By Drew Grant 3/18 11:10am

Dolphins!!!

Greenpoint dolphin (YouTube)

If You Can Mackerel Here, You Can Mackerel Anywhere: Another Dolphin Joins Friend in East River Jaunt

You know, we’re starting to think it’s not a coincidence that all these dolphins have started showing up in New York’s bodies of (filthy) water. After all, in the past decade there’s been an uptick in marine life just kind of moseying into our rivers and canals, mostly with tragic results.

But this weekend’s sighting of not one but two bottlenose dolphins in the East River–both apparently in fine health, from what experts can see–shows that maybe the creatures can survive in these unsanitary conditions … at least for a little while. Which is pretty perfect metaphor for college students’ NYC migration habits, when you think about it. Read More

By Drew Grant 3/14 12:30pm

DOLPHINS!

The anatomy of a healthy dolphin.

Finally, an (Allegedly) Healthy Dolphin in a New York Body of Water

We were excited/saddened to learn about the dolphin frolicking down the East River yesterday. Saddened, because the life-span of dolphins hanging out in New York’s rivers and canals of late has been super short, but excited, because this dolphin, unlike the one in the Hudson in 2011 or the one in the Gowanus Canal in January,  appeared to be relatively healthy. The Times is on it:”Just a dolphin swimming through,” a (police) spokesman said. “It is not in distress and we did not aid it.” He added, “Why would we pursue a dolphin?”

Right you are sir! Tally-ho! Let the bottlenose go! Read More

By Jessica Roy 10/29/12 10:39am

Frankenstorm

6 Photos

The East River beginning to overtake some of the land that juts out into it.

Dispatch from Dumbo’s Evacuation Zone: East River Swells, Creeps Up Towards Brooklyn Bridge Park

The Observer decided to take a morning stroll through the streets of Dumbo, the area of Brooklyn between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges that borders the East River. By the time we returned to our apartment we were just grateful we didn’t die from falling debris. The wind propelled us forward, at times so strongly that we wondered if we should maybe just turn back. At the end of Bridge Street, where it dead ends at the river, water was beginning to crest over the barrier, rising higher than we’ve ever seen it. Read More

By Drew Grant 7/25/12 1:59pm

Brooklyn

Fireworks on the Hudson (YouTube)

Baby You’re a (East River) Firework: Macy’s Considers Returning Fourth of July Light Show to Original Locale

For those of us living in the outer boroughs, navigating Manhattan during the holidays can serve as a great reminder as to why we migrated off the island in the first place.  New Years Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving…the term “amateur hour” was practically invented to describe the hoards of revelers who descend upon NYC like a plague of locusts to “celebrate” these annual events by getting as drunk as humanly possible and clogging up the sidewalks and public transit systems.

Now, most of the time, this does not pose too much of a problem for Brooklynites and Queens residents, who would just as soon stay in their district anyway, throwing  Skrillex-themed rooftop parties.

But the 4th of July poses an issue for non-Gotham-dwellers: since 2009, the incredible light show thrown by Macy’s has been held on the Hudson River, making it almost impossible to view from the top of a Brooklyn Heights townhouse. Read More

By Michael Ewing 3/27/12 12:50pm

on the waterfront

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Surfs Up on the East River: Pols and Planners Team Up to Create East River Blueway

It’s almost surf season in the Rockaways! But if that is too far, don’t worry—just head over to the East River Blueway.

While everyone has been focusing on the transformation of the old industrial waterfront into a new public park, less has been done with what is going on beyond it. Curbed turned up this nifty video for an in-the-works plan called the East River Blueway. Read More

By The Editors 10/05/11 9:58am

opinion

New York’s East Side Land Swap

If you heard people at the United Nations talking about a land deal, you might assume that they were referencing a plan to bring peace to some troubled region in the world. But the land deal in question is playing out on the peaceful banks of the East River. And it’s a good thing.

Folks at the U.N. have been gazing longingly at a humble, one-acre playground named for Robert Moses just south of its headquarters. They’d like very much to build a new building on the site, at First Avenue and 41st Street. In the meantime, the city has been trying to figure out how to pay for the completion of a greenway along the East Side waterfront.

In the finest traditions of diplomacy, there may be a deal on the table that will benefit all parties. Read More