East Side Coastal Resiliency – BIG
The 2.25-mile flood protection system dubbed the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) has reached a major milestone with the opening of key areas of East River Park. Conceived as a “parkipelago” of interconnected parks along the East River waterfront, the project creates a series of elevated green spaces that double as flood barriers while offering new public amenities for the surrounding Lower East Side neighborhood.
Developed under the leadership of the NYC Department of Design and Construction (NYCDDC) and designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects (MNLA), ONE Architecture & Urbanism, AKRF, and residents of the Lower East Side, ESCR is a $1.45 billion coastal protection initiative spanning Montgomery to East 25th Streets. Following the original 2014 BIG U vision for 10 continuous miles of protective park and public realm in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the project is designed to safeguard more than 110,000 New Yorkers from future storms and tidal flooding.
Located within the FEMA 100-year floodplain, ESCR integrates floodwalls, sliding gates, bridging berms, and elevated parkland into an unbroken protective system that shields critical infrastructure – including a major pump station, an electrical substation powering much of Lower Manhattan, and numerous schools and libraries. More than a barrier, ESCR is a model for how infrastructure can double as active and accessible public space – strengthening resilience while enhancing daily life.
The park also features new basketball and tennis courts, picnic and BBQ areas, a multi-use turf field, grassy lawns, dedicated zones for nature exploration and water play, a new amphitheater, an extended esplanade, and two new pedestrian bridges at Delancey Street and Corlears Hook Park.
