by Yori Yanover

The Parks Dept. representative, Bob Redmond, at the CB3 Parks & Recreation Committee The track is re-opened and promenade work renewed at ER Park

he City’s Parks Dept. has finally clarified it: According to rep. Carli Smith (who was leaving the afternoon we spoke, making us the last living reporter she spoke to in that capacity), the 2007 date has always been set for the end of Phase Two in the East River Park Promenade Project, restoring the promenade bulkheads. The final completion of the entire promenade project has always been, according to Smith, the fall of 2008. So, there you go, if you’ve been x’ing out the days on your East River Park renovation calendar, you’ve still got two more calendars to fill.

The CB3 Parks and Recreation October meeting offered a mix of good and dubious news.

The good news is that the East River Park running track at 6th Street is open again. The city Parks Dept. lived up to its word—with gentle coaxing from the community—and is staggering the renovations. While we’re waiting for the new, aluminum bleachers to be installed, they’re letting the runners and soccer & rugby players enjoy the fabulous facility.

The dubious news is that many unexpected issues have combined to complicate the renovation job. The Parks Dept. representative, Bob Redmond, told the committee that over the past 70 years the erosion of the sea wall, from Jackson to 12th Streets, has been so severe, that a complete reconstruction, to the tune of $78 million, is needed. But he promised the sea wall would hold up for at least 70 more years.

The reason why there were no workers to be seen at the promenade work site on most days during July and August had to do with an order from the City’s Department of Environmental Protection, which was concerned with the flow of soil deposits into the East River.

Chairman Richard Ropiak and committee members put together a list of recommendations for capital improvements which included renovating Sara Roosevelt Park and Pier 42, both of which are in a state of deterioration. Also, the committee recommends making structural repairs in the adult section of the Hamilton Fish library.

Ropiak was nice enough to solicit ideas from the audience for capital improvements, and we suggested temporary repairs to the East River Park road, alongside the FDR Drive, which Con-Ed had paved over its new gas lines – with questionable meticulousness – and which now is a mess of puddles and lakes after each rain. The committee liked the idea, but Redmond explained that until the renovation project is finished, there’s no point in repaving. He promised to look into filling up some potholes, but suggested the job that’s really needed, and is going to be very expensive, is restoring the road’s drainage system.

Other recommendations for budget allocations included hiring 10 new security officers to supervise CB3’s 45 parks. And a representative of the NY Public Library asked for the board’s help in getting the city to stretch the libraries’ schedule to 42 hours, six days a week. There are five libraries in the CB3 area: Seward Park, Ottendorfer, Hamilton Fish, Tompkins Square and Chatham Square.