East River Greenway

The narrow portion of the Greenway, at 18th Street, at night in 2009

The East River Greenway (also called the East River Esplanade) is an approximately 9.44-mile-long (15.19 km) foreshoreway for walking or cycling on the east side of the island of Manhattan on the East River. The largest portions are operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. It is separated from motor traffic, and many sections also separate pedestrians from cyclists. The greenway is parallel to the Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive for a majority of its length.

Parts of the greenway were built at different times. Most of the greenway was built in the 1930 to 1950s in conjunction with the nearby FDR Drive, with exceptions:

Route

New York City Waterfalls along the East River Greenway at Pier 35

The greenway runs along the East Side, from Battery Park and past South Street Seaport to a dead end at 125th Street, East Harlem with a 1.3-mile (2.1 km) gap from 34th to 60th streets in Midtown where pedestrians use busy First and Second Avenues to get around United Nations Headquarters between the Upper East Side and Kips Bay portions of the Greenway. Cyclists going further north who do not wish to carry their bike up the long flight of stairs at 81st Street must skip the 60th Street access and continue in the on-street bike lanes another 1.1 miles (1.8 km) to 83rd Street.

Some places are narrow due to sinkholes being blocked off by protective fencing, and one part squeezes between the highway and the dock of Con Edison's East River Station, requiring slower speeds. Other parts are shared space with motor access to Waterside Plaza or a filling station. Approximately one mile (1.6 km) near the southwest end is in the shadow of the elevated FDR Drive. This part is to be improved by the East River Esplanade project.

In the summer of 2008 the East River Greenway, along with the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, provided viewing locations to see the New York City Waterfalls.

Components

East Harlem

A section in East Harlem with a pothole

The East Harlem section runs from the Triborough Bridge ramp at 124th Street to the Gracie Mansion site at 90th Street, where the Greenway rises to a walkway above the double-decker FDR Drive that resembles the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. It contains four footbridges across the FDR Drive as well as a footbridge, the Wards Island Bridge, to Randalls and Wards Islands at 103rd Street.[1]

Although the park is in East Harlem, where all residents have access to a pocket park, neighborhood park, or major park within one-quarter mile (0.4 km), amenities are limited in this section of the greenway. This decrepit portion of the East River Greenway has little open space and is poorly maintained; it also has no recreation facilities.[2]

Carl Schurz Park

John Finley Walk in the park, a promenade named after John Huston Finley, is also for bicycles

The East River Greenway then passes along Carl Schurz Park at 40°46′31″N 73°56′37″W / 40.77528°N 73.94361°W / 40.77528; -73.94361, near the location of Gracie Mansion, and overlooks the waters of Hell Gate and Wards Island in the East River. There are tours of the restored building every Wednesday. The park's waterfront promenade is a deck built over the FDR Drive, enclosing the roadway except on the side facing the East River. The park is bordered on the west by East End Avenue and on the south by Gracie Square, the extension of East 84th Street to the river. Visitors to the park will find winding, shady paths, green lawns, waterfront views, basketball courts, a large playground for children, and two dog runs. The park is maintained with the help of volunteers and a full-time staff of gardeners.

The area originally was named by an early owner, Siebert Classen, "Hoorn's Hook", for his native Hoorn on the Zuider Zee.[3] Later, the area south of 86th Street was set aside as "East River Park", and was used as a picnic ground when the northern section was acquired by the City of New York in 1891.[4] The easternmost block of 86th Street was acquired subsequently, and the street de-mapped. The park was designed by Calvert Vaux and Samuel Parsons 1902, and it was reconstructed in 1935 by Robert Moses, due to the creation of the FDR Drive,[5] with revised landscaping by Maud Sargent. The park's restoration from a neglected state in the early 1970s was due to the energies of a neighborhood group, the not-for-profit Carl Schurz Park Association (incorporated 1974), formed originally to clean up the park's single playground.[6] Today, it is part of the greenway.

Upper East Side

This section continues at 81st Street and goes down to the Queensboro Bridge, with footbridges at 78th, 73rd, and 62nd Streets.

