[
East River Park view from Monday]
Back on Friday afternoon, the New York City Department of Design and Construction released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, quietly moving forward (via a tweet at 3:59 p.m.) the public review phase for the $1.45 billion project to stormproof the east side.
There are hundreds and hundreds of pages of documents with footnotes and collateral materials (the
table of contents alone is a unwieldy 32 pages).
To date, Patch is
the only media outlet that I've seen cover the release of these documents.
For starters, you can find all the materials at this
link.
The documents offer several alternatives to protect the east side, though, as stated, the preferred method is the updated
one unveiled last fall that caught community groups, residents and
local elected officials by surprise ... the one in which 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, shutting down the current amenities, cutting down many of the trees and rebuilding
the recently renovated running track, among other things.
City officials have said in various presentations that this approach will provide a reduced construction time, resulting in an operable flood protection system for the 2023 hurricane season.
The city is accepting public comments through Aug. 15, which
might be enough time to make it through all the documents. This
link has details on how — and where — to comment. (Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that the city is offering any quick recaps/overviews of the various alternatives to burying the park — you've have to wade through pages of impenetrable copy. I'm still going through the materials myself.)
A public hearing is set for July 31 with the City Planning Commission along with the Office of Management and Budget and the Parks & Recreation Department. More on the when and where closer to the date.
Meanwhile, the newly formed community group called
the East River Alliance continues to help organize various East River Park stakeholders and to ensure that the design and reconstruction "reflects our community’s needs and values."
The group is hosting an informational meeting tonight between 6:30-8:30 at PS15, The Roberto Clemente School, 333 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D. Alliance members have been documenting life along the East River Park on Instagram. As they note, this is the last spring to enjoy the Park for the next several years...
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
