Esplanade Attention in Waterfront Rehab

The East River waterfront will be getting a makeover during the next decade, and some Upper East Side activists are pushing to make rehabilitating the East River esplanade a big part of the project. The esplanade, a thin stretch of parkland that runs along the East River from 59th to 96th streets, is deteriorating quickly. The seawall is disintegrating into the river, causing sinkholes. Cracks in the asphalt perilously expose the river below and bulkheads are crumbling. Several spots along the waterfront are closed off due to potholes and cracked asphalt, particularly in the East 70s. â??If you"re on a bike, you have to crawl through to avoid potholes, said Lisa Zwick, a member of the biking, walking and public transit group Transportation Alternatives, who used to bike to work along the esplanade. â??There are many points where you have to get on the grass. The esplanade was built in the 1960s, along with the FDR Drive, according to the Parks Department"s Manhattan Borough Commissioner, William T. Castro. The pavement was last renovated in the 1980s, when hex block pavers were installed, but the seawall from 59th to 96th streets has never been renovated. Council Member Jessica Lappin"s office has created a task force to assess the condition of the esplanade, estimate the cost of repairs and secure funding. In a March 31 letter that calls for support from fellow elected officials, Community Board 8 and neighborhood groups, Lappin stressed the importance of developing a timeframe for transforming â??this dilapidated and dangerous area into the scenic and recreational waterfront amenity it was meant to be. The esplanade is part of a larger effort to revitalize the entire East Side waterfront to rival the Hudson River greenway. The Department of City Planning held its first public waterfront meeting April 8, attracting more than 200 community members. â??The promenade along the East River is alarmingly dilapidated and unsafe, said Peggy Price, co-chair of Board 8"s parks committee, who spoke at the meeting. The 10-year comprehensive waterfront plan, dubbed Vision 2020, will expand public access to the shore, encourage water-related economic development and support ferry service, recreation and educational activities. The department also wants to improve the waterfront"s sustainability, prepare it for climate change and rising sea levels, and protect wetlands and shoreline habitats. Additionally, the plan will address the gap in the bike and pedestrian promenade between East 38th and 61st streets. Currently, bikers must turn off the waterfront pathway and use First and Second avenues, neither of which has a bike lane, to travel along the East River. This detour has resulted in nine deaths and hundreds of injuries between 1995 and 2007, according to the â??Close the Gap petition initiated by Scott Baker, a member of Transportation Alternatives" greenway committee. The group created a petition six months ago calling on federal, state and city politicians to develop an East Midtown waterfront. A solution to fully close the gap probably won"t be implemented for several years. However, the promenade should extend a few blocks by early 2012, when Andrew Haswell Green Park, slated for an industrial stretch of land above the FDR Drive between East 59th and 63rd streets, is scheduled to open. â??It"s embarrassing when you compare it to the beautiful and maintained West Side greenway, said Michael Auerbach, an Upper East Sider and president of the nonprofit environmental group Upper Green Side. â??Our waterfront was like an afterthought that they tacked on to the side of the FDR. Now they"re kicking themselves, and people are clamoring for open space. Details of the full waterfront plan will be worked out between July and November and presented to the City Council by Dec. 31. Community members can visit City Planning"s website, [www.nyc.gov/waterfront](http://www.nyc.gov/waterfront), to view the April 8 presentation and community feedback.