The part of the greenway nearest the Queensboro Bridge was the topic of 197-a plans released by Community Board 8 in 2002, and again in 2006. Proposals include reusing a heliport New York City Department of Sanitation building at 59th Street, renovating existing parks nearby (including the Andrew Haswell Green Park between 60th and 62nd Streets), and using a disused vehicular ramp to connect the greenway to York Avenue at 60th Street. This renovation was funded by a development project at 73rd Street by the City University of New York and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.[7]

United Nations

South of 60th Street, to 38th Street, the greenway enters its only undeveloped section, save for a small section accessed by a footbridge at 50th Street. In October 2011, the city and state reached an agreement to use the western portion of Robert Moses Playground at 41st Street for an expansion of the United Nations Headquarters campus. In exchange, the United Nations Development Corporation would pay $73 million to fund the development of the gap in the Greenway between 38th and 60th streets.[8]

Designs for this part of the greenway were revealed in November 2013. The new design, which incorporates an amphitheater and a floating pier, is proposed to open in three phases, the first being in 2015 and the last by 2024.[9] The three parts are between 38th, 41st, 53rd, and 60th Streets, with three gathering nodes along the way.[10]

Kips Bay/Waterside

See also: Waterside Plaza

This approximately three-quarters-mile (1.2 km) portion of the greenway, accessed by a pedestrian crosswalk at 37th Street, contains both the East 34th Street Ferry Landing and the East 34th Street Heliport, and formerly also was near the East 34th Street Ferry Landing.

The greenway portion and the apartment buildings that make up Waterside Plaza (as well as the neighboring United Nations International School) were constructed on top of platforms supported by over 2,000 concrete piles sunk into the East River.[11] Developed by Richard Ravitch, the first apartment buildings opened in 1973 and the complex and greenway section was completed the following year.[12][13]

Stuyvesant Cove Park

Looking south from Stuyvesant Cove Park

The greenway enters Stuyvesant Cove Park (at 40°43′59.5″N 73°58′26.5″W / 40.733194°N 73.974028°W / 40.733194; -73.974028), a 1.9-acre (7,700 m2) public park that runs from 23rd Street to 18th Street, east of Avenue C. It is located to the south of Waterside Plaza and to the north of the East River Park, connecting to the Captain Patrick J. Brown Walk on the south end.[14]

Dance company rehearsing on the stage at Stuyvesant Cove Park

Located on the former brownfield site of a cement plant and a parking lot, the park's plan, released in 1997[15] gave way to a park that was created after the failure of the proposed Riverwalk mixed-use development that would have included residential units, offices, a hotel and a marina.[16] Surplus cement dumped from trucks into the East River has created a small beach in the middle of the park near the end of 20th Street.[17][18][19]

The park, which was completed in 2002, cost $8.3 million and was designed by Donna Walcavage Landscape Architecture.[20][21] Solar 1, an environmental learning center with a small outdoor stage for public performances, is located at the north end of the park.

Captain Patrick J. Brown Walk

Captain Patrick J. Brown Walk

The next part of the greenway is the Captain Patrick J. Brown Walk (at 40°43′51″N 73°58′23″W / 40.73083°N 73.97306°W / 40.73083; -73.97306), a brick-paved walkway that connects Stuyvesant Cove Park on the north to East River Park to the south. Designed for use by pedestrians and cyclists, it runs approximately between 15th and 18th streets, and Avenues C and D, and was named in 2002.[22]

15th Street bottleneck

It was named after Captain Patrick J. Brown, a firefighter who died in the September 11 attacks, and who lived in nearby Stuyvesant Town.[23]

The East River Blueway plan between 38th Street and the Brooklyn Bridge, released on February 7, 2013,[24] would elevate the walkway above the FDR Drive, with ramps rising to a gradual pedestrian bridge located where the 15th Street bottleneck is now.[25] Then-Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer pledged $3.5 million toward the whole plan.[26]

East River Park

For the park in Brooklyn, see East River State Park.

