City Breaks Ground To Fill 8-Block East River Esplanade Gap

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Construction on a $100 million section of the East River Esplanade that will connect the Upper East Side and East Midtown waterfronts is underway, and the project could be complete as soon as 2022, city officials announced Friday.

The new section of Manhattan's waterfront park will fill in an eight-block gap from East 61st to 53rd streets with 1.5 acres of park space, city officials said. The new section — called the East Midtown Greenway— will open up much of Manhattan's east side for runners and cyclist and will be ADA-accessible.

Breaking ground on this eight-block section of the esplanade represents a major effort toward completing the city's ultimate goal of a contiguous 32-mile greenway around the island of Manhattan, New York City Economic Development Corporation President James Patchett said Friday.

"I can think of few things that make New York City a place where people want to live and work that are more important than building parks," Patchett said. "Building this park, finally taking a significant step toward completing this greenway for the first time since 2008, is a huge moment in advancing and making Manhattan the fantastic place that it is and a place that is accessible to all New York City."

The 2010 opening of the Riverwalk in Riverside Park was the last section of the greenway to be complete, city officials said. Of the four remaining gaps — including the East Midtown Greenway — the city has plans in place to fill three. City officials are currently negotiating a deal to fill the gap behind the United Nations campus, Patchett said Friday.

The East Midtown Greenway will offer a unique experience to waterfront visitors because it will be the only stretch of the esplanade entirely surrounded by water, Patchett said Friday. Unlike other sections that are built out of the shore, the East Midtown Greenway is being built directly over the East River. The design was made possible by efforts in the '90s to preserve infrastructure from a temporary highway while the FDR Drive was being repaired, city officials said.

Improvements are also coming to the Upper East Side's Andrew Haswell Green Park as part of the $100 million project, city officials said. The park will be extended to seamlessly connect to the new section of the esplanade via an ADA-accessible pedestrian bridge.

Contracting firm Skanska will be building the East Midtown Greenway, city officials said. Construction is expected to be complete in 2022.