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)

Opponents of the latest plan to stormproof East River Park will rally at City Hall today ahead of committee vote

This afternoon (Nov. 4), the City Council Subcommittee on Landmarks, Sitings and Dispositions will vote on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), the $1.45 billion proposal to protect the East Side from future storm and rising sea levels.

Ahead of that, opponents of the plan, which will see parts of East River Park closed and buried in the years ahead, will rally on the steps of City Hall at noon.

Via the EVG inbox:

East River Park Action, a grassroots group formed to save the park, along with allies, have gathered thousands of petitions against the destructive flood control plan. They will deliver the petitions to the mayor’s office and City Council members. One group collected nearly 2,000 signatures from NYCHA residents, who have been portrayed by city officials as supporting the plan.

“We wanted to shut that argument down,” said April Merlin, who organized the drive. Her group found that people in Jacob Riis, Baruch, and Lillian Wald Houses across the FDR Drive from the park readily signed.

The group will also perform a satirical skit to represent the thousands of community stakeholders who they say are being ignored. “We’ve been testifying at hearings, demonstrating, and calling and writing our elected officials in overwhelming numbers. Yet our Council members are supporting this terrible plan,” says East River Park ACTION founder Pat Arnow.

The group supports adapting an earlier community-developed plan that provides flood control with minimal destruction of existing parkland and biodiversity.

On Oct. 2, the de Blasio administration announced more changes to the city's stormproofing plans for East River Park. Instead of the entire Park shutting down for three-plus years starting in March, the flood protection construction will be done in phases, with all of East River Park remaining open until next fall.

The plan has been making its way through the city’s uniform land use review procedure in recent months, as we've been reporting (see select links below). If the subcommittee votes for the plan this afternoon, then it will go to the Land Use Committee on Nov. 12 and to the full City Council on Nov. 14.

Meanwhile, on Nov. 14, officials from the Department of Design & Construction are scheduled to present the latest details on the plan before Community Board 3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront & Resiliency Committee. That public meeting is at 6:30 p.m. in the BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Dutch consultant files report on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (Oct. 11)

• More details on the city's new plan to keep East River park partially open during flood protection construction (Oct. 3)

• At the march and rally to save East River Park (Sept. 21)

• An annual reunion in East River Park (Aug. 4)

• A visit to East River Park (July 10)

This week's public meeting about stormproofing East River Park

By now you know what the city has planned for East River Park starting in March. (If not, quickly: City officials, starting next spring, plan to close East River Park for three-plus years, burying it with 8- to 10-feet of soil to help protect the east side from future storms as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project.)



Tomorrow (Wednesday) night from 6-8, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is hosting a public meeting on the the project. The NYC Department of Design and Construction will present the plan, "followed by testimony from all those interested." (Two hours doesn't seem like enough time TBH.)



The meeting takes place in the Podell Auditorium in the Bernstein Pavilion at Mt. Sinai Beth Israel at 10 Nathan D. Perlman Place. (Roughly off of 15th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...



The DDC presented an updated version of their plan, which incorporates community input, before a CB3 committee last week. Curbed has coverage here.

Early last week, Brewer called for a 60-day delay "to answer the profusion of questions and consult with independent environmental experts." As she told Streetsblog: "This is an important project that shouldn’t be rushed. I want to ensure that there is enough time in the review process to allow community members to understand the plan and how it will affect their communities."

On June 25, CB3 approved the proposed plan with a list of specific conditions, as Patch reported.

The plan is now on tour through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), with a deciding vote expected via City Council this fall.

Meanwhile, there have been sightings of various Davey drills along the East River Park... presumably taking soil samples ahead of the work that's to commence next spring...





A group called East River Park Action is hosting a meeting Thursday evening at 6:30 at La Plaza Cultural on Ninth Street and Avenue C, per flyers spotted along the waterway...



You can find out more about East River Park Action here.

Reminders: City Council's oversight hearing on the revised East River Park stormproofing is tomorrow

Tomorrow afternoon at 1, City Council is holding a joint committee hearing with de Blasio administration officials and relevant agency commissioners about the updated East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. (Find the agenda item at this link.)

Council members — led by District 2's Carlina Rivera — hope to learn more about the city's new vision for the revamp to stormproof East River Park. The updated plan was released in the fall, in an L-train-ish fashion that caught many stakeholders by surprise after years of outreach and groundwork.

The updated plan — released without any community input — is radically different than what had been discussed, and its expected cost will increase from $760 million to $1.45 billion, while closing and burying the current East River Park for up to three-plus years. (The city's new design renderings are at this link.)

The Times caught up to the story in a piece headlined To Save East River Park, the City Intends to Bury It on Sunday.

