Fire Hits East River Esplanade, Advocates Want Security Cameras

A fire broke out on a recently opened stretch of the East River Esplanade between E. 57th Street & E. 58th Street on April 12, the source of which remains undetermined. Pictures obtained by Our Town reveal a charred stretch of vegetation, as well as a lamppost with its base severely burnt.

Nobody was injured but local advocates say an investigation into the source of the blaze could be made much easier if long-deferred security cameras were installed alongside the waterfront walkway. New camera installations have been promised by politicians and the NYC Parks Department for years.

Notably, funding for additional cameras was unveiled as part of a participatory budgeting allocation all the way back in 2018, at a ribbon-cutting. They were slated to dot a stretch of the Esplanade between E. 64th St. and E. 70th St., yet locals are still waiting for them to materialize.

In 2022, an NYPD commander with the 19th Precinct told residents that “there’s so much more than meets the eye with the installation of these cameras, in the way of power systems and stuff.”

The NYPD then told the blog Patch that ongoing construction along the parkway—namely related to a Hospital for Special Surgery expansion at E. 71st Street and an extension of the Esplanade below E. 61st Street—was making the installation process tricky.

The latter extension, which opened in late 2023, is where the new fire occurred. According to Jennifer Ratner, who serves on the board of the nonprofit group Friends of the East River Esplanade, the completion of the stretch ostensibly removed a prominent obstacle standing in the way of camera installation—although no cameras were then installed.

“This is a complicated area, and I understand that, but we didn’t go to the moon here,” Rattner told Our Town. “I get it, there are fibre-optic cables that need to be laid down...but there are security cameras up and down the waterfront all over New York City. Go to the West Side, you’ll see them almost every few feet in some areas along the Hudson River Greenway.”

Without the security cameras, Rattner explained, determining the ultimate cause of the fire that broke out this month may prove difficult. However, she added that she had heard on good authority that foul play wasn’t involved, and that it was also unlikely that an electrical box in the affected area malfunctioned and sparked a fire.

Some people have further speculated that the fire could have been caused by a carelessly tossed cigarette. Yet there was similarly little substantive info to back up that theory, either.

The office of City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who represents the Upper East Side, is formally taking point on coordinating with the NYPD and the Parks Dept. on camera installations; city officials have reportedly expressed concern that the poles where the cameras would be installed do not yet have the proper power capacity.

“Our office has been actively working with the NYPD, Parks Department, and DOT to advance the installation of security cameras along this stretch of the East River Esplanade,” a spokesperson for Menin’s office told Our Town.