Dozens Of Parking Spots To Be Scrapped From LES Esplanade

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — Lower Manhattan will lose a slew of commercial parking spaces after plans to move a Seaport lot on the esplanade further north spurred outrages from residents.

The Economic Development Corporation is scrapping 68 commercial parking spots it currently operates on the waterfront under its project to revamp the crumbling esplanade from Peck to Catherine slips beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, the agency said.

"For Lower Manhattan, open space and access to the waterfront [is] really important — it's key," EDC official Wil Fisher told Patch.

CB 3 slammed a previous design for relocating some of the parking from the wealthier Seaport area to beneath the Brooklyn Bridge west of an unused beach area in Two Bridges, where many low-income people of color live. In a June resolution, the board called it a "clear picture of environmental and social justice issues."

But now, the agency will scrap the parking lot entirely as a part the Brooklyn Bridge esplanade overhaul between Peck and Catherine slips, EDC told locals at a recent community board meeting.

"If we're already going to be there doing intensive capital work, we might as well be forward-looking in how we're constructing that," Fisher said.

How the space will be used is still being determined, but the agency added it is "excited that the project will now spur even greater waterfront access for the public."

One nearby resident and longtime advocate for the Two Bridges waterfront Trever Holland said, "It's a victory," but was cautiously optimistic.

The area is now a "blank slate" for the neighborhood to brainstorm what activities could be built there, said Holland. If left empty, he is wary the space would be used by illegal placard parking — an issue that has plagued neighborhoods citywide.

The project, which would also build possible access to a beach area, is expected to begin construction next spring and finish by 2021. It is funded with $15 million from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and $6 million from the Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Council Member Margaret Chin.

The esplanade project connects to a resiliency project in Two Bridges as well, which will build flood walls on top of up to two feet of platforms to fortify the area against sea level rise and storm surge.

Here's the latest EDC presentation:

Brooklyn Bridge Esplanade - NYC EDC Update To CB 3 Oct. 10, 2019 by Sydney Pereira on Scribd