Once approved and a Notice to Proceed is issued, IPC can begin prep work for the demolition of East River Park — including cutting down almost 1,000 mature trees — in order to build a giant levee over the 46-acre land. The Department of Design and Construction, which oversees the project, said at prior Community Board 3 meetings that surveyors are ready to enter the park to perform necessary tests. Other work will include fencing of the park and bringing in trailers for field offices, which can begin within two months of approval.At a time when the city is in a fiscal crisis, we are urging Comptroller Stringer to withhold approval on the $1,272,221,100 construction contract with IPC for the ESCR project that has already gone over-budget, until an independent review is conducted on the prior plan that would've cost the City considerably less money and the park considerably less destruction.
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Advocates urging City Comptroller to withhold approval for East River Park reconstruction
Monday, June 14, 2021
Details on the additional funding for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project
The reconstruction project ... was set to demolish the current amphitheater and replace it with a smaller stage, albeit one without a roof...Now, an infusion of $4.83 million that was announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio will allow the city to create a roof structure for the amphitheater, said Ian Michaels, the executive director of public information for the city’s Department of Design and Construction, which is overseeing much of the park's overhaul.
Marino said he is pleased that the amphitheater will have a cover of some kind, but is still concerned that the current plan does not include bathrooms or sufficient seating for performances.A covered amphitheater would offer "that grandiose vision" for people entering the park, he said.
• $5.8 million to build a comfort station at Murphy Brothers Playground, a 1.27-acre park at Avenue C and East 17th Street. The playground was already scheduled to receive updated recreation facilities and flood protection. Other improvements to the playground will include a new basketball court, new synthetic turf ballfields, a new dog run, a new power source for the existing Little League scoreboard, and enhanced landscaping.
• $129 million, in a separate capital project, to the Department of Transportation to fully fund a future flyover bridge that will improve bike and pedestrian access through this critical part of the Greenway. The bridge will span the "pinch point" area of the Manhattan Greenway as it passes 14th Street along the East River, where the Greenway narrows to just a few feet wide to fit between the river, the FDR Drive and adjacent Con Edison facilities. The bridge construction will be coordinated with ESCR.
Monday, May 10, 2021
Report: Now there's an East River Park construction lawsuit
Tully, the higher bidder, alleges the DDC did not follow its own protocols when they accepted the lower bid from IPC. The City has agreed to not award the contract until after the hearing date, which is currently May 27. The City also agreed not to register the contract for the ESCR until 30 days after the hearing date.
The lawsuit claims that IPC, a newly formed joint venture, did not meet the Special Experience Requirements listed in the Project's Bid Booklet. Tully is seeking a judgment that the project should be awarded to them.
If Tully wins the judgment and DDC awards the Project to Tully at the higher bid of $1,335,473,290, then the costs of the ESCR project will exceed the City Engineer’s estimates by $136,907,910.$1.45 billion is allocated for this project. There is currently no additional funding from the city, state or federal government to complete the project.
Monday, April 19, 2021
At the March to Save East River Park
Friday, April 16, 2021
Reminders: March to save East River Park on Sunday
We don’t need to imagine what climate change will do to our city. We saw it first hand during Superstorm Sandy — and our coastal communities paid the price.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 15, 2021
The East Side Coastal Resiliency Project is how we fight back for our city and our planet. pic.twitter.com/dK7NSxGLsM
Thursday, April 8, 2021
City tries again with release of a Value Engineering Study for East River Park
Five days after East River Park Action (ERPA) filed a lawsuit against Mayor de Blasio and the Office of Management and Budget for the entire Value Engineering Study without redactions ... the city released a (mostly) unredacted version yesterday.
You can find a copy of the 300-plus-page report here. We haven't had a chance to comb through it just yet to learn what it was the city didn't want people to see. Concerned residents are curious why the city denied the existence of the report before releasing a mostly redacted version. We'll see how they did on the third try. (Blacked-out sections now are said to be for security purposes.)
A lawsuit filed April 2 asks for full disclosure of the much-discussed but largely unseen Value Engineering Study. Joining the lawsuit brought by East River Park Action attorney Jack Lester are Manhattan Borough President candidate Lindsey Boylan; and City Council candidates Christopher Marte, Erin Hussein, and Allie Ryan. The political club Grand Street Democrats also joined along with community activists.
They seek transparency, accountability and a re-examination of the massive flood control project to find alternatives that will preserve parkland.
