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 of mental and physical refuge for everyone.”
To start major construction as planned this fall on the park that people desperately need during this crisis would be an especially cruel and unusual punishment.
And, as Sara A points out, “New York State’s 2020 budget has a $6.1 billion in deficit. With the pandemic in full swing and tax revenues greatly lowered, we need to postpone any kind of work on the park to take care of the economic damage the virus is causing. Proceeding with the ESCR this year (or next) would be incredibly wasteful and unconscionable given so many people have lost and are losing their jobs and income. ”
We urge the city to provide the Lower East Side and East Village with temporary flood protection before the onset of the Hurricane season this summer. Halt the East Side Coastal Resiliency project the way it is currently planned.
English
Yes, stop the plan. Provide flood protection, but NOT by destroying the park. Unacceptable.
Every time I went to the East River during the pandemic, I saw people taking care of their bodies, responsibly. Taking care of their families. Taking care of their health. Taking care of each other. Taking care of the earth. Praying. Exercising. Breathing – beneath a mask so as to protect their fellow human beings. Running, listening to music, rejoicing in nature — the one place we have access to it. We certainly need flood protection but not this way. Not if it means losing access to fresh air, grass, waterfront. Not if it means losing our sanity.