Then, the greenway goes into East River Park (at 40°43′03″N 73°58′27″W / 40.71750°N 73.97417°W / 40.71750; -73.97417), which is a 57.5-acre (20 ha) public park located on the Lower East Side. The park stretches from East 12th Street down to Montgomery Street on the east side of the FDR Drive. The southern entrance boasts good views of the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge. The amphitheater, built in 1941 just south of Grand Street, has been reconstructed and is often used for public performances.[27] The park includes football, baseball and soccer fields, tennis, basketball and handball courts, a running track, and bike paths. Fishing is another popular activity. The park is bisected by the Williamsburg Bridge.

East River Waterfront

Construction site
Businessmen having lunch at Pier 15 on the East River Esplanade

The last part of the greenway is the East River Waterfront Project, also referred to as the "East River Esplanade", though the latter name applies to the whole project. It consists of two miles (3.2 km) along the East River waterfront between Montgomery Street, along South Street, to the Battery Maritime Building east of Battery Park. The project aims to rehabilitate the existing waterfront space and connect it to two existing waterfront parks, Battery Park and East River Park. Upon completion in 2015,[28] the East River Esplanade is slated to feature three rebuilt piers (14, 15, and 35) new glass pavilions underneath the elevated FDR Drive, new bike lanes, recreational facilities, and waterfront seating.[29]

Origins

The East River waterfront in Lower Manhattan was known for heavy maritime activity, with over 40 piers in operation by the later 1950s.[30] The busy waterfront provided easy access to New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean in the south, the Hudson River on the west, with a connection to the Erie Canal. However, the rise of truck traffic and the transfer of port activity to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal drastically reduced maritime traffic on the river after the middle 20th century. With many piers now defunct, ambitious plans have been made to reclaim and reuse the pier space. The north-south arterial highway, the FDR Drive, was moved to an elevated location to allow convenient access to the piers.[31][32] In the 1970s, the Water Street Access Plan was drafted to extend the confines of the traditional Financial District eastward and create a new business corridor along Water Street, south of Fulton Street. Noting the success of the World Financial Center, the East Side Landing plan was created in the 1980s to add commercial and office buildings along the waterfront, again south of Fulton Street, similar to Battery Park City. This plan never materialized.[30]

In 1982, there was a plan to expand the Seaport Museum of New York and attract tourist activity. Parts of the district were devoted to retail, including the main building of the Fulton Fish Market. A modern shopping mall was then built on Pier 17 and was opened in September 11, 1985.[33][34][35] Furthermore, the Fulton Fish Market formerly located around South Street and Fulton Street, was pressured to relocate in 2005 to Hunts Point in the Bronx due to plans for the redevelopment of the Manhattan waterfront.

The pedestrian and bike path was first established in the late 1990s between Montgomery Street in the Lower East Side and Broad Street in the Financial District. Benches were also added along the partially restored waterfront. The pedestrian path/bikeway has been well received by community members. Drawbacks exist however:[36][37]

During Michael Bloomberg's tenure as mayor, he spearheaded the PlaNYC 2030 initiative, which highlights projects and plans to transform the city by the year 2030.[38] An important focus was put on the waterfront, including the East River waterfront. Bloomberg also stressed the importance of ferry transport, as an alternative to existing land transport options. The Pier 11/Wall Street ferry terminal has long operated East River waterfront, with regular trips to New Jersey. In June 2011, a ferry service to piers on Brooklyn's waterfront started.

Renovation

SHoP Architects led the design process in the creation of the East River Esplanade, consulting community members during the planning years between 2002 and 2006. A year-long study was undertaken in 2004, allowing designers to derive ways that would "enhance waterfront access". Other groups critical to the project's planning phase include the New York City Department of Transportation, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Economic Development Corporation, the Department of City Planning and other agencies and groups. $137 million was secured with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, and work began on a "pilot section" in 2009 between John Street and Wall Street.[29]

According to the Department of City Planning, the overall plan is listed as:[28][29]

