Impacts to Corlears Hook Park by East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) Project

Information will be updated as we learn it. Last update: January 30, 2024. Scroll to the bottom for most recent information.

Update #1 (Jan 2020): For years, Friends of Corlears Hook Park (FoCHP) knew that Corlears Hook Park would be affected by the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project and thanks to January 14, 2020 meeting with the Department of Design and Construction (DDC), we now know the extent of the changes to the park.

There are two main areas of the park that will be affected. The first is the pathway along the FDR where an interceptor gate will be buried near the ball field, as well as, new sewer piping that will transfer any rain and flood waters out of the neighborhood as necessary. The equipment to operate the interceptor gate, as well as underground access to it, will be housed in a new building that the DDC calls a Gate House. The Gate House will be constructed along the FDR pathway beside the ball field and will be 64’ long, 10’ wide, and have a sloping height that goes from approximately 11’ to just over 13’. Unfortunately to facilitate this construction and the new building nearly all the trees, many of which are mature London Plane trees, along the FDR side of the ballfield will be removed. Due to the new piping and interceptor gate underneath the area the DDC will not be able to plant any new trees in this area.

The other area of the park that will be largely affected is the flag pole circle and Cherry Hill (where the kids currently sled). As part of the ESCR project, four of the current pedestrian bridges including the one at Corlears, will be replaced. The Corlears bridge has actually been closed to cars for over a year now as it can no longer withstand the heavy weight of vehicles. The new bridge must meet the current ADA requirements for access and as such the approach to the bridge must be no greater than a 5% slope. To accomplish this, the current circular pathway that surrounds the flag pole will be elongated into an oval by extending the pathway into Cherry Hill. This means we will lose the beloved sledding area as well as most of the trees on Cherry Hill. The new pathway will be much longer than the current pathway but also significantly narrower, as some areas will decrease from the current 35’ to just over 18’. This will have an effect on our current programming in the park as this wide pathway is what we currently use for many events and performances. Additionally, many of the trees on either side of the pedestrian bridge will be lost to accommodate installation of the new bridge, which will be constructed off-site and rolled into place as a complete structure.

Needless to say, we were surprised by many of these developments and wanted to share them with you, our supporters and neighbors, so that the community is as informed as possible about what is going on. In total, Corlears Hook Park will lose 30 trees, but we were not given any information about how many new trees would be planted to replace them. The DDC is not sure yet when construction will begin, but it may happen in phases with the Gate House/FDR path and the bridge/oval landing separated into two projects. The oval landing project is more directly tied to the ESCR project construction timeline as both landing sides needs to be ready before the new bridge can be installed. We are continuing to work with the DDC and with Councilmember Carlina Rivera’s office to get clarity on some issues and hopefully some mitigation for what the park will be losing. The issues we are concentrating on are listed below.

• Map showing exactly what trees will be lost

• Exact number and locations of new trees being planted

• Relocation within the park of plantings identified by Friends of Corlears Hook Park

• Shrinking the oval lawn to make the paved pathway around the flag pole area wider than 18 feet

• Privacy hedges along the FDR pathway where underground infrastructure allows – from Cherry Street to the playground

• Additional benches and gaming tables where possible

You can view the entire slide deck that was presented by the DDC here. 

Update #2 (Jan 2022): At the January 2022 meeting of the Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee of Community Board 3 we learned that work on taking down and replacing the Corlears Hook Bridge into East River Park may start as soon as February 2022. We are waiting for more information as to whether this work will also include the planned raising of the flagpole area of the park as well and as soon as we have more information we will let you know. The bridge work will also mean the removal of trees on either side of the bridge to facilitate construction of the new bridge. The photo below is from the Appendix C1m - Preferred Alternative Tree Removal and Protection Plan that was included in the EIS plan for the project (page 19) notes which trees will be removed. As indicated on the photo, the plan is “subject to change.”    

At the Community Board meeting we also learned that, in order to facilitate continued access to the NYC Ferry station at Corlears Hook, a temporary pedestrian bridge will be installed in the park. The placement of the temporary bridge has not been confirmed by the DDC yet, but the below slide shows a proposed placement. It is unclear if construction of this temporary bridge will mean any other trees will be taken down and we are awaiting clarity on the question.

Lastly, we also wanted to share another image from the EIS plan - Appendix C1o - Preferred Alternative Landscaping Plan and Section (page 19) shows the proposed replanting plan for areas of Corlears Hook Park that will be effected by the ESCR construction.

We will continue to keep you updated as we learn more information and we encourage you all to submit any questions about the project you may have directly to the DDC by using their inquiry tool on their website. They do respond and make sure to address every question submitted.

Update #3 (Feb 2022): At this month’s Community Board meeting it was announced that starting February 28th the FDR path and flag pole area will strat to be closed for construction. All other areas of the park will remain open and accessible to all - including the dog run, playground, ballfield, center and side lawns.

