EDC to play key role in East River redevelopment

City takes needed steps to implement plan for two-mile esplanade along the East River from Battery Park to the Williamsburg Bridge. Image: NYC EDC.

Plan covers East River waterfront from the Battery to the Lower East Side. The Planning Commission approved two linked applications that will implement an East River Waterfront Concept Plan that was developed in 2005 though a planning effort that included 70 public meetings and intensive input from the community. The plan … <Read More>


Third challenge to East 91st transfer station rejected

Additional hearing on park status set for August 2007. State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell, IV and Upper East Side residents opposed the City’s plan to reopen the marine transfer station at East 91st Street in Manhattan as part of the Bloomberg administration’s Solid Waste Management Plan. The parties filed an article 78 petition, alleging that the environmental impact statement for the entire waste management plan was insufficient since it failed to adequately assess the construction … <Read More>


New Willis Ave. bridge over Harlem River approved

Bridge spanning Harlem River to be built adjacent to outdated bridge. DOT sought a City Map amendment to delineate a new bridge easement and bridge corridor facilitating construction of the Willis Avenue Bridge replacement, connecting First Avenue and East 125th Street in Manhattan with Willis Avenue and East 132nd Street in the Bronx. The replacement bridge will be located directly adjacent to and south of the existing bridge and will also require landfill removal along … <Read More>


DEP Announces Drainage and Green Infrastructure for Five City Playgrounds

On April 17, 2024, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Trust for Public Land (TPL) announced that construction has commenced on the five new Green Infrastructure playgrounds at schools in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. The playgrounds are designed to absorb more than 3.5 million gallons of stormwater every year to curb runoff that floods nearby streets and overwhelms local sewer systems in addition to polluting the East River.


Parks and CUNY Announce Initial Findings of Positive Impacts of Community Parks Initiative Investments

On January 23, 2024, the Parks Department and the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy shared the findings of a large-scale study of the public health impacts of the Community Parks Initiative. The Community Parks Initiative is an equity-based investment program to build and renovate parks, infrastructure, and community programming in underserved neighborhoods. The program, which launched in 2014, has improved 65 parks citywide, with another 22 projects <Read More>


DOT Announces Second Round of 2023 Open Streets

On June 26, 2023, Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced a second round of 2023 Open Streets, which will add 13 new Open Street locations throughout the City. Open Streets is a program that temporarily transforms busy city streets into a car-free oasis for pedestrians, cyclists and children engaging in recreational activities. The Open Streets program encourages utilizing streets in new ways that make them more accessible and enjoyable for all New Yorkers.