The FDR Drive viaduct will be clad, and South Street will be narrowed for much of its length to make room for additional sidewalk space. The glass pavilions will be located underneath the viaduct, and the bike lanes would be moved to the side of the pavilion, underneath the FDR Drive. The piers would be reconstructed to encourage marine growth, by having reef balls to attract fish populations.[39][40]

Access to the Esplanade from the neighboring areas would be undertaken with the redevelopment of "slips" - wedge-shaped road shapes which previously allowed ships to berth. Some of these slips have been used as parking facilities, while others are the southern termini for critical north-south thoroughfares. Reconstructions of the existing slips in the Financial District, the Lower East Side and Chinatown will feature bikeways and landscaped medians. Five of these slip projects are at varying stages of construction. From east to west, they are Montgomery Slip, Rutgers Slip, Pike Slip, Peck Slip, and Burling Slip.[41][42]

Renovation phases

The project is being undertaken in three phases, with first phase completed (including Pier 15).[43][44] Second phase construction started in summer 2011 (from Old Slip to the Battery Maritime Building).[45] Construction on the third phase (Pike Slip to Pier 35, Montgomery Slip) began in fall 2011. This phase will last until 2014 and will cover the rehabilitation underneath the FDR Drive from Maiden Lane to Pier 35.[46] Planning of Phase 4, between Catherine and Pike Slips, concluded in 2013, and construction is scheduled to start in 2014 and last for about a year.[28]

