UES Esplanade Reopening Date Set After Construction Delay

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — On Nov. 18, for the first time since construction began more than four years ago, New Yorkers will be able to walk, jog, or bike along a contiguous East River Esplanade stretching from East 53rd Street in Midtown to East 114th Street in East Harlem.

This is thanks to the reopening of the long-closed section of the East River Esplanade between East 70th and East 78th streets, which was under construction and faced setbacks due to widening sinkholes this fall.

"Esplanade Friends — and the thousands of East Side community members who love the Esplanade — are thrilled about the November 18th reopening, which will finally allow people of all ages to run, bike, walk, and stroll along a continuous stretch of waterfront," Jennifer Ratner, the founder of Friends of the East River Esplanade, told Patch.

Representatives from Hospital for Special Surgery, which is overseeing the project, told Community Board 8 the final inspection before the opening was scheduled for Friday.

The reopening date had previously been set for Oct. 31, but work was delayed after an emergency sinkhole repair just north of the project required the repair team to use HSS’s construction entrance, Patch previously reported.

The repair was completed in a week, and the HSS team resumed work on the final section, including restoring the curb and barriers and finishing landscaping, Nidhi Nanjappa, a designer at Batska Consulting, told Community Board 8.

Some additional safety work requested by the Parks Department — including a protective fence beneath the East 71st Street pedestrian ramp and panels on the ramp’s supporting columns — will continue separately and is not expected to delay the reopening, Nanjappa said.

The project covers the waterfront walkway from East 70th to East 78th streets.

Earlier phases reopened this year, including the area between East 70th and East 72nd streets and the area around the East 78th Street ramp.

The work includes new landscaping and lighting, an outdoor fitness area and a crash-rated barrier along the FDR Drive.

A new irrigation system is also in place to serve the stretch from East 70th to East 78th Streets, though the Parks Department is expected to maintain the new landscaping.

Ratner said she hopes the hospital will reconsider taking ownership of the landscaping.

"We are gratified that our years of advocacy have finally paid off and that this long-awaited reopening is at last becoming a reality," Ratner said. "That said, we hope HSS will repay its debt to the community by committing to maintaining not just the landscaping between 70th and 72nd Streets, but the entire newly reopened stretch of waterfront for the foreseeable future."

Renovations to the rest of the Esplanade, divided between the Parks Department and the New York City Economic Development Corporation, are still underway.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.