We need East River Park in all the seasons. We need a better flood control plan. Photos and text by Tommy Loeb.
Author: East River Park ACTION
LES Breathe
We have a new air and soil watchdog Air In this neighborhood with high asthma rates, we need to know what’s we are breathing now before the city starts tearing up East River Park. The East Side Coastal Resiliency project will take down 1,000 trees that cleanse the air. The demolition will release particulate matter…
Soil Test
Yes, there is lead in East River Park These samples, collected by Wendy Brawer, were close to the surface. Last year, in 2019, AKRF, which “provides environmental, planning, and engineering consulting services,” had big machines drilling holes all over East River Park. They said they were doing soil tests. What was the composition of that…
Goodbye Promenade
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…
Not One Sandbag Part 2
Interim Flood Protection for the Lower East Side and East Village Deserves a second look. A tropical storm is beating up New York. Temporary barriers have been installed at the South Street Seaport and the Wall Street areas. Nothing is being done for the equally low-lying Lower East Side and East Village. The Office of…
The Rivers Beneath the Streets
Does the East Side Coastal Resiliency incorporate East Village subterranean streams? Mapmaker Wendy Brawer wrote this in February 2019. The questions she asks have not been answered by the city as of the 7/16/20 CB3 Parks meeting. The consequences could be dire. I am haunted by the underground rivers I see in historical maps of Manhattan. I’m especially…
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…
Change the Budget Now
This is a letter to City Council Member Mark Levine, who is chair of Council Committee on Health and as a member of the Progressive Caucus. We are hoping to persuade the City Council to reconsider the budget item that will destroy East River Park. It is critical to contact City Council Members today! Dear Councilman Levine, I want…
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…
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…