If you live near Tompkins Square or Avenue C, where is your nearest way into East River Park this fall? The East 6th Street bridge, the East 10th Street bridge and the Houston Street entrance are all closed. The nearest open crossings are the Delancey Street and Corlears Hook pedestrian bridges, both well south of Houston.
The park that has reopened after reconstruction under the East Side Coastal Resiliency project is the southern half. The city's own ESCR project page says amenities south of the Williamsburg Bridge are open and construction continues to the north. This changes how the park fits into the week. For now it works as an extension of Corlears Hook and the blocks around the Delancey Street bridge, and the fall programming around it has moved south with it.
Two ways in, both at the southern end
The First Half 2026 ESCR newsletter lists the status of each entrance:
- Delancey Street Pedestrian Bridge: open
- Corlears Hook Pedestrian Bridge: open
- Houston Street Entrance: closed
- East 6th Street Pedestrian Bridge: closed
- East 10th Street Pedestrian Bridge: closed
- Shared Use Path from Montgomery Street: closed
The Delancey bridge came first. The rebuilt, ADA-compliant crossing reopened in September 2024, along with Ballfields 1 and 2, according to the city's Department of Design and Construction. The Corlears Hook bridge followed on September 5, 2025. EV Grieve reported that it opened up the Corlears Hook flagpole area, six more tennis courts, the amphitheater, the esplanade seating and walking paths, and access to Pier 42 and the ferry.
A note on checking status: NYC Parks' general East River Park listing still describes an older closure pattern. The ESCR newsletter table and the project homepage show the current layout.
What sits behind those two bridges
The southern section has been built out in stages since spring 2025. On Memorial Day 2025, the city opened six regulation tennis courts, two regulation basketball courts, picnic and barbecue areas, a nature exploration area, a passive lawn and multiuse space. The Corlears Hook opening that September added six more courts, bringing the open section to twelve, and opened the amphitheater. The newsletter's amenity table now lists Ballfields 1 and 2, the tennis courts, the lawn, basketball, and the amphitheater with its lawn as open south of Houston.
The edges are still being finished. The city's August 2026 Community Advisory Group presentation reported two new openings that month, an esplanade segment by the north tennis courts and a pathway near the Corlears Hook Ferry Terminal. The same presentation lists punch-list work at the Delancey Street and Corlears Hook bridges. Park furnishings went in north of the tennis courts in June 2026.
Past the amphitheater, the Corlears Hook bridge also leads to Pier 42. NYCEDC describes its recreation deck as having a soccer field, four tennis courts, four half basketball courts and adult fitness equipment. Behind the deck is an eight-acre upland park with playgrounds, lawns, restrooms and waterfront access. Between Pier 42's four courts and East River Park's twelve, the open southern section has more public tennis than its ballfields would suggest.
The southern end also has a ferry. The Corlears Hook terminal is open, and NYC Ferry's South Brooklyn route stops there. Under the fall 2026 schedule, which runs from September 14 through November 1, weekend boats run via Governors Island, Red Hook, Atlantic Avenue, Wall Street/Pier 11, Corlears Hook and East 34th Street. Check NYC Ferry's schedule for service after November 1.
The fall calendar has moved to Corlears Hook
With the north end closed, most of the season's organized events are near the two open bridges. Two groups run most of them. Friends of Corlears Hook Park hosts its events at the park at 479 Cherry Street. The Lower East Side Ecology Center meets volunteers at the Delancey Street bridge.
- Morning stewardship, October 23, 26 and 30. The LES Ecology Center's Care for East River Park sessions run Monday and Friday mornings starting at 9:30 a.m. Volunteers meet on the east side of the Delancey Street Bridge at 540 Delancey Street for cleanup, invasive-species removal and beautification.
- Halloween Festival, Sunday, November 1, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friends of Corlears Hook Park is running its Halloween Festival with Henry Street Settlement, which will provide arts and crafts, a DJ, a balloon twister and an appearance by Spider-Man. Local families, businesses and community groups set up trick-or-treat stations around the park. The trick-or-treat stations include the LES Ecology Center and NYC Ferry.
- Thanksgiving-week cleanup, Sunday, November 22, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers rake and bag leaves at Corlears Hook Park. Tools, gloves, snacks and water are provided, and student groups are welcome.
- Holiday Festival, Sunday, December 6, 4:30 to 6 p.m. Decorating runs for the full 90 minutes, with a tree lighting at 5 p.m. The decorations cover the winter season, Hanukkah and Christmas, and the event is free whether or not you register.
The Corlears Hook bridge area already has a local history of volunteer work. At an Earth Day event this past April 18, the ESCR team, NYC Parks and Friends of Corlears Hook Park had volunteers plant almost 100 shrubs along the FDR Drive below the bridge. The Corlears Hook Dog Run is open, and the park's playground and flagpole area are open as well.
November 22 is the last day of permit tennis
The Thanksgiving-week cleanup falls on the last day of the permit season. NYC Parks requires a permit on its outdoor courts from the first Saturday in April through the Sunday before Thanksgiving, which this year is November 22. That leaves about a month of permit play after this post goes live.
Here is what the NYC Parks tennis permit page lists:
- Full-season permit: $100 for adults 18 to 61, or $90 with a valid IDNYC; $20 for seniors 62 and up; $10 for players under 18. A late-season permit costs the same and ends on the same date.
- Single-play permit: $15, good for one hour of singles or two hours of doubles on any city court. Online purchases are not valid the same day, but permits bought in person can be.
- Online reservations: $15 per court per hour, bookable up to seven days ahead. East River Park is not on the current list of courts that take online reservations. At courts outside that list, reservations are made in person on the same day with a permit.
- Hours: most city courts run from 8 a.m. to dusk. At unattended courts, permit holders get priority; otherwise courts are first come, first served.
For a full-season adult permit bought this late, a few $15 single-play permits may cost less. The tradeoff is that an online single-play permit can't be used the same day.
The north end runs on a longer schedule
The closed north half is a long list: Ballfields 3 through 8, the track and field, the 12th Street lawn, and the barbecue area, playground and basketball north of Houston Street. The completion date has moved more than once. In its December 2025 update to Community Board 3, the Department of Design and Construction moved the anticipated completion of Project Area 1 to late 2027.
The East 10th Street bridge is the clearest marker for the north end. The August 2026 presentation describes a 12- to 14-month construction sequence, with pile installation expected to wrap up in early October. After that come about two months to assemble the bridge, a single night to set it in place, and six to seven months for the ramps. The presentation gives no public reopening date. Work is also under way on the Parks maintenance and track buildings north of Houston. Plumbing for the new Track House was already in progress in June 2026.
Until then, the park is reached on foot by the Delancey Street and Corlears Hook bridges, with the Corlears Hook ferry landing as the one water route in. Every event in the calendar above takes place within a short walk of the two bridges.
James Weiss NYC tracks the ESCR openings block by block, from the East 10th Street bridge to the north ballfields. If you would like to talk about how the reopened park affects the blocks you are considering, we would be glad to arrange a private consultation.