An excerpt from the Times:

In a separate interview, the Parks Department commissioner, Mitchell J. Silver, said that unlike passive parks that double as floodplains, like those by Jamaica Bay, East River Park has structures, lights and synthetic turf, which “does not do well” in floods. And with the river projected to rise two and a half feet in 30 years, raising the park is the only way to save it.

By bringing in landfill and soil by barge, the new plan allows for daytime construction away from the highway, minimizing traffic disruptions. After its scheduled March 2020 launch, the new plan can thus be completed in three years rather than five, with flood protection in place by 2022.

Still, the park’s closing under either plan has left people like Joan Reinmuth, a retired nurse and 30-year East Village resident, doubtful. “This park is more than a recreation facility,” she said. “These kids in NYCHA houses don’t take vacation cruises. They don’t shop at Zabar’s for fish; they fish to eat. Early mornings, men are shaving in the fountains.”

Rivera, who called for Wednesday's oversight hearing, shared her thoughts on the project in series of tweets on Friday...

Although the NYT headline above suggests otherwise, we still do not have any real data and analysis that explains why the entire park needs to buried and replaced, which would double original cost of this massive project. (3/5)

— Carlina Rivera 利華娜 (@CarlinaRivera) January 18, 2019

I think Vaylateena Jones sums up how we all feel: “The way this planning is being done is disempowering. City officials collaborated with us over four years and came up with a detailed design — only to now return with this entirely new design.” (5/5)

— Carlina Rivera 利華娜 (@CarlinaRivera) January 18, 2019

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: The reality of storm-proofing East River Park in 2020

Storm center: Questions linger over updated plans for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project

Mayor's new East River Park flood plan faces City Council scrutiny

Mayor's new East River Park flood plan faces City Council scrutiny

On Jan. 23, City Council is holding a hearing with de Blasio administration officials about the updated East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. (Find the agenda item at this link.)

As you know, the Mayor's office announced a new vision for the long-delayed revamp to stormproof East River Park back in the fall. The updated plan is radically different than what had been discussed, and its expected cost will increase from $760 million to $1.45 billion, while closing and gutting the current East River Park for up to three and a half years. (The city's new design renderings are at this link.)

City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, whose district is most impacted by the new plans, announced the joint hearing of the City Council’s Committees on Parks and Environmental Protection yesterday.

Here's part of her statement:

"This hearing will finally give the Council and our community the chance to hear directly from the Mayor’s team and relevant agency commissioners regarding the recent changes to this monumental coastal protection project. Even with multiple community briefings and meetings with elected officials, we still do not have important details about this project, and I expect the Mayor’s team to come well prepared and help us understand the need for these drastic changes.

This new plan represents a fundamental departure from anything the City has previously discussed and would reportedly bring the projected cost of the project to $1.45 billion. The Mayor’s Office has failed to provide detailed analyses for explaining why this $700 million increase is necessary.

In addition, this new plan would require the closure of East River Park, the only real green space for tens of thousands of NYCHA residents and community members on the Lower East Side, for three years. Officials have not explained in any way how they will provide alternate outdoor space for this community, which has one of the highest asthma rates in the city.

We want a resilient city, and we will use this hearing to ensure that this project and others like it throughout the city can actually accomplish our progressive environmental goals."

The previous stormproofing as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Plan would have required closing a lane of the FDR and working around Con Edison power lines. However, city officials have said that building out the flood protection and reconstructing the park would eliminate these FDR traffic issues as well as speed up the construction process by one hurricane season.

In addition, the most recent version of the plan would transform the East River Park into a "world-class park" with a variety of courts for tennis and basketball and (fields for soccer) — all protected from storms and sea-level rise.

Meanwhile, tomorrow night, CB3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee will hear updates on the East Side Coastal Resiliency project. The committee meeting starts at 6:30. Location: BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth.


[Proposed schedule via the city. Click to go big.]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: The reality of storm-proofing East River Park in 2020

Storm center: Questions linger over updated plans for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project

If you want to hear about the new plans to stormproof East River Park

CB3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee will hear updates on the East Side Coastal Resiliency project on Thursday night.

Apparently this will be a repeat from the two public meetings the Parks Department held last month.

As you know, the city has new plans to protect the East Side against catastrophic flooding along the East River from Montgomery Street to 25th Street. The-now $1.45 billion project raises East River Park by up to 10 feet when work starts in March 2020. To do this, though, the city will need to close East River Park for up to three and a half years, and removing many of the current amenities, such as the new running track and soccer field. (Maybe Gov. Cuomo will pull an 11th-hour not-so-fast here.)

The city released new design renderings of the revised resiliency plan, which you can find at this link. (The PDF is 57 pages, FYI.)

