That New Corlears Hook Bridge to East River Park? Wow!

It might not be the yellow brick road, but the paths to and from the new Corlears Hook Park Bridge to the East River Park are very much worth following.

Officially opened in late August, the stoutly handsome ADA-compliant bridge arching over the FDR Drive replaced the temporary zig-zaggy span between Corlears Hook Park and its eponymous ferry stop.

Just as significantly, this new Corlears Hook Park goes somewhere besides the ferry: namely, another section of the revamped, resiliency-boosted East River Park (ERP).

In celebration of this, a Community Day event was held on Sunday, Sept. 28, including a small parade with costumes, a marching band, happy kids, and Parks Department honchos, including Parks Department Manhattan Borough Commissioner Tricia Shimamura and the top “parkie” herself, Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa.

How one feels about the new waterfront landscape depends on how one feels about trees—you know, those big, tall woody things with leaves in season, and room for many squirrels, birds, and bugs. Once upon a time on the Lower East Side there was a tribe some might call the “Tree Huggers.”

They did battle to protect the ERP trees from the city, state, and federal government intent on razing them all—and lost, bigly!

Also among the losers were the squirrels, who were the subject of a recent rescue mission after local activists realized how many of the frisky furballs were trapped in EPR’s latest devastation zone, which lies between the now-closed entrances at East Houston and East 6th streets, and includes the beloved East River Track.

The plight of the squirrels was reported by the neighborhood news blog EV Grieve on Sept. 22, while the subsequent squirrel rescue mission, which was initiated by the city only after a strong local outcry, was detailed in the Oct. 3 New York Post.

Meanwhile, down at Corlears Hook, only a small child, or perhaps their pet lemur, could really embrace an East River Park tree, they’re so small and narrow. They are cute, and care has been exhibited in their placement, but we are many years away from any ERP-related headlines like “Human Greets Tree with Bear Hug, Resident Squirrels Squeal with Delight!”

What the new ERP lacks in arboreal glory and, at present, wildlife, it exhibits in smart human design—which really is a fact worth hailing.

“Today’s reopening of the Corlears Hook Bridge and other sections of East River Park marks another major milestone for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. By raising the park and integrating flood protection with new recreation spaces, we’re proving that safe cities can also be vibrant and healthy cities,” said Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Commissioner for Bureau of Coastal Resilience Laurian Farrell.

“This celebration is about more than reopening a bridge—it’s about reconnecting a community to its park,” said Rodriguez-Rosa. “With the reopening of the Corlears Hook Bridge, amphitheater, and sports courts, the East Side community once again has direct access to vital open space for play, performance, and gathering.”

Among the community groups recognized in Parks Department press release were “FAB NYC, Moving Culture Projects, Good Old Lower East Side, Lower East Side Creative People in Action, GOH Productions, East River Alliance NYC, Friends of Corlears Hook Park, Lower East Side Ecology Center, Henry Street Settlement, and more!”

Among the more numerous were the deep Lower East Side’s current Council member, Christopher Marte, and residents from neighboring NYCHA project, Vladeck Houses, named for beloved Yiddish Socialist newspaper editor, lawyer and City Council member Baruch Charney Vladeck.

This reporter recently traversed the entirety of East River Park and there’s much to praise on both sides of the Corlears Hook Bridge. The paths coming on and off the span are smooth and even fun to navigate, while the bridge itself is handsome and wide.

While the most notable feature on the riverside, the ERP ampitheater, is still a work in progress without a proscenium or other theatrical details, which are scheduled to be added. Someday, perhaps, an oration speech like that of Cyrus in the movie The Warriors will be delivered here.

Elsewhere, the landscaping and waterfront are like those of the other reopened sections, impressively detailed, if a little antiseptic. If you didn’t know what was here before, you would properly be impressed. The runners, bicyclists, walkers, and fishermen this reporter saw all seemed to be enjoying themselves.

With this reopening, East River Park is now accessible from Montgomery Street in the south to Delancey Street in the north. Within these sections, conditions are largely good, though nearly every basketball net is missing or in need of replacement.

Also, up Delancey Street, besides the regrettable fact that the basketball courts are next to a dusty gravel access road and the FDR Drive, with no berm or wall as a buffer, there is the Mystery of the Delancey Street stairs.

While the span itself reopened in September 2024, and the various park amenities, including the pollution-marred basketball courts opened in May 2025, a single concrete staircase from the bridge to the FDR access road remains mysteriously incomplete.

At press time, a graffiti-tagged sign from the city’s Department of Design and Construction says, “We are working on the final touches for this stairway. Fabrication of important safety elements is scheduled with other bridge elements to maximize efficiency. In the meantime, use the sidewalk and ramp to access the Delancey Street bridge. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we complete this work.”