Rounding the U

The East Side Coastal Resiliency project is transforming Manhattan’s Lower East Side waterfront into a flood-protected public park, combining major climate infrastructure with new spaces for recreation, walking and community life.

A park built to withstand the next Sandy

Stretching along the East River, the project is designed to protect one of Lower Manhattan’s most densely populated areas from future flooding while creating new connections between the neighborhood and the waterfront.

The initiative grew out of the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which caused an estimated $19 billion in damage across New York City. The East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project emerged from the 2013 Rebuild by Design competition and builds on the original BIG U concept developed by BIG, ONE Architecture, ARCADIS and Buro Happold.

The redesigned East River Park has been raised to reduce flood risk, while new floodwalls, berms and upgrades to the sewer system are intended to improve stormwater management. The infrastructure has been designed around projections of roughly 2.5 feet of sea-level rise by 2050, with additional capacity to accommodate up to two more feet if necessary.

At street level, however, the infrastructure is deliberately difficult to distinguish from the park itself.

“Our whole concept was to merge them together,” said Molly Bourne, a principal at landscape architecture firm MNLA.

New bridges reconnect the neighborhood

The project is also reshaping how residents reach the waterfront. New pedestrian bridges at Corlears Hook and Delancey Street replace the park’s former narrow, winding approaches with wider routes for pedestrians and cyclists.

Designed by BIG, the bridges use curved forms and arched structural beams while providing enough space for emergency vehicles. A third pedestrian bridge at East 10th Street is scheduled to open in 2027.

The upgraded park already includes six additional tennis courts, a new amphitheater and the Corlears Hook Pedestrian Bridge. Bathrooms, locker facilities and additional maintenance structures are also expected to open in 2027.

Climate infrastructure meets public life

The project is not limited to flood protection. Its designers have integrated sports fields, lawns, walking and cycling routes and gathering spaces into the flood-mitigation system.

In September 2025, the Solar One Environmental Center also opened at Stuyvesant Cove. Designed by BIG, the wood-clad building houses classrooms and offices for the environmental education nonprofit and includes solar panels.

Because the center sits within the floodplain, its ground level was designed to withstand flooding, using elements such as gabions and pilotis and materials that can either withstand water or break away safely.

From the classrooms overlooking the East River, students learn about batteries, solar energy and wind power, turning the waterfront itself into a setting for environmental education.

The broader ESCR project ultimately aims to create a continuous, resilient waterfront landscape while preparing the Lower East Side for a future in which rising seas and increasingly severe storms pose a growing threat to New York City.