Here are the latest stories about East River Park and the East Side Coastal Resiliency Plan. To read news about other resiliency projects, climate change and environmental justice, see our Resiliency News page. To read the 21st Century history of East River Park and links to plans and documents, see our History and Resources page. News about East River Park from 2023-2025 here.
To read the complete article of any listed below, use the link on the name of the publication. News about our efforts to stop ARTIFICIAL TURF in New York is now in our Synthetic Turf News page.
New York Faces Half a Trillion in Storm Prevention Costs, Report Finds
By Hilary Howard, July 23, 2026, New York Times
A study from a group called Rebuild by Design estimates that the money will be needed to repair the effects of climate change in the next 24 years.
“…In New York City, which faces significant infrastructure, flooding and extreme heat problems — and also has several plans in place to address these issues — the cost of climate change preparations breaks down to about $50,000 per resident.”
East River Park Action notes: Rebuild by Design initially expressed horror at the East Side Coastal Resiliency project when the plan dropped on us to raze and rebuild the entire park. However, they went onto support the project. That stamp of approval eased the path to total destruction. East River Park environmentalists wrote in the comments section of the article that are worth seeing here:
from “Allecram”: As someone who cherished East River Park’s acres of greenery and hundreds of beautiful mature trees that provided fresh air and shade, and now living with a “new” “climate-friendly” park with no shade at all and primarily hard surfaces like truck-wide concrete paths and artificial turf, I wouldn’t trust Rebuild by Design with repotting one of my houseplants after their involvement with ESCR.
from Tommy Loeb: Rebuild By Design first had serious questions about the $2 billion being spent on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Plan. However, like some other environmental organizations they knew they were intimidated by the City to support the plan or lose all future support. I live right across the FDR from East River Park. After Sandy the park was useable less than 48 hours later with minimal damage. The community had to go to court to get the planning documents and when we did it was mostly redacted and the Judge ordered them un redacted. Now we are left with a neutered park after the loss of 1200 mature trees that will take decades to grow. That may never even happen since the plan itself admittedly may be useless depending on the rate of climate change. We are also told that the NEW sewers can only take 1.75 inches of rain per hour of rain so neighborhoods like the Lower East Side will continue to flood from major rain storms. All we are protected from is flooding from East River which has only happened once in recent history. So thanks but no thanks for the help we got from Rebuild By Design!
from Pat Arnow: The $2 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project razed more than a mile of absorbent parkland along the East River on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The same storm surge and sea level rise protection had earlier been planned for half that cost. Much of the existing parkland could have been spared to contribute to climate resiliency. The enhanced sewer system is inadequate for heavy rainfall. No climate or environmental scientists or public health officials were included in the final, bloated planning. Protection from climate change needs more conscientious planning. We still don’t have most of our park back after almost five years of construction, but we have flooding after every heavy rain.
Opinion: NYC’s Parks Need More Government Funding, Not More Volunteers
BYJESSICA BURKE, JULY 9, 2026, City Limits
“New York City deserves parks that are cared for by skilled Parks workers whose expertise and labor cannot be replaced by volunteers.”
Can Sponge Cities Save Us from the Coming Floods?
As the planet gets warmer and the rains fall harder, the future of flood control is looking less like a wall and something more like a park.
By Eric Klinenberg, April 6, 2026, The New Yorker (pdf)
The East Side Coastal Resiliency project, a 2.4-mile flood barrier that doubles as parkland along Manhattan’s Lower East Side, is the city’s largest and costliest climate initiative. The original design, led by the firm BIG, imagined a floodable landscape—planted slopes rising from the East River and a grassy berm on the western edge meant to capture storm surge. Engineers judged that version infeasible. The city chose a more muscular solution, raising the park and lifting the river’s edge to form a wall intended to hold back sixteen feet of surge. It also added submerged, deployable tide gates that, when closed, turn sewer outfalls into watertight barriers, keeping river water out of the pipes and wastewater out of the river.
In solving one problem, though, elevated walls and hardened gates can create another: rainfall gets trapped on the streets...
New York City Rebuilds a Waterfront Park to Hold Back Rising Seas
After a $1.45 billion makeover, East River Park promises to use massive sea walls and earthen berms to protect Lower Manhattan from flooding. But for how long?
By James S. Russell, March 13, 2026, Bloomberg
Along Manhattan’s East River, visitors have flocked to the gently rolling topography of a new park landscape. As they stroll or bike along a riverside esplanade, they also encounter high concrete walls and massive floodgates — reminders that this new waterfront space is also a critical line of defense against the extreme weather that will be in New York City’s future.
EAST RIVER PARK RISES, AND LOWER MANHATTAN WONDERS WHAT IT LOST
By Mallory Decker, March 13, 2026, Hoodline NYC
Lower Manhattan’s long-rumored waterfront makeover is no longer a set of renderings on a bulletin board. The city has rebuilt large stretches of East River Park and raised portions of the shoreline to blunt storm surges and future sea-level rise. The elevated terrain now does double duty as public playground and flood barrier, with new courts, lawns and pathways taking over much of the old footprint. Neighbors concede the redesign offers real protection in big storms, yet say the price was steep: decades of mature tree canopy vanished, and some residents are still questioning whether the tradeoff pencils out.