Sign the Petition! Four years ago, our Lower East Side/East Village community petitioned the City Council to reconsider the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) plan that would demolish its beloved mile-long East River Park and build a massive levee. Less destructive alternatives were possible. Our voices went unheard. Today, we face the consequences as the…
Category: East River Park
Public Art, or More Construction?
New sculpture adds more dystopia to East River Park An art installation, “Joined an Avalanche, Never to be Alone Again,” opened October 4 at the foot of the temporary Corlears Hook Park bridge. The piece features gravel, corrugated steel, core samples, repurposed fencing from the FDR–and asphalt. At a recent walk-through, the DDC Public Artist in Residence Carlos Irijalba…
Despite Community Warnings, City Officials Neglected Rainfall Flooding in the $2 Billion East River Park Project.
In spite of persistent concerns raised by community members and experts, the East Side Coastal Resiliency project has omitted crucial measures to address rainfall-induced flooding. The repercussions are now painfully evident. City officials brushed aside community members by asserting that residents lacked the expertise to comprehend the project’s intricacies. However, the absence of a comprehensive plan to…
Our Health and Environment
Make it Better July 26 was our first general meeting of East River Park Action in almost two years. The last time was in October 2021 at the still-existing amphitheater. The unrevised East Side Coastal Resiliency project is now under construction. Do not despair! There is much we can do to improve our health and…
Make Parkland and Public Transit
Not More Emissions from the FDR In 2019, when the City Council approved the East Side Coastal Resiliency project that would create a levee alongside the East River, the city promised to study the viability of covering the six-lane FDR Drive. It would add parkland and additional flood control and also stem emissions and noise…
Artificial turf, real damage
Pier 42 provides much needed recreational space during ESCR construction. But its artificial turf is shedding into the East River. by Marcella Durand For a too-brief moment, New York City discouraged the use of artificial turf near waterways. Its “Guidelines for NYC Parks” once included the following advice: “New synthetic turf or track surfacing is generally not recommended…
What to Count and When to Breathe
In the absence of birds, I counted vehicles. There were plenty. by Marcella Durand There is a new hawk in town: a juvenile red-tailed hawk that sits on trees and fences between Corlears Hook Park and the tiny oblong of passive lawn in what used to be East River Park. I like to keep an…
The Case for Quercus
The cost of cutting down 29 oak trees in East River Park—just a few of the approximately 600 trees destroyed one year ago by New York City Marcella Durand In Nature’s Best Hope, Douglas Tallamy writes, “Ecologically, oaks are superior plants, and it would be easy to make a convincing case that they deliver more…
Hot and Hotter
Sparse shade in the remains of East River Park means that temperatures in the former oasis are dangerously high. We need remedies. Some intrepid Actioneers braved the outdoors despite heat advisories August 9. We measured temperatures around the area of East River Park. (We started measurements at Corlears Hook Park as shown above because that’s where…
Read the Toxicity Report Here
East River Park Soil Sampling Toxicity Report Executive Summary Full Report