city closed the 10th Street pedestrian bridge as the demolition and rebuilding of East Village expanded to the north. The city also shut down the access to Stuyvesant Cove. 

Or so they thought. 

Edmund John Dunn noted that day, in the top pic, that runners and cyclists heading south past Stuyvesant Cove easily navigated the half-hearted no-thru traffic attempt and were still accessing the Con Ed lemon squeezer section. 

In an update today... the city has beefed up its defenses at 13th Street.

Anyone still accessing this pinch point will likely need to turn around or else add a climb to their exercise routine...

Checking out the newly reopened area of East River Park

On Memorial Day, the city opened parts of the refurbished East River Park a little north and south of the Williamsburg Bridge. 

This marked the first time these areas have been open to the public since demolition work began as part of the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) in late 2021. 

New amenities in this area include six regulation tennis courts, two basketball courts, picnic and BBQ facilities, water sprinklers, a passive lawn, and a flexible-use space.

The city will officially mark this reopening at 11 a.m. today. Several city leaders and local elected officials are expected to attend, including NYC Deputy Mayor for Operations Jeffrey Roth, DDC Commissioner Thomas Foley, Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue and local City Council Member Carlina Rivera. 

We visited the newly opened section on Monday and found plenty of others doing the same. The BBQ area and tennis courts were mostly full, while the lawn was about half occupied with sunbathers and others enjoying the day's low-70s temperatures. 

Here's a look at this section of East River Park, which is currently accessible only via the new Delancey Street pedestrian bridge...

People we talked with liked the well-tended plantings, BBQ area and brand-new amenities. 

Still, it feels pretty sterile at the moment — especially without much shade (thanks to the hundreds of mature trees that were cut down as workers raised the park eight to 10 feet to help protect against future coastal storms and tidal flooding). 

According to DDC officials, 600 new trees have been planted in areas reopening, along with more than 21,000 new shrubs, grasses, and perennials. (In total, officials say they will eventually plant upwards of 2,000 trees in the new East River Park.) 

You can find some shade in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge and the (metal!?) umbrellas in the BBQ area. There are also new drinking fountains...

Here's the area around the former Fireboat House, which remains in place for now...

We were happy to be able to walk under the Williamsburg Bridge again and take in the water views. Still, you can't help but feel a little trapped, as park access is limited in either direction until the whole project reaches its expected completion date in late 2026.

This new space promises to get more crowded soon. The 10th Street pedestrian bridge closed along with those adjacent amenities on Tuesday. By the end of the summer, the complete north end of East River Park will be shuttered for the duration of the project. 

This is the second new area of East River Park to reopen. The adjacent ballfields 1 and 2 debuted last September. 

The folks at East River Park Action, who have advocated for a more resilient flood control plan for East River Park, share their thoughts on the new section in this post.

Park access shifts again: What's open and closed in East River Park starting Memorial Day as construction moves to the north

Demolition work at East River Park is moving north. 

Starting Tuesday, the East 10th Street pedestrian bridge will close, along with the adjacent playground, BBQ area, and basketball courts — marking the next phase of park shutdowns tied to the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) Project. 

In addition, the northern esplanade with access to Stuyvesant Cove Park (through 18th Street) will be shut down. Officials offered no alternative route. (Photos below by Robert Miner.)

Here's the community advisory on these closures ...

Field 6 will remain open until July 1... and by the end of the summer, the track located off of the Sixth Street pedestrian bridge will shut down, at which point the complete north end of East River Park will be shuttered. When this takes place, East Village-based park-goers must head south to access any East River Park amenities.

This PDF provides more background on the timing. 

However, with the closures, several refurbished East River Park areas around the Williamsburg Bridge will reopen on Memorial Day, including the south tennis courts. 

The city has said it would maintain public access to at least 42% of the park throughout construction, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. 

The "phased work operations" in East River Park began in November 2021 in Project Area 1 between Montgomery Street and 15th Street. Workers have been burying the park under fill and cutting down hundreds of trees as part of the billion-dollar-plus ESCR. They are elevating the land 8 to 10 feet above sea level to protect the area from future storm surges.

A look inside the former Fireboat House in East River Park as it faces an uncertain future

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Sitting barren along a tree-less stretch of under-renovation East River Park below the Williamsburg Bridge, the former Fireboat House — most recently home to the Lower East Side Ecology Center — now stands silent and abandoned. 