U-shaped barrier

There are plans for a new storm barrier along the southern third of the greenway, between West 57th and East 42nd Streets.[47][48][49] The final proposal, which is geographically U-shaped, will include many features.[47] Under the elevated FDR Drive structure above South Street will be storm barriers hanging from the viaduct's ceiling, which will drop down in case of a storm.[47] A "Battery Berm" will be located at Battery Park, and a maritime museum will be opened on the site of a former Coast Guard building there.[47] The proposal, by Rebuild by Design, will also include components for storm barriers in Hunts Point, Bronx and on Staten Island.[49] The first component, a 2.19-mile-long (4 km) barrier on the Lower East Side between Montgomery and East 13th Streets called "The Bridging Berm", will cost $335 million.[50] In addition to storm protection, the berm—the first of three of the barrier's components—will also provide a pedestrian pathway and bikeway on top of berm, boating and fishing docks, a slope down to current sports fields, upgraded ADA-accessible ramps for bridges across the FDR Drive, and construction materials such as "slurry walls, concrete blocks, a compacted embankment, a clay cap, topsoil and salt-tolerant landscaping."[50] The total cost of the project is over $3.5 billion.[51]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/11/08/east-harlem-parks-report-recognizes-value-of-livable-streets/
  2. ↑ http://www.ny4p.org/research/osi/EastHarlemOSI.pdf
  3. ↑ The account of the site's history is from The WPA Guide to New York City, (1939, 1982:250f).
  4. ↑ So called in Frank Bergen Kelley and Edward Hagaman Hall Historical Guide to the City of New York (City History Club of New York) 1909:135, where Astor's villa is mentioned.
  5. ↑ Caro, Robert A. (1975), The Power Broker, p. 373.
  6. ↑ Carl Schurz Park Association: History
  7. ↑ http://www.cb8m.com/sites/default/files/archive/197aplan.pdf
  8. ↑ Orden, Erica (October 6, 2011). "Greenway Plan Gets 'Missing Link'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  9. ↑ http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/08/08/patchwork-upgrades-move-ahead-as-east-side-waits-for-complete-greenway/
  10. ↑ http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/11/07/city_unveils_designs_for_midtowns_east_river_greenway.php
  11. ↑ "Waterside Plaza History". Waterside Management Company. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
  12. ↑ Fried, Joseph P. (September 13, 1973). "After Nearly 12 Years of Obstacles, Waterside Housing Opens on River". The New York Times. p. 49. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  13. ↑ Pristin, Terry (April 13, 1999). "'Small Town' With Big-City Woes; Tenant-Landlord Fight Taints Innovative Waterside Plaza". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  14. ↑ "Stuyvesant Cove Park". Solar 1. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  15. ↑ http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/community_planning/mn6_stuyvesant_cove_197a.pdf
  16. ↑ Stamler, Bernard (October 26, 1997). "Park to Grow on the Ashes of the Riverwalk Plan". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  17. ↑ "Before & After". Solar 1. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  18. ↑ Kinetz, Erika (January 13, 2002). "Rock Outcropping or Rubble? No One's Neutral on Old Cement". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  19. ↑ Kilgannon, Corey (May 31, 2004). "They'll Take Manhattan (Accidental Beaches, Too)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  20. ↑ Rosen, Dan (December 9, 2009). "Stuy Town Resident Is Putting on The Pier Pressure". The Villager. New York. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  21. ↑ Freeman, Allen (August 2003). "East Side Story". Landscape Architecture. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  22. ↑ "The New York City Council - File #: Int 0084-2002". Legistar.council.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
  23. ↑ "Paddy Brown's Biography". Paddybrown.org. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
  24. ↑ http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/02/07/blueway-plan-envisions-big-changes-for-east-river-greenway/
  25. ↑ Blueway website Archived October 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  26. ↑ "A Plan Aims to Reconnect Residents With the East River Waterfront". The New York Times. February 7, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  27. ↑ "East River Park - Historical Sign". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  28. 1 2 3 "East River Waterfront Study - Department of City Planning". NYC.gov. 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  29. 1 2 3 "Lower Manhattan : Envisioning the Future, Looking Ahead — East River Waterfront Redevelopment". LowerManhattan.info. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  30. 1 2 "East River Waterfront Study - Department of City Planning". NYC.gov. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  31. ↑ "Transforming the East River Waterfront", Sec. 2, pg. 14 New York City Department of City Planning
  32. ↑ http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/erw/east_river_waterfront_book.pdf
  33. ↑ "South Street Seaport - Fordham University". Fordham.edu. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  34. ↑ Richard F. Shepard, “Seaport Site Opens Today With Fanfare”, New York Times, 28 July 1983
  35. ↑ Crystal Nix, “Pier 17 Opens at Seaport With Fanfare Of Trumpets and Fireworks”. New York Times, 12 September 1985. Proquest
  36. ↑ "Transforming the East River Waterfront", Sec. 2, pg. 20 New York City Department of City Planning
  37. ↑ Dunlap, David W. (August 1, 2002). "Plans for the Neglected East River Shoreline". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
  38. ↑ "PlaNYC 2030". NYC.gov. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  39. ↑ "Transforming the East River Waterfront", Sec. 3, pp. 27-37, New York City Department of City Planning
  40. ↑ "Transforming the East River Waterfront", Sec. 4, pp. 39-45, New York City Department of City Planning
  41. ↑ "Transforming the East River Waterfront", Sec. 6, pp. 59, New York City Department of City Planning
  42. ↑ Dunlap, David W. (March 2, 2005). "Restoring a Missing Link: Lower Manhattan to the East River". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
  43. ↑ "Lower Manhattan : News | East River Waterfront Pilot Section Opens". Lowermanhattan.info. 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  44. ↑ "Lower Manhattan : News | East River Pier 15 Opens". Lowermanhattan.info. 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  45. ↑ "Lower Manhattan : News | East River Waterfront Work Enters Next Phase". Lowermanhattan.info. 2010-08-05. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  46. ↑ "Lower Manhattan : East River Waterfront". Lowermanhattan.info. 2012-12-07. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  47. 1 2 3 4 "Rebuild by Design – BIG U". Rebuildbydesign.org. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  48. ↑ BIG Team Final Proposal pdf
  49. 1 2 Beck, Graham T. (2014-04-08). "New York Unveils Dramatic New Storm-Protection Proposals – Next City". Nextcity.org. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  50. 1 2 Beck, Graham T. (2014-06-04). "New York's New $335 Million Storm-Surge Barrier Will Transform the Lower East Side – Next City". Nextcity.org. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  51. ↑ Rogers, Josh (2011-05-11). "City floats new version of 'Seaport City,' but Lower Manhattan committee asks for storm help now". Downtown Express. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
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