PHOTOS: NYC Says Goodbye To East River Park
15 photos
New York City is now demolishing East River Park, to make way for a storm surge barrier.
A worker chainsawing the tree canopy in East River Park, near the Williamsburg Bridge. The East Side Coastal Resiliency Project project will destroy 991 trees in total.
Two teams with bucket crews at work earlier in December, chainsawing the trees of East River Park. In the background is a new waterfront residential tower, located at Brooklyn’s former Domino Sugar Refinery.
A worker with a chainsaw, toppling a tree in East River Park, near the Williamsburg Bridge. One worker could strip a tree of foliage in a matter of minutes.
A worker with a chainsaw, cutting away the tree canopy in East River Park. Many of the trees here date back to the founding of the park in 1939.
Workers removing the trunk of a tree, using an excavator, in the southern section of East River Park.
A worker examining a tree he had toppled earlier in the day, in the southern section of East River Park.
An excavator piling up tree trunks along the waterfront of East River Park. The trunks and branches were put through a wood chipper and turned into mulch.
A row of denuded tree trunks, in front of the historic 1941 Fireboat House. A water feature including sculptures of harbor seals designed by sculptor Gerry Augustine Lynas was installed here in 2001.
Almost all of the trees have been cut down in the southern section of East River Park, between Stanton Street and Jackson Street.
An excavator removes the concrete seating area at the historic amphitheater, while loggers chainsaw the last trees in the southern part of East River Park, around the amphitheater.
The East River Park amphitheater, seen here in 2019, was a popular venue for concerts and performances.
A water feature with sculptures of 27 harbor seals, designed by sculptor Gerry Augustine Lynas, seen here in 2019. This artwork has not yet been relocated, although the trees have been chopped down around it.
The mature tree canopy just north of the Williamsburg Bridge, seen here in 2019, was one of the first sections to be chainsawed by demolition workers.
The East River Reflections Labyrinth, created by artist Diana Carulli in 2004, seen here in 2019. This artwork, like the trees around it, will be destroyed to make way for a storm surge barrier.