East Harlem esplanade fix scaled back: 94th-105th and 107th-114th streets on hold as marine costs soar

The long-promised rebuild of East Harlem's crumbling East River esplanade has been cut back, leaving two long stretches of the waterfront path beside the FDR Drive without a construction timeline, NY1 reported Wednesday. Residents and advocates have pushed for repairs for years as sinkholes, broken pavement and fenced-off sections spread along the route, which dates to the 1930s.

In 2021, the city and state committed $294 million ($284 million from the city and a $10 million state grant) to rebuild about 20 blocks of the walkway, known as the Bobby Wagner Walk, along with the shuttered pier at East 107th Street, according to a presentation the city Economic Development Corporation gave Community Board 11 in July. Officials told the board then that the money would no longer cover the whole job.

Block by block: what happens now

According to the EDC's September update to CB11:

• East 94th to 105th streets: on hold until future funding is available. The design is finished, so the work could be bid once money is found. Sinkhole repairs continue in the meantime.
• East 105th to 107th streets and the 107th Street pier: moving forward, in final design, with construction expected to begin in 2027.
• East 107th to 114th streets: on hold until future funding is available. This stretch is still in pre-design.
• East 114th to 117th streets: the closed section is under construction for bulkhead and surface repairs, with completion expected in late 2027.
• East 117th to 124th streets: moving forward, with construction expected to begin in 2027.
• East 125th to 132nd streets: a new 7-acre park along the Harlem River, including a public restroom at the 127th Street entrance, is under construction and due in 2029.

Why the costs rose

Parks and EDC project managers said building so close to the FDR Drive drove up costs, because crews will have to work from the water instead, NY1 reported. Streetsblog reported in August that the Department of Transportation would let crews close only one lane of the highway, and only on nights and weekends. Because the water beside the walkway is too shallow for barges, the city would have to build temporary platforms in the river. Streetsblog also reported that a restroom once planned for the new pier was dropped.

"Construction costs were coming in very high for marine work," Len Greco, an EDC executive, told the board in July, according to NY1. In a statement to NY1, the EDC said it was working to begin "the first tranche of work" with the money available and to explore ways to close the funding gap.

Advocates are frustrated. Jennifer Ratner, who founded Friends of the East River Esplanade, called the cuts "a slap in the face," and CB11 chair Adem Brija said East Harlem is being "skipped in line" while waterfront projects farther south get funded, NY1 reported. The EDC did not give a date for when the paused sections might be funded.