East Harlem pushes for a waterfront fi x
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
In order to fi sh along the East River,
East Harlem resident Brandyn Rodriguez
hops over a bent metal fence to
cast a line on the graffi tied remains of a
rundown dock between East 107th and
114th Streets — both closed off to the
public.
“Everything above 96th is pretty terrible,”
said Rodriguez about the East River
Esplanade. “It’s like it hasn’t been touched
since it was built.”
Besides better access to the water, Rodriguez
wishes that the East Harlem section
of the esplanade could have green
grass, even sidewalks, places to barbecue
and working lamp posts, like it does below
96th Street.
“It looks like a dumping ground,” he
said.
In February, the Parks Department announced
that $75 million would be invested
into renovating parts of the esplanade
and greenway in Midtown, the Upper East
Side and East Harlem to make the entire
waterfront accessible to Manhattanites.
In April, that dream became one step
closer to becoming a reality when renovations
to the stretch of the esplanade
between 63rd and 68th Streets were completed.
According to the Parks Department,
Conditions along the East River Esplanade along East Harlem have
not improved much over the last decade, despite renovations done to
lower parts of the greenway.
of the $75 million, $23 million of it
was allocated to the section of the esplanade
between East 62nd to East 63rd. But
that was not enough to complete renovations
along the stretch.
Renovations were nonetheless completed
because of help from Roosevelt
University, which spent $15 million in
upgrades, according to Patch, and started
PHOTO : ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
renovation work along the waterfront in
2015.
Of the $75 million, $16 million has
been allocated by Parks for renovations
along East 90 and East 94th Street. Parks
has previously allocated $18 million for
this stretch of the esplanade.
For the section of the esplanade between
East 114th and East 117th Streets,
Parks has a total of $25 million in renovation
funds, including $15 million from
this year’s $75 million worth of mayoral
funding.
According to Parks, the agency is planning
on presenting renovation designs for
the section of the esplanade and greenway
to the community by the end of this year
or by January 2020. The design process
is scheduled to be completed by March
of 2020 and construction set to begin by
2021. Currently Parks, is using consultants
to conduct underwater investigative
work to determine the condition of the
section of the esplanade.
But despite city funding and a timeline,
some residents and advocates are skeptical
that things will change since improvements
to the East Harlem section of the
esplanade have been minimal since the
city fi rst allocated money — $35 million
— towards the East River Esplanade renovations
in 2014.
According to Jennifer Ratner, founder
of Friends of the East River Esplanade
60th to 120th Street, and part of the East
River Esplanade Task Force, the timeline
for East Harlem renovations have been
pushed back in the past.
“I understand that the infrastructure
repairs are exceedingly complicated,”
said Ratner. “But East Harlem deserves
more.”
Manhattan man wins $7M jackpot in Cash4Life
BY SHAYE WEAVER
During an Aug. 5 drawing
of the New York Lottery, a
Manhattan resident discovered
he had the winning numbers for
a $7 million jackpot.
“It’s surreal,” the winner, Stephen
Deiro of Manhattan, said. “I knew I
would win one day. I always play the
same numbers.”
Deiro went to the Lex & 103rd
Inc. bodega at Lexington Avenue
and 103rd Street in East Harlem and
used the numbers, 09-19-24-34-56
on Cash Ball 3, according to the New
York Lottery.
Deiro decided to get his prize in
annual installments of $365,000
($231,060 after taxes) annually for
the rest of his life.
“First, I plan to make sure my family
is taken care of,” he said. “Then I
plan to make some investments. Possibly
real estate.”
Deiro is the 75th New York Lottery
player to claim a prize totaling at
least $1 million this year, according
to the New York Lottery.
Between 2018 and 2019, the
New York Lottery contributed
$1,263,968,814 in Lottery Aid to Education
to school districts throughout
the fi ve boroughs of New York City.
PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW YORK LOTTERY
Stephen Deiro with the New York Lottery’s Yolanda Vega at a check presentation on Oct. 15.
Schneps Media October 17, 2019 3