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{{short description|Navigable tidal strait in New York City}}
{{about|the East River in New York City|other uses|East River (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox river
| name = East River
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| image = East River and UN.jpg
| image_size = 325px
| image_caption = East River (foreground) and the [[headquarters of the United Nations]] in [[Manhattan]] (background)
| map = Wpdms terra east river.jpg
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| map_caption = Aerial map of
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| subdivision_type1 = Country
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| subdivision_type2 = State
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| subdivision_type5 = Municipality
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▲| length = {{convert|16|mi|km|abbr=on}}
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| source1 = [[Long Island Sound]]
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| source1_coordinates = {{coord|40.
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| mouth = [[Upper New York Bay]]
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| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|40.
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The '''East River''' is a saltwater [[Estuary|tidal estuary]] or [[strait]] in [[New York City]]. The waterway, which is actually not a
Because of its connection to Long Island Sound, it was once also known as the ''Sound River''.<ref>[[John Montresor|Montrésor, John]] (1766). ''[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/gmd:@field(NUMBER+@band(g3804n+ar110401)) A plan of the city of New-York & its environs]''. London.</ref> The [[tidal strait]] changes its direction of flow
==Formation and description==
{{see also|Hell Gate}}
Technically a [[Ria|drowned valley]], like the other waterways around New York City,<ref>Burrows and Wallace, p.5</ref> the strait was formed approximately 11,000 years ago at the end of the [[Wisconsin glaciation]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Staff |title=The East River Flows From Prehistoric Times To Today |url=http://www.qgazette.com/news/2005-07-20/features/049.html |newspaper=The Queens Gazette |date=July 20, 2005 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110216082526/http://www.qgazette.com/news/2005-07-20/features/049.html |archive-date=February 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The distinct change in the shape of the strait between the lower and upper portions is evidence of this glacial activity. The upper portion (from [[Long Island Sound]] to Hell Gate), running largely perpendicular to the glacial motion, is wide, meandering, and has deep narrow bays on both banks, scoured out by the glacier's movement. The lower portion (from Hell Gate to [[New York Bay]]) runs north–south, parallel to the glacial motion. It is much narrower, with straight banks. The bays that exist, as well as those that used to exist before being filled in by human activity, are largely wide and shallow.
[[File:PSM V28 D451 Hell gate new york.jpg|thumb|325px|left|A navigation map for [[Hell Gate]] from {{circa|1885}}, after many of the obstructions had been removed]]
The section known as "Hell Gate" – from the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] name {{lang|nl|Hellegat}} meaning either "bright strait" or "clear opening", given to the entire river in 1614 by explorer [[Adriaen Block]] when he passed through it in his ship ''Tyger''<ref name="fed420">{{cite fednyc}} pp.419–20</ref><ref name=wolfe /> – is a narrow, turbulent, and particularly treacherous stretch of the river. Tides from the Long Island Sound, New York Harbor and the [[Harlem River]] meet there, making it difficult to navigate, especially because of the number of rocky islets which once dotted it, with names such as "Frying Pan", "Pot, Bread and Cheese", "Hen and Chicken", "Heel Top"; "Flood"; and "Gridiron", roughly 12 islets and reefs in all,<ref>Eldredge & Horenstein (
The river is navigable for its entire length of {{convert|16|mi}}. In 1939 it was reported that the stretch from [[The Battery (Manhattan)|The Battery]] to the former [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]] near [[Wallabout Bay]], a run of about {{convert|1000|yd}}, was {{convert|40|ft}} deep, the long section from there, running to the west of Roosevelt Island, through Hell Gate and to [[Throggs Neck|Throg's Neck]] was at least {{convert|35|ft}} deep, and then eastward from there the river was, at mean low tide, {{convert|168|ft}} deep.<ref name=fed420 />
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The largest land mass in the River south of Roosevelt Island is [[U Thant Island]], an artificial islet created during the construction of the [[Steinway Tunnel]] (which currently serves the [[7 (New York City Subway service)|subway's 7 and <7> lines)]]. Officially named Belmont Island after one of the tunnel's financiers, the landmass owes its popular name (after [[Myanmar|Burmese]] diplomat [[U Thant]], former [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]]) to the efforts of a group associated with the guru [[Sri Chinmoy]] that held mediation meetings on the island in the 1970s. Today, the island is owned by New York State and serves as a migratory bird sanctuary that is closed to visitors.