As previously reported, ERPA's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request and an appeal finally unearthed the three-year-old Value Engineering Study. (This after the city denied there was such a report.)City Hall will be releasing more materials from its ESCR value engineering review today thanks to advocacy from my office & the Community Advisory Group.
— Carlina Rivera 利華娜 (@CarlinaRivera) April 6, 2021
We'll review these materials carefully and support the CAG in efforts they make around this needed resiliency project. pic.twitter.com/BkyEqbjmGQ
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Report: Lowest bids for East River Park construction are $73 million over budget
• Project Area 1 (PA1). It includes East River Park, below 14th Street. This is the section that the city intends to raze and then bury under eight feet of fill. There were only two construction bids for this massive, presumably lucrative, job. Both bids exceeded the city’s estimate. The contract has not yet been awarded, but the low bid, from IPC Resiliency Partners, is $1.272 billion.• Project Area 2 (PA2), the waterfront area from 14th Street to 25th Street. The low bid for this section was over $163 million, and the contract was awarded to Perfetto Contracting Company. Work is already underway. Asser Levy Park is being torn up and trees have been removed. The Northern section of the greenway has been closed, leaving cyclists and runners without a safe alternative.The bids for PA1 and PA2 total $1,435,287,143. In addition, the city has already spent more than $90 million in "planning." That comes to $1,525,287,143, which is $73 million over budget and doesn't include key components.
Friday, December 11, 2020
Bike lane detour confusion as construction starts along the East River Greenway
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
East River Park updates: Construction pushed to 2021; protected bike lanes proposed for Avenue C and East Houston
Here are the latest updates about the $1.45 billion storm protection project for East River Park:
- The start of construction, which had been slated to commence this fall, will be delayed until the spring of 2021, according to a presentation the city made at a CB3 committee meeting last month. For further reading: BoweryBoogie and Bedford & Bowery.
- The DOT will propose permanent protected bike lanes on Avenue C and East Houston Street to offset the closure of the East River Park greenway once construction starts.
As Streetsblog first reported: "The lanes will run on Houston from Second Avenue to the waterfront and on Avenue C from Houston north to 20th Street, enabling cyclists traveling from below Houston on the existing bike lanes on Pike and Allen streets to connect with the bike network further north."
CB3's Transportation, Public Safety, & Environment Committee will hear the proposal on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The Zoom info is here.
Endorsing a proposal put forth by the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, CB3 voted to recommend that the buildings, adorned with unique maritime terra cotta decorations, be raised to the Park's new grade level and renovated rather than demolished, thereby protecting them from future rising tides.
The CB3 resolution calls for amending the plans of the City's controversial East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. Those plans call for the demolition of the two structures and their replacement with standardized modern structures of the kind planned for parks all over New York City.
Monday, October 12, 2020
An Art Attack at East River Park
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_SdhDglxz9LwhBRI7FuetQz1PN5ktI_N2F9pNhsnesJ24thO11OrUKJ76-FMWPa-gkBFlZC274aSg5HG3ajsp1jJZ0CZrksIYSXeiqQXArBj5O-slGSCY5pCtfp4RZSR4Bc-bRT4JX4/s600/viruswalk_10-9-20_r_w_392.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wgzGwiE3mxDzhex7K7oEu3Zx5thy8CTpGgmr9yw_XiV-JfUflOtQH0Kdeagp8rug0SneIrz4ckiCLpZ2VhhZyotDKoVpS8mbXG6fA60T7sH9peHJzN_1266txZjIwew-ArDIgIWYW5Q/s600/viruswalk_10-9-20_r_w_380.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCu6zNPvDKkMiilpm7RnA3uxKsO3ENOTta3NJSrDZmCxeMBH_F9EUyC3DfRzDmnmnPKkPfujjL2Mh53INxSih1d1WhDR9DzH36J5icmJCnjk-DGJTh7HwnAINsTrX0zdo1GnfpDeo53g/s600/viruswalk_10-9-20_r_w_353.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkVmlATR_HcNcvqnVKVssPfnP03AaaI6529s3kEPQhW6TOdCr0MST0hHGrawS9RhmOGZCKXYeYq5GN4qFLkGBcefWLpVJQOSy1NkMqDlQPBavpqh-aa0NSFAHQ6fnEB3RfISoYmibi6E/s600/viruswalk_10-9-20_r_w_339.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CG2FgNRKkIs9aTn2yOp4amYPnt-TdEYZ2QuezThhRnb-uh_ayAsP3Zh2bqKax2Nl7oPEL_pIFxRZPKEU_jy92Nkmn2IlLJgpnPCFFP1YCWVmhqDNSnPjuvIwPUzVq168-oOmRwT3IYg/s600/viruswalk_10-9-20_r_w_329.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XYsbioDBKF4ddHb5frH3qYLue-C4xp-TpfEDzC9LH6PTpTuQPqZrE3TLa841g1iO6uE24BTb5e8DrkoN_Qq1rZTzqsIslqzt8RHG_-G5SMjzx1RnNVHwPey8wU2A2W2KDYbbQUzbfGY/s600/viruswalk_10-9-20_r_w_312.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JxHdBZbZvT4cmVS62ok4EqJEHNTxaK5L4lrhrF0VpGQXyediSvx3mj_T7-xsmli8aqQlJgO1tgTwhbbUcbBMSyJ8xk_5aNqhiOs0SRP0rmKvJtoZReV0QGBLs4oy7H3yjC31szInVtk/s400/viruswalk_10-9-20_r_w_321.jpg)
