Contact Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Ask him to issue an executive order keeping 100 percent of East River Park open during this pandemic!
https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form
212-681-4580
@NYGovCuomo
Here are reasons to cite when you call, write or Tweet the governor:
Without your intervention, the City will start bulldozing 1.2 miles of beloved riverfront park this fall for a controversial flood control project.
Razing the park will be an environmental injustice and public health crisis for our crowded Lower East Side and East Village communities with many people of color, elderly and low-income residents. This neighborhood also has a high Covid-19 infection rate–on top of already high rates of asthma and upper respiratory ills. Especially during this pandemic, our community needs parkland for physical and mental health, a place to be outside and maintain social distance.
NYCHA campuses adjacent to the park have had hundreds of trees felled, been surrounded with chain link fences and have ongoing heavy construction for a separate flood control project. There is no place in our crowded neighborhood to go for fresh air, peace and health–except East River Park.
Here is some background on the project that resulted in a death sentence for East River Park despite fierce opposition:
After Hurricane Sandy, the city worked for years with the community to develop flood wall plans along the FDR and to make the park resilient to survive storm surges. Yet in late 2018 NYC suddenly adopted an expensive, resource intensive, destructive plan. NYC’s $1.45 billion ESCR—East Side Coastal Resiliency—project will close and flatten East River Park in phases beginning with 60% of the Park in September. The ESCR will cover the Park in 8 feet of imported fill (nearly a million tons) as flood protection and will rebuild the Park on top. It will surely take longer than the City’s timeline of 5 years.
Now, even in the face of a pandemic when we need park space more than ever, the city is on schedule to proceed with this harmful ESCR.
A mandate that the city keep the entire park open at least while we face the pandemic would make a big difference for our neighborhood. Besides enabling our unwealthy community to maintain our physical and mental health, this pause will give the city time to reconsider immediate and long-term flood control that will preserve our park.
Contact City Officials, too.
At the end of this page is a list of city officials with their phone numbers, email addresses, and Twitter addresses. Don’t let them forget that they are destroying the most wonderful park in our wonderful but very crowded neighborhood–during a pandemic!
The capital budget for the city will not be finalized until fall. We still have time to demand a better plan that will preserve our park and give us flood control. Ask city officials to revise the ESCR to a less destructive plan and move some of the capital funds to other important capital projects such as affordable housing. (Capital funds such as the ESCR’s can only be moved to other capital projects–buildings and infrastructure projects–not operating expenses, unfortunately.)
Lawsuit News
Meanwhile, we are still working on our state alienation lawsuit. East River Park ACTION is the lead with 90 plaintiffs. Read the lastest on our lawsuit page. Our court date is August 20 on Skype. Details to come.
We aren’t giving up.
If you are interested in becoming part of the ongoing discussions about what’s happening and what we can do, consider joining Slack.. If we can get our community talking there, that would be add to our effectiveness. Write to us for Slack invitation, and/or to join the discussion:
ourpark@eastriverparkaction.org
Donate to East River Park ACTION to help continue the fight to #SaveEastRiverPark.
Twitter
Instagram
Like our Facebook page: East River Park ACTION
#SaveEastRiverPark
CALL EMAIL and/or Tweet:
Carlina Rivera, City Council Member, East Village
212 677 1077
district2@council.nyc.gov
@CarlinaRivera
Margaret Chin, City Council Member, Lower East Side
212-587-3159
chin@council.nyc.gov @CM_MargaretChin
Keith Powers. City Council Member, Stuyvesant Town area
212-818-0580
KPowers@council.nyc.gov
@KeithPowersNYC
Daniel Dromm, Chair Of The Council Finance Committee
This committee is responsible for reviewing and modifying the City budget.
212-788-7066 or 718-803-6373
dromm@council.nyc.gov
@dromm25
Vanessa Gibson, Chair Of The Finance Committee’s Subcommittee On Capital Budget And Finance
718-588-7500 or 212-788-6856
district16bronx@council.nyc.gov
@VanessaLGibson
Donovan Richards, Chair Of The Committee On Public Safety
212-788-7216 or 718-471-7014
drichards@council.nyc.gov
@RichardsForBP
Speaker Corey Johnson, Speaker Of The Council
He is a Mayor hopeful
212-564-7757 or 212-788-7210
speakerjohnson@council.nyc.gov
@NYCSpeakerCoJo
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams
He is a Mayor hopeful
718-802-3700
askeric@brooklynbp.nyc.gov
@BKBoroHall
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
212-669-7200
reception@advocate.nyc.gov
@JumaaneWilliams
Gale Brewer, Manhattan Borough President
212-669-8300
info@manhattanbp.nyc.gov
@galebrewer
Scott M. Stringer, NYC Comptroller
212-669-3916
action@comptroller.nyc.gov
@NYCComptroller
Mayor De Blasio does not have a public email address.
Call 311 to leave a message.
Send messages through their direct contact pages on the NYC government website: https://tinyurl.com/deblasioemail
@NYCMayorsOffice
DIRECTORY OF ALL COUNCIL MEMBER EMAILS/PHONE NUMBERS
Directory link: https://council.nyc.gov/districts/
