East River Park

Översikt

The East River Park is located between 12th Street and Montgomery Street and bordered by the FDR Highway. The park has a number of facilities for active recreation, but there are a number of spots in the park that provide for large family gatherings or quiet respite from the City's everyday hustle and bustle. You can find a place to relax in the shade or look out onto the East River.

The site of the park was first home to the Nechtanc Native Americans. During colonial times, the East River served as a hub for the shipping industry. The East River Park is a Robert Moses era park, built in 1939. Robert Moses was an urban planner who was responsible for changing the urban fabric of not only the Lower East Side, but of all of New York City. The shoreline was extended into the water in order to provide much needed open space for the residents of the crowded conditions in the Lower East Side. There have been a number of improvements made to the park in the last twenty years such as a new promenade, repaving of the East River Greenway which runs through the park.

Waterfronts are dynamic places. Cities with waterfronts often use them as transportation corridors and ports, hubs of trade and commerce, recreation venues, and public space that provide enjoyment for visitors and surrounding communities. As the revitalization of city waterfronts continue, particularly in New York City's East River Park, it is important to develop the waterfront as public spaces with the community’s input and the environment’s well-being in mind.

On one of the sessions, Bikesplorers experienced East River Park’s magnificent views of the waterfront and the Brooklyn skyline. One our Bikesplorers shared that one of her favorite memories of the waterfront was fishing with her dad in the summer. Afterwards, we rode to the Hester Street Fair where a guest lecturer from the Lower East Side Ecology Center spoke to the students about the importance of environmental sustainability through recycling, composting, and prudent energy use.

Velo City Bike Tours NYC
updated 08/2010 by Velo_City_NYC