Starting this fall, NYC is planning to close and demolish the largest public open space in Lower Manhattan, East River Park. This is being done in the name of flood protection, despite the fact that many sections of the park are already higher than even the most exceptional floods, like Superstorm Sandy. In that event, way back in October 2012, floodwaters flowed into the East Village from the lowest points of the waterfront, between 14th and 23rd streets, around Stuyvesant Cove, but mostly did not cross East River Park or the FDR freeway (which is NOT being impacted by this ill-considered $1.5 billion boondoggle…)

In memory of East River Park, I am reviving this blog to post some images of a flood memorial I created back in 2016, using driftwood logs to show the heights Sandy reached, and the projected future flood height if sea level rise and global warming are allowed to continue unabated.

I also wanted to spread the word about East River Park Action, a protest movement hoping to stop this wasteful destructive plan; the protest starts this Thursday July 23rd at 7pm, at the Abrons Art Center at 466 Grand Street at Pitt Street on the Lower East Side.