Proceeding north and east from Roosevelt Island, the River's principal islands include Manhattan's [[Mill Rock]], an {{convert|8.6|acre|adj=on}} island located about 1000 feet from Manhattan's East 96th Street; Manhattan's 520-acre [[Randalls and Wards Islands]], two formerly separate islands joined by landfill that are home to a large public park, a number of public institutions, and the supports for the [[Triborough Bridge|Triborough]] and the [[Hell Gate Bridge]]s; the Bronx's [[Rikers Island]], once under {{convert|100|acre|km2
[[File:Manhattan1781.jpg|thumb|left|237px|A map from 1781]]
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[[Newtown Creek]] on Long Island, which itself contained several tributaries, drains into the East River and forms part of the boundary between Queens and Brooklyn.<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|175}} [[Bushwick Inlet Park|Bushwick Inlet]]<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|193}} and [[Wallabout Bay]] on Long Island also drain into the strait on the Long Island side.<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|197}} The [[Gowanus Canal]] was built from [[Gowanus Canal|Gowanus Creek]], which emptied into the river.<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|185}}
Historically, there were other small streams which emptied into the river, though these and their associated wetlands have been filled in and built over. These small streams included the Harlem Creek, one of the most significant tributaries originating in Manhattan.<ref>{{cite greatest |page=70 }}</ref> Other streams that emptied into the East River included the [[Sawkill]] in Manhattan,<ref name="Kadinsky2016">{{Cite Hidden Waters NYC }}</ref>{{rp|32}} Mill Brook in the Bronx,<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|84}} and [[Sunswick Creek]] in Queens.<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|96}}
==History==
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the land north of the East River was occupied by the [[Siwanoy]]s, one of many groups of [[Algonquin language|Algonquin]]-speaking [[Lenape]]s in the area. Those of the Lenapes who lived in the northern part of Manhattan Island in a campsite known as [[Konaande Kongh]] used a landing at around the current location of East 119th street to paddle into the river in [[canoe]]s fashioned from tree trunks in order to fish.<ref>Burrows and Wallace, pp.5, 6–8</ref>
Dutch settlement of what became [[New Amsterdam]] began in 1623.<ref name=history /> Some of the earliest of the small settlements in the area were along the west bank of the East River on sites that had previously been Native American settlements.
===Narrowing the river===
Historically, the lower portion of the strait, which separates Manhattan from Brooklyn, was one of the busiest and most important channels in the world, particularly during the first three centuries of New York City's history. Because the water along the lower Manhattan shoreline was too shallow for large boats to tie up and unload their goods, from 1686 on – after the signing of the [[Dongan Charter]], which allowed intertidal land to be owned and sold – the shoreline was "wharfed out" to the high-water mark by constructing retaining walls that were filled in with every conceivable kind of landfill: excrement, dead animals, ships deliberately sunk in place, ship ballast, and muck dredged from the bottom of the river. On the new land were built warehouses and other structures necessary for the burgeoning sea trade. Many of the "water-lot" grants went to the rich and powerful families of the merchant class, although some went to tradesmen. By 1700, the Manhattan bank of the river had been "wharfed-out" up to around [[Whitehall Street]], narrowing the strait of the river.<ref>Steinberg, pp.23–26</ref>
[[File:Birds eye view New York City crop.jpeg|thumb|right|350px|A "bird's-eye" view of New York City from 1859; [[Wallabout Bay]] and the East River are in the foreground, the [[Hudson River]] and [[New York Bay]] in the background]]
After the signing of the Montgomerie Charter in the late 1720s, another 127 acres of land along the Manhattan shore of the East River was authorized to be filled-in, this time to a point 400 feet beyond the low-water mark; the parts that had already been expanded to the low water mark – much of which had been devastated by a coastal storm in the early 1720s and a [[nor'easter]] in 1723 – were also expanded, narrowing the channel even further.
===American Revolution===
Expansion of the waterfront halted during the [[American Revolution]], in which the East River played an important role early in the conflict. On August 28, 1776, while British and Hessian troops rested after besting the Americans at the [[Battle of Long Island]], General [[George Washington]] was rounding up all the boats on the east shore of the river, in what is now Brooklyn, and used them to successfully move his troops across the river – under cover of night, rain, and fog – to Manhattan island, before the British could press their advantage. Thus, though the battle was a victory for the British, the failure of [[William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe|Sir William Howe]] to destroy the Continental Army when he had the opportunity allowed the Americans to continue fighting. Without the stealthy withdrawal across the East River, the American Revolution might have ended much earlier.<ref>Stokesbury, James L. (1991)
[[Wallabout Bay]] on the River was the site of most of the [[Prisoners of war in the American Revolutionary War|British prison ships]] – most notoriously {{HMS|Jersey|1736|6}} – where thousands of American [[Prisoners of war in the American Revolutionary War|prisoners of war]] were held in terrible conditions.
