City Schedules 2 Open Houses On East River Park Resiliency Plan

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The city has scheduled two open houses for the public to ask questions about the $1.45 billion resiliency project in the East River Park.

City agencies and the design team will be on-hand for the public to . ask about the massive east side resiliency project that the de Blasio administration has planned, which is aimed to protect the east side from future storm surge and sea level rise as well as the destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy nearly seven years ago.

The plan, dubbed the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, involves burying the East River Park with eight feet of soil and rebuilding it again — which will require it to be closed during construction for 3.5 years, city officials have said.

The possible park closure has sparked outrage among many Lower East Side and East Village neighbors. Previously, the plan would have lined a series of flood walls and berms along the FDR Drive, but that plan was drastically changed last fall.

The open houses will be hosted at the Lower Eastside Girls Club at 402 E. Eighth St. at Avenue D on Tuesday, May 14, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Wednesday, May 15, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Department of Design and Construction announced Wednesday.

Per DDC, city agencies and the design team will be available to answer questions about the proposed park design, the public review process known as the uniform land use review procedure, and the draft environmental impact statement, which was released last month.

The city says Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese and Fujianese interpreters will be on-hand, and the venue is wheelchair accessible.

For special needs, reach out to the city at 718-391-2411 or email resiliency@ddc.nyc.gov by May 9.

There will be follow up meetings to the open houses, DDC said.

The day after the city's open houses, Community Board 3's parks and waterfront committee is holding its monthly update and discussion on the resiliency plan.

This month's CB 3 committee meeting will be May 16, 6:30 p.m. at the BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth streets.

The East River Alliance — a group formed in the wake of the drastically changed plans for East River Park last winter — will also present to the CB 3 committee that Thursday.