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