===Development begins again===
After the war, East River waterfront development continued once more. New York State legislation, which in 1807 had authorized what would become the [[Commissioners' Plan of 1811|Commissioners Plan of 1811]], authorized the creation of new land out to 400 feet from the low water mark into the river, and with the advent of gridded streets along the new waterline – Joseph Mangin had laid out such a grid in 1803 in his ''A Plan and Regulation of the City of New York'', which was rejected by the city, but established the concept – the coastline become regularized at the same time that the strait became even narrower.<ref>Steinberg, pp.57–58; 73</ref>
One result of the narrowing of the East River along the shoreline of Manhattan and, later, Brooklyn – which continued until the mid-19th century when the state put a stop to it – was an increase in the speed of its current. [[Buttermilk Channel]], the strait that divides [[Governors Island]] from [[Red Hook, Brooklyn|Red Hook]] in Brooklyn, and which is located directly south of the "mouth" of the East River, was in the early 17th century a fordable waterway across which cattle could be driven.
[[File:New York and Vicinity as Proposed to be Remodeled crop.png|thumb|right|375px|James E. Serrell's 1860s plan for an expanded Manhattan and a straightened East River, using canalization and land reclamation]]▼
▲[[File:New York and Vicinity as Proposed to be Remodeled crop.png|thumb|right|375px|James E. Serrell's plan for an expanded Manhattan and a straightened East River]]
===Filling in the river===
Filling in part of the river was also proposed in 1867 by engineer James E. Serrell, later a city surveyor, but with emphasis on solving the problem of Hell Gate. Serrell proposed filling in Hell Gate and building a "New East River" through Queens with an extension to [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester County]].<ref name=unbound127/><ref>[[New York Public Library]] (1901) [https://books.google.com/books?id=MpZJAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22James+E.+Serrell%22+%22East+River%22&pg=PA109 ''Bulletin of the New York Public Library''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513024328/https://books.google.com/books?id=MpZJAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22James+E.+Serrell%22+%22East+River%22&pg=PA109 |date=May 13, 2023 }} p.109 Quote: "Plan and description proposing to re model the city of New York and its vicinity By making a New East River filling up Hell Gate and annexing Brooklyn also extending into Westchester County By James E Serrell ... 1869"</ref><ref>[[New York Public Library]] (1913) [https://archive.org/details/selectedlistref00librgoog/page/n11 <!-- pg=7 quote="James E. Serrell" "East River". --> ''Selected List of References Bearing on the City Plan of New York''] p.7 Quote: "Suggestion for removal of rocks in Hell Gate to lessen currents Also to change shape of the boundary on the easterly and westerly side of New York Eleven reasons presented for furtherance of plan. ... A canal 200 ft extending from Long Island sound to 150th street to transport people"</ref> Serrell's plan – which he publicized with maps, essay and lectures as well as presentations to the city, state and federal governments – would have filled in the river from 14th Street to 125th Street.
Variations on Serrell's plan would be floated over the years.
===Clearing Hell Gate===
{{main|Removal of Hell Gate rocks}}
Periodically, merchants and other interested parties would try to get something done about the difficulty of navigating through Hell Gate. In 1832, the New York State legislature was presented with a petition for a canal to be built through nearby Hallet's Point, thus avoiding Hell Gate altogether.
In 1849, a French engineer whose specialty was underwater blasting, [[Benjamin Maillefert]], had cleared some of the rocks which, along with the mix of tides, made the Hell Gate stretch of the river so dangerous to navigate.
