East River Greenway Initiative |

photo: NYC Parks

This timeline is in no way exhaustive of the many efforts to complete an esplanade and greenway along the East Side of Manhattan. It is simply provided as a reference.

1920′s

• New York City Public officials and business leaders propose waterfront highways along both the Hudson and East River. Robert Moses, then the arterial coordinator and parks commissioner for New York City, establishes his vision for the East River Drive which (believe or not) included space for an esplanade walkway.  Moses would build bicycle paths along many of his roadways to satisfy the “groups, organizations and individuals…clamoring and petitioning for bicycle tracks…exclusive lanes…and use of roadways during hours when automobile traffic is very light, all for the accommodation of this revived sport.”

1934

• Construction of the East River Drive begins (to be known later as the FDR Drive). For more information on the history of the FDR please see Steve Anderson’s excellent NYCRoads web-site.

1975

• Department of City Planning drafts a greenway proposal to plan and build a bicycle and pedestrian promenade extending off the existing Bobby Wagner Walk for commuting and recreational purposes along the length of the East River.  The proposal also recommended creating better links between the waterfront and residential communities, and bicycle and pedestrian links among and between parks, recreational facilities, hospitals, museums, housing, and other common destinations.  The plan eventually grows to include the entire Manhattan coastline.

1993

• Department of City Planning publishes “A Greenway Plan for New York City,” presenting the city’s vision for the nation’s most ambitious urban greenway system — 350 miles of landscaped bicycle and pedestrian paths crisscrossing New York City. The East River Greenway is included as a “proposed route.”

1997

• Department of City Planning (DCP) & Department of Transportation (DOT) jointly release the “New York City Bicycle Master Plan,” the final report of the first phase of the Bicycle Network Development (BND) Project. The stated goal of the BND Project is to increase bicycle ridership in New York City, and the purpose of the Plan is to articulate the City’s action plan. The report’s recommendations include that the the East River Bikeway and Esplanade be implemented as a priority route.  $4,895,000 is allocated for completion of the Greenway from Pier A to 63rd Street.

2002

• In his 2002 State of the City address, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces that by August 2003 the City will provide a mixed-use path circumnavigating Manhattan. To complete this goal, an inter-agency committee is formed to plan, design and implement the greenway.  The agencies represented are the Department of City Planning (DCP), the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the Economic Development Corporation (EDC), and the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).

2003

• After many years of work, Manhattan Community Board 6 begins preparing a 197-A Plan, a community-based framework, to guide the future of the eastern portion of Community District 6 in relation to new development and other proposed changes to its urban landscape. The Plan specifically calls for increased waterfront and park access as well as creating links to complete the East River Esplanade running through the district, connecting with the East River Park to the south, and the promenade extending north of the Queensboro Bridge.

• Mayor Bloomberg announces the first phase towards completion of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway. The press release mentions the gap in particular, stating that “the City is working with State DOT to improve the connection from 25th to 41st Streets,” and that the “Parks and the Economic Development Corporation are working with the United Nations on a proposal to create an esplanade and greenway connection from East 41st to 51st Streets should the UN’s consolidation plan advance.”

2004

• Mayor’s Office and the inter-agency task force release the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway Master Plan describing the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway segment by segment in its former, current, and future states. It is the most comprehensive planning document released to date.  It calls out the improvements that the inter-agency task force has implemented, the gaps that still exist, and the plans and timelines that exist to fill those gaps. Appendix C of the Master Plan specifically lists the Greenway Gap segment from East 41st to East 51st Street as a funded project, costing $27 million provided by the United Nations Development Corporation (UNDC), with a ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for 2005. The Plan states that an esplanade along the United Nations  site will be completed by 2008.

2007

• On Earth Day Mayor Bloomberg announces his ambitious PLANYC 2030, a comprehensive sustainability plan for the City’s future. It states that the City will “complete the City’s 1,800 mile bike master plan.” Stating further that “we will prioritize areas with high demand, building connections between existing portions of the network, and strengthening access to parks through special bike paths known as greenways. These greenways not only offer their own recreational benefits such as biking, skating, and walking throughout our city’s park system; they can also open up new areas of parkland.”

2008

• The Municipal Art Society, working with local elected officials and Community Board 6 launches a campaign to design and complete East Side Waterfront Park along the former Con Edison pier from East 38th to East 41st Street. The New York City Council Land Use Committee voted on March 12, 2008 to approve the proposed plan for the former Con Ed Site on the East River between 38th and 41st Streets on the East River. The plan would provide an easement that would enable the realignment of the FDR Drive and the construction of a deck over the highway which will facilitate the creation of a waterfront park on the East Side of Midtown Manhattan.

2009

• Transportation Alternatives forms the new East Side Volunteer Committee to win better biking, walking and transit on the East Side of Manhattan. Stated goals include completing the East River Greenway by closing the gaps in Midtown (from 34th-60th Streets) and in Harlem (from 125th-135th Streets and 145th to 155th Streets) to allow for continuous biking and walking along the entire length of the East Side.

• The East River Greenway Initiative is formed to break the logjam and complete the East River Greenway along the entire length of Manhattan’s East Side. Many different types of  music events are organized to increase awareness about this problem