NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A857
SPONSOR: Gibbs (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to financing the
design, acquisition, construction, improvement and installation of East
River Esplanade
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To ensure that the funding needs for the East River Esplanade are iden-
tified.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill would allow the corporation to finance the design, acquisi-
tion, construction, improvement, and installation of the East River
Esplanade.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF
APPLICABLE):
None
JUSTIFICATION:
In the current era of waterfront revitalization, the section of the East
River Esplanade which abuts East Harlem has been consistently ignored.
The walking and biking path is in disrepair, with sections of the thin
patch crumbling into the river below. Holes in the path have been board-
ed over with plywood, fencing has decayed, and many of the benches have
been rendered unusable. The other assets of the waterfront have suffered
from a similar fate. The pier at 107th Street has been fenced off after
the roof collapsed and has been declared structurally unsafe. Pilings
are all that remain of a former pier at 117th Street. In addition,
accessibility to the East River Esplanade is very limited, which is
largely due to its proximity to the FDR Drive. There are only three
points between 96th Street and 125th Street that allow for pedestrian
traffic to cross the FDR Drive.There are three pedestrian bridges that
pass over the FDR drive and connect to the Esplanade. These access
points are not well-marked, and without previously knowing they exist or
looking at an overhead map, it is difficult to identify entrances, which
likely discourages many people from using the Esplanade. Despite being
in such proximity to a major roadway, and an important river, the East
River Esplanade is isolated from all other forms of transportation and
paths. There is no point at which a person could quickly and relatively
directly access the park from a car or a boat. Additionally, the exist-
ing pedestrian bridges are in poor condition, and the entrances are
tucked away out of site. This bill is intended to highlight the need for
funding for the East River Esplanade, especially considering the siting
of the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station and would authorize the
Environmental Facilities Corporation to provide funding.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
Conservation A8098/S5985 2015/16, A698 2017/18 A2627 2019/2022, A4039
2021, A9458 2022
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
857
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 11, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GIBBS, HYNDMAN, SEAWRIGHT, DAVILA -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to financing the
design, acquisition, construction, improvement and installation of
East River Esplanade
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. In exchange for hosting the East 91st Street Marine trans-
2 fer station, and to help mitigate any potential adverse impacts to
3 health and recreational opportunities, improvements shall be made to the
4 East River Esplanade.
5 § 2. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section
6 1285-v to read as follows:
7 § 1285-v. Financing of the design, acquisition, construction, improve-
8 ment and installation of East River Esplanade. The corporation shall
9 have the authority, subject to the approval of the director of the budg-
10 et, to finance the design, acquisition, construction, improvement and
11 installation of all or any portion of the East River Esplanade includ-
12 ing, but not limited to, boat storage under 96th street, pier 107 and
13 decking over the FDR Drive.
14 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01909-01-3