Built in 1941 for Marine Company 66, the two-story Moderne-style building replaced an earlier fireboat station that had operated off Grand Street since the 19th century.

Inside, it sits in quiet disarray — scattered papers, peeling paint and the faint echo of a place once full of purpose.

It will be the last National Register-eligible structure left in East River Park following the demolition of the Track House and Tennis Center as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project. 

According to an ESCR spokesperson, the Fireboat House is still undergoing a federal review known as the Section 106 process, which is required to ensure that historic buildings or sites are not negatively impacted by construction projects. 

Currently, city agencies — including the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Design and Construction, and the Parks Department — are reviewing feedback received from groups involved in the process. Once those responses are finalized, they'll be shared with everyone involved, the spokesperson said via email. (The LES Ecology Center will be housed further south in East River Park.)

Although its future use remains uncertain, there is hope that this resilient structure might be spared.

A group of runners is 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.

A walk across the new Delancey Street pedestrian bridge

The new Delancey Street pedestrian bridge was opened to the public starting yesterday. 

So we decided to walk across the steel-tied arch bridge spanning a length of 209 feet over the FDR...

The bridge was manufactured in Italy, assembled at the project site, and then installed by crane in June.

After crossing the FDR, you continue down a long, winding walkway with high covered fencing on both sides... 

Finally you arrive at the new Ballfields 1 and 2, complete with a baseball-softball diamond and a soccer pitch all with permeable turf.

Aside from the fields, there is no way out here — you need to go back the way you came. Here's a diagram via the City Department of Design and Construction...

The bridge is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (So no night games!). Also, the new ballfields do not have any drinking fountains yet, so it's BYOW. There are several porta-potties nearby. 

The bridge does offer a glimpse of ongoing the billion-dollar-plus East Side Coastal Resiliency project. Workers are elevating the land 8 to 10 feet above sea level to protect the area from future storm surges, a project the city says will be completed by the end of 2026.

The new Delancey Street pedestrian bridge reopens today

Photo last week by William Klayer 

The new Delancey Street pedestrian bridge is back in service starting today. [Updated: We walked across it. Photos here.]

The city also announced that East River Park Ballfields 1 and 2 are now available for "permitted and open play." 

Also, notably: "The bridge will provide access to Ballfields 1 & 2 only, with no outlet to other areas of the park. Please note there is no water service on-site, so plan accordingly to bring your own supply."

The bridge is also only open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., so there are no night games on those fields, which are surrounded by an active construction zone, as the map on the Community advisory below shows...

Crews installed the new bridge, one of the new access points for East River Park, overnight on June 8. (The previous bridge was removed in early 2022.) According to the City Department of Design and Construction, the 215-foot-long bridge weighs 125 tons (much larger than the previous one) and is fully ADA-accessible. 

It's nice to see a little progress, as nearly three years in, much of the 57.5-acre park looks like a barren wasteland — especially below the Williamsburg Bridge.

 

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The "phased work operations" in East River Park began in November 2021 in Project Area 1 between Montgomery Street and 15th Street. Workers have been burying the park under fill and cutting down many trees as part of the billion-dollar-plus East Side Coastal Resiliency project. 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 at least 42% of the park throughout construction, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. 

You can find more updates and construction notices at this link.

Building the ramp to the new Delancey Street pedestrian bridge

EVG regular William Klater shared this photo from yesterday morning, which shows the ramp to the new Delancey Street pedestrian bridge under construction.

Crews installed the new bridge, one of the new access points for East River Park, overnight on June 8. (The previous bridge was removed in early 2022.) 

According to a City Department of Design and Construction spokesperson, the 215-foot-long bridge weighs 125 tons (much larger than the previous one) and is fully ADA-accessible. 

There's a partial-lane closure this week on the FDR from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. while work continues. It is expected to be ready for pedestrians early next month. 

Here's a video from June showing workers assembling the new bridge...

  

The "phased work operations" in East River Park 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 project, workers have been burying the 57.5-acre park under fill and cutting down many 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 at least 42% of the park throughout construction, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. 

You can find the latest updates and notifications at this link.

Take a look at the all-new Delancey Street Pedestrian Bridge

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)...

A second bridge will be installed at Corlears Hook later this summer. 

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.