UES Community Board Wants Esplanade Inspection Following Sinkhole

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Upper East Side's community board is calling on the city to conduct a full inspection of the East River Esplanade following the opening of a giant sinkhole on the riverwalk last week.

Community Board 8 demanded the city Parks Department inspect the length of the riverwalk from 125th Street in Harlem down to 59th Street for structural integrity, according to a letter penned by the board this week and sent to the department and neighborhood elected officials. The board claims that residents have been complaining about worrisome conditions on the esplanade following a collapse at East 77th Street that forced the city to block off a stretch of the waterfront.

"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," Community Board 8's letter reads.

Streetsblog NYC deemed parts of the East River Esplanade "basically useless" in a recent report after walking the length of the riverwalk on the Upper East Side. Large portions of the esplanade are currently blocked off at East 101st and East 93rd Streets, forcing pedestrians and cyclists to squeeze through narrow portions of pavement and sometimes veer into nearby grass along the FDR Drive, according to the report.

In addition to the inspection, the board wants the East River Esplanade task force to meet "as soon as possible" to discuss deteriorating conditions. The task force is made up of advocate groups such as Friends of the East River Esplanade and is led by City Councilmember Ben Kallos and Congressmember Carolyn Maloney.

Funds previously secured by the task force will speed up the city's repair of the East 77th Street sinkhole, Kallos said following last week's collapse.

"Where previous repairs have taken years or months, the Parks Department will be using funds we've already secured to mobilize and promised to begin repairs in the coming weeks. Our task force will work to keep this repair on track and restore this vital park space," Kallos said in a statement.

Community Board 8 voted in February to approve city funding for repairs along two Upper East Side sections of the esplanade. The city's proposed rehabilitation project included plans to fully repair infrastructure along the esplanade from East 90th to 94th streets and East 62nd to 63rd streets. Both sections of the esplanade are classified by the city as "poor" or "critical" condition.

The section where Monday night's collapse occurred — between East 75th and 79th streets — was also classified as being in "poor" condition, but was not included in the city's proposal.

The city is planning to spend more than $700 million for ongoing repair projects on the East River Esplanade between East 61st and 145th streets, according to a Parks Department document presented to Community Board 8 in January.