East Harlem Pols Praise Esplanade Funding, Demand Quick Repairs

EAST HARLEM, NY — Community leaders on Sunday celebrated the mayor's pledge to spend $284 million rebuilding the East River Esplanade in East Harlem — but demanded that the work begin promptly.

"We are here to rejoice," said U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney at Sunday's news conference at the Esplanade's 96th Street entrance — part of the area slated for repairs thanks to the new funding.

The allocation, announced last week by Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration, comes after years of pressure by neighborhood groups who said the waterfront walkway had become unsafe, and complained that large stretches were blocked off to pedestrians and cyclists.

But new repairs cannot begin until after the City Council approves the city's 2022 Fiscal Year budget in June. Speakers on Sunday pointed out that the city has promised money for repairs before, only for the fixes to fail to materialize years later.

"Start the work now!" City Councilmember Ben Kallos chanted alongside other attendees, including Borough President Gale Brewer, Assemblymember Robert Rodriguez, leaders of Friends of the East River Esplanade and members of Community Boards 8 and 11.

Advocates have described the Esplanade's disrepair north of 96th Street as an equity issue, since it serves as a rare green space for the majority-minority neighborhood of East Harlem.

"The corrosion of the Esplanade has been an eyesore for years," said Saundrea Coleman, who lives nearby and serves on CB8. "It is my hope that our treasured waterfront will never be subjected to this chronic neglect again."

The new funding will pay for repairs along two separate stretches of the Esplanade, as well as the complete reconstruction of Pier 107, which has been closed off since 2018. It comes on top of more than $327 million already allocated for the Esplanade during de Blasio's term as mayor — as well as millions in state funding.

The $284 million will be distributed as follows:

• Repairs between 94th and 107th streets: $187 million
• Repairs between 118th and 124th streets: $69 million
• Reconstruction of Pier 107: $28 million

Related Esplanade coverage:

• Crumbling East Harlem Esplanade To Get $284M In Repairs
• East Harlem Waterfront Repairs Languish As Esplanade Crumbles
• East Harlem Waterfront Park Moving Ahead, City Says