Work Set To Resume On East River Esplanade Extension

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — After a six-month delay during the pandemic, construction is set to resume on the long-awaited project adding a new eight-block stretch to the East River Esplanade, representatives from the city told a community board Tuesday.

The East Midtown Greenway will stretch between East 53rd and 61st streets, creating new waterfront access and public space and bringing the city closer to its long-held goal of creating a continuous, 32-mile loop around Manhattan.

The existing esplanade runs north above East 60th Street and into East Harlem. Construction started in November on the new $100 million greenway, which will be built directly above the East River, but came to a halt in the spring as the coronavirus took hold.

Now, even as the city faces a severe fiscal shortfall that has thrown a wrench into many capital projects, the greenway will be allowed to restart construction since work had already begun when the pandemic hit, Will Fisher, a representative from the city's Economic Development Corporation, told Community Board 6 on Tuesday.

Work will resume at the project's north end and move south, starting in mid-October near the 60th Street pedestrian ramp.

It will include disruptions to neighborhood parks, including Clara Coffey Park, a small green space in the Sutton Place neighborhood. That park will be closed for about a year, while the city redesigns it to accommodate a new pedestrian bridge over the F.D.R. Drive near East 54th Street that will connect to the greenway. (Residents unsuccessfully sued the city last year to block the project.)

Clara Coffey Park will be closed for about a year while work is being done, EDC representatives said.

Construction is expected to wrap up sometime in 2023, one year later than initially planned.

The 2010 opening of the Riverwalk in Riverside Park was the most recent greenway section to be completed, city officials said last fall. Of the four remaining gaps — including the East Midtown Greenway — the city has plans in place to fill three. Officials said last fall they were negotiating a deal to fill the gap behind the United Nations campus.

As part of the greenway project, Andrew Haswell Green Park near East 60th Street will also be extended to connect to the new section of the esplanade via an ADA-accessible pedestrian bridge.

Brendan Krisel contributed to this report.

Previous coverage from Patch:

• City Breaks Ground To Fill 8-Block East River Esplanade Gap
• Sutton Place Preservationists Sue To Block Esplanade Expansion
• City Commits $250M To Close Manhattan Greenway Gaps