Politics & Government
UES Board Renews Demand For East River Esplanade Inspections
Community Board 8 renewed its call for the city to inspect the safety of the East River Esplanade, weeks after a sinkhole opened up there.
UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side community board is renewing a request for the city to inspect the safety of the East River Esplanade, citing deteriorating conditions including a giant sinkhole that opened up in July.
Community Board 8 unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday asking the city to immediately inspect the esplanade between East 60th and 120th streets to ensure that another collapse is not imminent.
"I have serious concerns about everybody staying safe out there, particularly during a pandemic when we have more people using our open space than ever before," parks and waterfront committee co-chair Tricia Shimamura told the board during Wednesday night's meeting.
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The vote came more than two months after the board sent a letter to the city Parks Commissioner and other local officials, demanding that the city inspect the riverwalk for structural integrity.
CAUTION: there was a collapse of part of the East River Esplanade today at 77th st. NO ACCESS southbound or northbound from E77th. Please share to other esplanade users! @EsplanadeFriend @kallos @CB8M #ues #eastriver #eastriveresplanade pic.twitter.com/DgL8DYpf7m
— Tricia Shimamura (@ShimamuraTricia) July 20, 2020
The board said that residents complained about worrisome conditions on the esplanade following the July 20 collapse near East 76th Street that forced the city to block off a stretch of the waterfront.
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"At a time when our parks and open spaces could not be more vital, we were extremely disturbed to see that our community is losing access to our waterfront due to crumbling conditions that could have been avoided," the July letter reads.
The esplanade remains blocked between 74th and 76th streets, but the Parks Department has pledged to build an asphalt pathway through the area by the end of this year, Shimamura told Patch.
Thursday's resolution also calls for the city to tighten barricades around blocked-off areas of the esplanade, since the current barricades allow residents to pass through, Shimamura said.
Brendan Krisel contributed to this report.
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