Saturday, September 5, 2020
East River Park actions: A petition for Gov. Cuomo; a plan for an Art Attack
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm64uSOHzw4lnZ13yOwmYV3qM48NO0cRLgzbM3XbjwFZzNfHYf7F8cs_i-jL-mrf3HGusoX49DYUZITVuTL_tE-4Nd4DR2mz6vkpjDfB3txNvwoaAgPNDnPq7lT2HTmQDPqQr9kBjV6Ew/s400/RncHuWKbFdZkGJE-800x450-noPad.jpg)
There's a petition in circulation now asking for an executive order from Gov. Cuomo "to stop the City from demolishing East River Park during the pandemic."
You can find the petition at this link.
Meanwhile, there's a crowdfunding campaign underway titled "East River Park Action Art Attack."
Here's the pitch:
We are raising money for paint and supplies for our Art Attack Project at the East River Park mid-September.
Our mission is to stop the destruction of our park by creating the biggest mural in NYC with the help of local artists, nonprofits, activists and local residents of the Lower East Side and East Village.
We plan to paint the entire promenade along the river from Montgomery to 12th Street — and the historic Amphitheater where Shakespeare in the Park began in the 1950s.
We are confident that with this Cultural Protest we plan to achieve the following:
- Buy more time for the city to to reevaluate the current plan.
- Do more intensive outreach with the community and the residents along the East River Park.
The link is here.
As previously reported: Last November, City Council signed off on the hotly contested flood-protection plan that will bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. Construction is expected to start this fall.
You can read more about various community efforts at the East River Park ACTION website. You can find the city's East Side Coastal Resiliency Project website here.
Sunday, August 23, 2020
Report: Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project
ICYMI: On Thursday, New York Supreme Court Judge Melissa Crane dismissed a lawsuit challenging the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, The City reported.
The lawsuit, East River Park Action et al v City of New York, originally filed in February, asked to halt the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project that is scheduled to begin this fall. It also asked to declare the City Council vote last November approving the project "null and void."
Attorney Arthur Schwartz argued in a 42-page brief filed on July 20 that the city is required to seek Alienation from the state. (Alienation is the use of parkland for non-park purposes, even for brief periods.)
"Closing the East River Park, whether completely or in phases, will disproportionately affect the health and well-being and recreational opportunities of low-income New Yorkers who live in the neighborhood around the Park," Schwartz said.
As The City reported:
Crane ... ruled from the bench that the resiliency project won’t permanently alter the use of East River Park.
Closures will be staggered, and the park will be rebuilt and reopened after construction is complete. "The entire system is designed to protect the park, and to protect the neighborhood behind it," Holland said.
But Pat Arnow, a ERPA leader, said the consequences of the ruling are "dire for the park." Without the alienation process, she fears the city will not be held to account to meet their own deadlines.
"The city says the project will be done in five years. There's nothing to hold them to that schedule," Arnow said in an email. "We think there’s little chance they can complete such a big, complicated project within that time."
Tight deadlines, however, are a big part of why the project is moving ahead now. Much of the funding for the $1.45 billion project comes from post-Superstorm Sandy allocations made by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, which must be spent by 2022.
Last November, City Council signed off on the hotly contested flood-protection plan that will bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. Construction is expected to start this fall.
Previously on EV Grieve:
• Opinion: COVID-19 + Storm Surge = Catastrophe for the Lower East Side and East Village (Feb. 7)
• More details on the city's new plan to keep East River Park partially open during flood protection construction (Oct. 3, 2019)
• At the march and rally to save East River Park (Sept. 21, 2019)
• A visit to East River Park (July 10, 2019)