East River Park

About

East River Park, also called John V. Lindsay East River Park, is a 57.5-acre (20 ha) public park located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. What remains of it is still administered by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Bisected by the Williamsburg Bridge, it stretched along the East River from Montgomery Street up to 12th Street on the east side of the FDR Drive. Its now-demolished amphitheater, built in 1941 just south of Grand Street, had been reconstructed and was often used for public performances. The park included football, baseball, and soccer fields and a running track: Now only the tennis, basketball, and handball courts and some bike paths, including some parts of the East River Greenway remain. Its East River shoreline still makes fishing a popular recreational activity at all hours of the day.

The park and the surrounding neighborhood were flooded during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, prompting city officials to consider flood mitigation plans that would alter it by raising the elevation of the park to allow the green space to supposedly also act as a berm against storm surge and other flooding events. In December 2019, the New York City Council voted to approve the controversial $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project, involving the park's complete demolition and subsequent renovation, that will elevate it by 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3.0 m). A barrier measuring 2.4 miles (3.9 km) long would be built under the park. Original plans called for closing the park entirely from 2020 to 2023, but after protests from residents, the plans were modified in late 2019 to a partial five-year closure. Work is expected to continue through 2026.