We were excited to see a section of the new East River Park Promenade is finally open to the public. The project has been fraught with delays, as it was previously scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2006.
The section that was just opened extends 640 feet behind the track heading south along the water. Grass is still being planted but there are nice new tables and benches and a much wider walkway.
A sign from the Parks & Recreation Department notes sections will be opened as they're completed. The scheduled completion date is bumped back to December 2009. The promenade will connect on the south end to the East River Ballfields – one of a number of projects included in Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Park Projects.
With all due respect, this segment was actually completed in January of 2008, as reported in the February, 2008 Grand Street News. It was our COVER, for crying out loud…
New East River Promenade Partially Open
http://grandstreetnews.com/scripts/grand/paper/Article.asp?ArticleID=697
This thing was supposed to be done for Rosh Hashana of 2005. They keep announcing its progress, when in the field you see one or two guys working. It’s a joke.
Yori, thank you for pointing this out. My mistake for not clarifying the actual segment that was just completed. They recently extended the part that you reported on above by about 640 feet (confirmed by the Department of Parks)heading south behind the track. I have amended our post to clarify that.