Hello Ruthless Closing Plan for East River Park The city promised it would leave 40 percent of the park open throughout construction. Here is their draft map for the 60 percent they will fence off in November. The rust-colored sections on the map will be closed and under construction for two years minimum. The recently…
Tag: East Side Coastal Resiliency
Beyond Dystopic
How to Make a terrible situation far worse by Harriet Hirshorn, Lower East Side I’ve been thinking about the terrible timing of shutting down 60 percent of East River Park in September when schools will be open for in room classes only 1-3 times a week. I’m reading articles in the New York Times about…
Opaque
City officials and Community Board 3 claim they are working with the community on the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR). In fact, they are engaging in a ‘conspiracy of silence’ about the massive park-topped flood wall has becomes less transparent to community partners all the time: • no town hall by electeds in…
East River Park Oak Tree
(after Marianne Moore’s “The Camperdown Elm”) by Marcella Durand Dear Mayor Bill de Blasio, I choose as my treean oak that standssomewhat alonein a triangular lawn-like spacefacing the East Riverin East River Park,which is slatedto be demolishedthis coming Septemberper your opaque and confusingplans to, at some point,protect the Lower East Sidefrom floodingduring superstorms. The oak…
Interim Flood Protection
Wrecking East River Park can wait, but the Lower East Side and East Village need storm surge barriers for the hurricane season coming up. The East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) plan that would demolish East River Park is likely to be delayed. “In New York City, which was crippled in 2012 by Hurricane Sandy, the…
Pandemic Refuge
Sarah A, an East River Park advocate writes, “The park’s been a tremendous source of comfort and relief to everyone during this pandemic. We go there daily and see many people from all walks of life using it and enjoying the spring beauty now erupting in the flowers and trees. It’s truly become a place…
Suing
How to stop the city from demolishing East River Park with an environmentally disastrous, climate damaging flood control project that is needed, paradoxically, because of climate change. East River Park ACTION and 15 other community groups along with some 75 individuals filed suit Feb. 6 to force the city to pursue Alienation from the state….
Alienated
It’s how we feel and also a legal term that can help East River Park First, some background Last fall the City abruptly jettisoned a plan formed by Lower East Side residents and experts working together, to shield our community from the negative impacts of flooding caused by extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy. They…
Imagine All the People–and the Flood Control Plan for East River Park
A conversation with the planners at a public event Why Not the Old Plan? What happened to the berms (the earlier, accepted plan for the park featured grassy embankments alongside the FDR Drive)? I asked Eric Ilijevich, Associate Project Manager at NYC Department of Design and Construction. Why couldn’t we stay with that plan? Parts…
“Hey Dude, don’t be afraid,
Take a sad plan And make it better Remember To let us into our Park Then you can start To make it better” That was the anthem, sung to the tune of “Hey Jude” composed by Marie de Cenival for our demonstration before the City Planning Commission hearing July 31 about the fate of our…