East River Esplanade: Seven Blocks to Shut down for Repairs Due to Sinkhole
There is yet another shutdown on the East River Esplanade due to a widening sinkhole that will close a seven block stretch of the walkway.
| 27 Apr 2026 | 11:24
A new sinkhole has opened up on the East River Esplanade, resulting in another closure. (
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A widening sinkhole on the East River Esplanade between East 93rd Street and East 94th Street has forced a seven block stretch to be closed to pedestrians. The city found that a longstanding sinkhole has gradually widened.
The section of the esplanade was closed off with signage and fencing on April 23. The city sent out a notification on its Notify NYC text service.
The NY Parks and Recreation Department told Our Town that the agency is currently working with the Department of Transportation to develop a detour route that will be implemented as soon as possible.
“Wear and tear on this nearly 100-year-old esplanade’s infrastructure is common and is addressed through our inspection program,” a spokesperson from the Parks Department said. “We are actively working on 16 projects in our pipeline, in coordination with sister agencies, to restore and improve the esplanade.”
The ferry entrance at E 90th Street remains open and ready for use, but through traffic is closed in both directions between E 89th and 96th Street, NYC Parks continued in their statement.
The pathway may have only just been blocked off last week, but Jennifer Ratner, Board Chair of EsplanadeFriends, an organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of running paths, boating access and fishing piers to the north and south of Carl Schurz Park’s John Finley Walk, said that she has noticed the sinkhole expanding for most of her life.
“It’s been visible as a sinkhole, meaning ‘you-might-fall-into-the-river’ kind of sinkhole for a very long time,” said Ratner.
This part of the esplanade is also the southernmost tip of a proposed $294 Million reconstruction project of the Bobby Wagner Walk all the way up to and including the 107th Street Pier in East Harlem. The Parks Department first earmarked $75 Million for this project in 2019 and the New York City Economic Development Council (EDC) presented its plan for the walkway in 2022 with construction originally set to start in early 2025.
As of March 2025, the new breaking ground date was set to Winter 2026.
Our Town reached out to the EDC for a comment on the status of the project, but they have not responded by press time.
The Parks Department has not yet communicated a reopening date of the blocked off path. Still, with the DOT and Mayor’s office recent patching up of over 50,000 potholes on NYC roads after the city’s snowstorms this winter, Ratner said she hopes that the Parks Department commitment to an “expedited” response has a similar success rate.
“It’s not a small issue,” said Ratner. “It’s a sinkhole on the waterfront, but there’s not much greenspace there, and it’s just not fair compared to the West Side.”