The committee meeting starts Thursday night at 6:30. Location: BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth. The meeting includes construction updates about Pier 35, Pier 36 and Pier 42.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: The reality of storm-proofing East River Park in 2020

Storm center: Questions linger over updated plans for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project

Storm center: Questions linger over updated plans for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project

The folks at LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens) are spreading the word — as seen in the holiday-themed flyers above — about the city's new plans to storm-proof East River Park.

Details emerged earlier this fall (city press release here) about the updated construction phase to protect the East Side against catastrophic flooding along the East River from Montgomery Street to 25th Street. (Most of the changes occur between Cherry Street and 13th Street.)

As reported in October, the-now $1.45 billion project raises East River Park by up to 10 feet when work starts in March 2020. To do this, though, the city will need to close East River Park for up to three and a half years, bulldozing all the current amenities, including the new running track and soccer field.

The previous storm-proofing as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Plan would have required closing a lane of the FDR and working around Con Edison power lines. However, city officials have said that building out the flood protection and reconstructing the park on top would eliminate these issues as well as speed up the construction process by one hurricane season.

The city's two public meetings earlier this month on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project apparently didn't do much to educate the public on its revised plans or provide adequate time for feedback.

Per the LUNGS website:

Very complicated plans were presented for 45 minutes and the public was asked to respond for 30 minutes and fill out stick ’ems to be put on printed drafts and proposed construction diagrams. That was the extent of the public involvement. There has been no transparency in this process.

The Villager and Town & Village have recaps from these meetings.

Per The Villager:

[I]t took the city four years to realize the pitfalls of the previous plan, to the chagrin of locals and Downtown politicians, who have several unanswered questions.

“Part of the problem is the city can’t answer basic questions about why this is necessary and what range of options they’ve considered to protect this community for resiliency,” said state Senator Brian Kavanagh. Kavanagh sent a joint letter with nine other Manhattan pols to the Mayor’s Office last week outlining their concerns.

“On some level, the proposal here today is to destroy this park in order to save it,” Kavanagh said. “And if we could be persuaded that this is the only way to protect the community from catastrophic storms, that would be a good start to this conversation, but unfortunately this city, after many years of planning, decided without consultation to scrap the original plan and announce an entirely new plan.”

At the meetings, the city released new design renderings of the revised resiliency plan. (You can find the 57-page PDF of the new plan at this link.)

Here is a rendering showing the finalized area around Delancey, including a new pedestrian overpass...



... and a look at areas between Sixth Street and 10th Street...



According to The Villager, the new resiliency plan could begins its months-long Uniform Land Use Review Procedure as early as this coming spring ... with construction starting in March 2020 and lasting through the fall of 2023.

On the flyers posted at neighborhood community gardens, LUNGS is encouraging residents to submit feedback on the new plan. You may submit comments to the city via this link. LUNGS has more ways for residents to get involved at this link.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: The reality of storm-proofing East River Park in 2020

Report: The reality of storm-proofing East River Park in 2020

Details about what will happen during the construction phase of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) are becoming known... and people don't seem too thrilled about what will be happening.

The ESCR proposal has been in the works for several years post Sandy. It aims to protect against catastrophic flooding by building a "resilient park" along the East River from Montgomery Street on the Lower East Side to 13th Street, as Curbed reported last month.

The city plans to "lift" East River Park by up to 10 feet when work starts in March 2020. However, to do this, the city will need to close East River Park for up to three and a half years, bulldozing all the current amenities, including the just-unveiled new running track and soccer field.


[EVG photo from last month]

Per the Post yesterday:

The newly revised design will elevate the surface of the 40-acre park between the East River and FDR Drive by dumping tons of soil and fill between 13th and Cherry streets, raise and rebuild the esplanade along the river by boosting the height of the pilings underneath, and erect a flood wall at the river’s edge.

At the height of superstorm Sandy, Lower Manhattan was plunged into darkness and the Con Edison substation on East 13th Street was flooded, sparking a transformer explosion that knocked out part of the island’s grid.

The new plan would protect against such catastrophic flooding.

But the collateral damage is the park and its baseball, football, soccer, basketball, tennis and track facilities, which will be bulldozed and covered, with fill, said a Department of Design and Construction official.

The Post spoke with several Park-goers who were incredulous over the closures, especially having to essentially destroy the new $2.8 million running track and soccer field. (An EVG reader who shared the Post story via email wrote that "this is going to be a huge disruption, logistical nightmare" ... "but perhaps very neccessary.")

Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver told the Post that the agency is brainstorming ideas to bring recreational alternatives to East River Park users.

"We have from now until March 2020," he said. "We are looking at city-owned spaces, parks as options for recreation during construction."