We have met with the construction team and the Parks Department to identify some of the smaller plantings and other items that we would like salvaged when construction begins and are happy to report that they were amenable to our requests so do not be surprised if you see some things in different sports soon. We are also working on a plan to provide an alternate space for some of the Chinese gardeners who currently garden along the FDR pathway.

Update #4 (March 2022): Park closures are postponed until April 4th. We have purchased many planters for the Chinese gardeners to relocate to. They can be found alongside our toolshed near the Jackson Street entrance to the park.

Update #5 (June 2022): All sections of our Park that we anticipated to be closed are now closed and the temporary pedestrian bridge providing access to NYC Ferry is now open. The urban gardeners have also been successfully moved to a new area of the Park. But like many of you, we were surprised and dismayed to see how far West the fence line was erected in the flagpole area, including blocking access to the dog runs. Given that we were promised that the dog runs and all other amenities would remain accessible, this issue seemed to result from a miscommunication with the contractor.

We immediately addressed the issue of the dog runs being blocked and were able to work with NYC Parks and DDC to have the fence moved to provide access to the runs. Though the remaining fenced off area includes two of our precious magnolia trees, we have assurances from the DDC that these trees will remain in place and not be felled. Construction in that area will now continue and includes removal and replacement of the pedestrian bridge and the regrading of the flagpole garden and paved areas. Access to the NYC Ferry will continue through the new temporary pedestrian bridge which is accessible in the playground area of the Park.

Update #6 (December 2022): As many can see, there has been excavation activities at Corlears Hook Park unearthing building foundations. The Archaeological field work calls for exposing factory remains to better understand the site. Based on historical maps, the foundations unearthed were within a large structure identified as the North River Sugar Refining Company, in operation prior to 1852, and established on the site of an iron foundry. No tools, machinery, or structures have been identified in the field. In the area north of the sugar refinery, archaeological fieldwork has concentrated on a row of residential/commercial structures that fronted on Cherry and Corlears Streets. All structures were likely built in the 1820s, and were extant into the mid-1890s, at which date the entire block was razed for the construction of Corlears Hook Park. Archaeological work to date has not uncovered any findings of significance. Soils are being tested for traces of Native American artifacts in coordination with the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO), however to date, nothing related to the historic presence of Native Americans has been unearthed. Soils are also undergoing the contract baseline testing for onsite reuse or offsite soil disposal. To date, no hazardous soils have been identified in Corlears Hook Park. The archaeological work will continue until the foundations are exposed. This is anticipated to be completed mid-January. All work associated with Corlears Hook Park Archaeology is coordinated with SHPO, THPO, LPC, and NYC Parks. 

Update #7 (February 2023): In the ESCR Newsletter published by the New York City Department of Design and Construction in February 2023 the below update on the archeological dig at Corlears was included.

Update #8 (May 2023): ESCR work on the parallel conveyance is set to begin the week of May 8th. The work will affect the FDR pathway and Jackson Street borders of the park and include the felling of some trees in both those areas. For those not familiar with this work, parallel conveyance refers to the installation of new sewer connections which run parallel to the existing interceptors, upgrading the capacity of the combined sewer system.

Update #9 (June 2023): Below are the latest estimated timelines for some of the work occurring in Corlears:

Archeological dig completion = end of 2023

Corlears pedestrian bridge reopens = Summer of 2024

Update #10 (Dec 2023): We recently learned of some additional closures to the park related to the ESCR work (see darker red areas on the below map). Sometime in late December/early January there will be a partial closure of our ballfield, amounting to approximately a 30% loss of space. A remaining 160’ x 134’ youth league field will remain, and the NYC Parks Department will coordinate alternative locations for adult leagues. Additionally, there will be a full closure of the playground area. These closures are to facilitate the construction of the interceptor gate chamber — a critical piece of the flood protection system which needs to connect to the interceptor sewer system. Access to the temporary pedestrian bridge to cross over the FDR will remain in its’ current location. Though not part of Corlears Hook Park, we also wanted to let you know that the temporary passive lawn in East River Park is slated to close in February of 2024 for continued construction of the new Corlears pedestrian bridge.

While we understand that these additional closures are an unfortunate temporary loss of additional space in the park there is some good news. Once reopened (which is slated for Spring of 2025), both of these areas will see significant improvements. The playground area will be completely renovated, in coordination with the Parks Department, and the athletic field will have new artificial turf installed on it. We also learned that the current areas that are closed off – flagpole circle and Cherry hill – are slated to reopen sometime in late spring of 2024.

For more information on this you can view the entire November 30, 2023 CAG slide presentation here.

Update #11 (Jan 2024): Closures spoken about in update 10 are now in effect, these areas will remain closed until Summer 2025.

We also learned at the January CAG meeting that the Corlears pedestrian bridge and flag pole area are slated to open in June 2024. These areas and other parts of East River Park will open without any plantings in them. Due to seasonal issues, plantings will be added to these areas in the Fall of 2024. The below slide from the presentation shows additional areas that will open and more information. The view the entire presentation visit the ESCR website.