East River Park is scheduled to close in early 2020 for at least 3.5 years. The current East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) flood protection plan calls for everything in it (including the brand-new 6th Street Track) to be bulldozed and the park elevated eight feet. Stuyvesant Cove, Asser Levy, Murphy Brothers, Corlears Hook, and Capt’n Patrick J Brown Walk will also be rebuilt.

There will be no access to a 3-mile stretch of waterfront from 23rd Street to Montgomery Street. No ball games, barbecues, sprinklers and playgrounds, runners, bikes, walkers -- for nearly four years. East River Park is the largest park in Manhattan below 59th Street and a precious recreation space for a community where many residents cannot afford vacations.

We demand that the City reconsider this plan. Our community deserves a resiliency plan that includes:

Flood protection now and during construction

Phased closing during construction and immediate reopening of completed sections

Real alternatives for healthy recreation during construction

Consideration of other options including flood protection along the FDR and covering the highway to create additional parkland

We the undersigned urge you and the Department of Design and Construction to work with us to plan a better, more humane approach to East Side Coastal Resiliency!