East 93rd Street Sinkhole Repair to Force Esplanade to Close Again
According to Friends of the East River Esplanade, the repair process—slated to begin May 26—is projected to last around a month, and will affect the walkway from E. 93rd St. to E. 96th St. It follows a similar closure last month.
| 15 May 2026 | 05:41
A stretch of the East River Esplanade starting at E. 93rd St. is slated to close to the public again on May 26, for extensive sinkhole repairs. It was briefly closed last month (pictured above). (
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The pathway returned to the status quo ante after a week-long closure April 30, with a fence surrounding the sinkhole and the pathway left unobstructed only to closed once again as the Parks Dept. undertakes repairs. (
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A three block section of the East River Esplanade between E. 93rd and E. 96th St. will be closed off to the public, starting on May 26, to repair a yawning sinkhole.
According to Friends of the East River Esplanade, a nonprofit that advocates for the preservation of the beloved pedestrian walkway and frequently liaises with the NYC Parks Department, the closure will last four weeks.
The NYC Parks Department did not respond to a request seeking confirmation of that timeline by press time.
A stretch of the walkway between E. 93rd St. and E. 94th St. was previously closed for a week last month, after a Parks Department inspection determined that the long-standing sinkhole had widened to an alarming degree.
The news of the impending re-closure was first reported by Patch. Fencing that has surrounded the sinkhole for many years was moved to block pedestrians from accessing the Esplanade on April 23, with the help of the Department of Transportation, before being moved back into position on April 30 following a subsequent inspection.
The new closure can be expected to impact the commutes of Manhattanites trying to reach the entrance E. 90th St. ferry stop, much as it did in April.
Jennifer Ratner, the board chair of Friends of the East River Esplanade, told Our Town that it was her understanding that last month’s closure was borne out of “an abundance of caution.”
“As far as I’m aware, sinkholes only get bigger, not smaller,” she added. After talking to the Parks Department, Ratner believes that the city is “finally going to do much more definitive repair” on May 26, ideally eliminating the sinkhole for good.
“They’re gonna pave over that spot, once they’re done, with black asphalt,” Ratner said. She expressed joy over the fact that it was being addressed, noting how many complaints she gets from local residents, although she said that “it needs to be detoured appropriately.”
Indeed, Ratner said that she had seen a man with a backpack—who appeared dressed for work—clamber over the fence and traverse the closed-off area. It was unclear if he was aware that a potentially deadly sinkhole was present, although a “Do Not Enter” sign was visible on the fencing around the site.
The affected section of the Esplanade is part of the Bobby Wagner Walk, which extends from E. 90th Street to E. 125th Street and has been promised a $294 million makeover, which includes the East Harlem Pier on E. 107th Street.
A total of $75 million was initially earmarked for that project in 2019, with the Empire Development Corporation rolling out a formal plan for the makeover in 2022.
The makeover was initially supposed to start last year, but has since been deferred to this fall. The filling in of the E. 93rd St. sinkhole will certainly remove one barrier to its completion.
Another notable sinkhole stuck out like a sore thumb at around E. 70th St. last June, which was covered by a piece of wood that simply read “HOLE” in yellow spray-paint, as Our Town reported then.
That E. 70th St. sinkhole just so happened to fall within the beginning of a stretch of the Esplanade, reaching all the way to E. 78th St., which remains closed due to the long-delayed construction of a new Hospital for Special Surgery Tower.
Other sinkholes were also present within the construction zone around that time, including one at E. 74th St. that had been reportedly filled in by the Department of Environmental Protection.