With the main shipping channels through The Narrows into the harbor silting up with sand due to [[Longshore drift|littoral drift]], thus providing ships with less depth, and a new generation of larger ships coming online – epitomized by [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]'s [[SS Great Eastern|SS ''Great Eastern'']], popularly known as "Leviathan" – New York began to be concerned that it would start to lose its status as a great port if a "back door" entrance into the harbor was not created.<ref>Steinberg, pp.105–106</ref>
The U.S. Congress, realizing that the problem needed to be addressed, appropriated $20,000 for the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] to continue Maillefert's work.<ref name=concrete95>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), p.95</ref> In 1851, the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]],
====After the Civil War====
[[File:(King1893NYC) pg944 FLOOD ROCK EXPLOSION AT HELL GATE IN OCTOBER, 1885. RAND DRILL COMPANY'S DRILLS AND EXPLOSIVES.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The 1885 explosion]]
In the late 1860s, after the Civil War, Congress realized the military importance of having easily navigable waterways, and charged the Army Corps of Engineers with clearing Hell Gate.
On October 10, 1885, the Corps carried out the largest explosion in this process, annihilating Flood Rock with {{convert|300000|lb|kg}} of explosives.<ref name=nycgovparks>{{cite web |url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=9756 |title=Mill Rock Island |publisher=[[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]] |date=June 6, 2001 |
At the same time that Hell Gate was being cleared, the [[Spuyten Duyvil Creek|Harlem River Ship Canal]] was being planned.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the East River was the center of New York's shipping industry, but by the end of the century, much of it had moved to the Hudson River, leaving the East River wharves and slips to begin a long process of decay, until the area was finally rehabilitated in the mid-1960s, and the [[South Street Seaport|South Street Seaport Museum]] was opened in 1967.<ref>{{cite naming |page=34 }}</ref>
===A new seawall===
By 1870, the condition of the Port of New York along both the East and Hudson Rivers had so deteriorated that the New York State legislature created the Department of Docks to renovate the port and keep New York competitive with other ports on the American East Coast.
The department had surveyed {{convert|13,700|ft}} of shoreline by 1878, as well as documenting the currents and tides. By 1900, {{convert|75|mi}} had been surveyed and core samples had been taken to inform the builders of how deep the bedrock was. The work was completed just as [[World War I]] began, allowing the Port of New York to be a major point of embarkation for troops and materiel.<ref name=concrete184 />
The new seawall helps protect Manhattan island from storm surges, although it is only {{convert|5|ft}} above the mean sea level, so that particularly dangerous storms, such as the [[nor'easter]] of 1992 and [[Hurricane Sandy]] in 2012, which hit the city in a way to create surges which are much higher, can still do significant damage. (The Hurricane of September 3, 1821, created the biggest storm surge on record in New York City: a rise of {{convert|13|ft}} in one hour at the Battery, flooding all of lower Manhattan up to [[Canal Street (Manhattan)|Canal Street]].)
===Bridges and tunnels===
{{see also|#Crossings}}
The [[Brooklyn Bridge]], completed in 1883, was the first bridge to span the East River, connecting the cities of New York and [[Brooklyn]], and all but replacing the frequent ferry service between them, which did not return until the late 20th century.
[[File:Astoria Park Panorama of Triborough and Hell's Gate Bridges.jpg|thumb|center|750px|A panorama of the suspension section of the [[Triborough Bridge|Robert F. Kennedy Bridge]] (left) and the [[Hell Gate Bridge]] (right), as seen from [[Astoria Park]] in [[Queens]]]]
===20th century===
Philanthropist [[John D. Rockefeller]] founded what is now [[Rockefeller University]] in 1901, between [[List of numbered streets in Manhattan|63rd]] and [[List of numbered streets in Manhattan|64th]] Streets on the river side of [[York Avenue and Sutton Place|York Avenue]], overlooking the river.
[[File:General slocum burning.jpg|thumb|325px|right|Firefighters working to put out the fire on the listing ''General Slocum'']]
The East River was the site of one of the greatest disasters in the history of New York City when, in June 1904, the [[PS General Slocum|PS ''General Slocum'']] sank near North Brother Island due to a fire.
Beginning in 1934, and then again from 1948 to 1966, the Manhattan shore of the river became the location for the limited-access [[FDR Drive|East River Drive]], which was later renamed after [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Delano Roosevelt]], and is universally known by New Yorkers as the "FDR Drive". The road is sometimes at grade, sometimes runs under locations such as the site of the [[Headquarters of the United Nations]] and [[Carl Schurz Park]] and [[Gracie Mansion]] – the mayor's official residence, and is at time double-decked, because Hell Gate provides no room for more landfill.<ref name=concrete90>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), p.90</ref> It begins at [[The Battery (Manhattan)|Battery Park]], runs past the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg and Queensboro Bridges, and the Ward's Island Footbridge, and terminates just before the Robert F. Kennedy Triboro Bridge when it connects to the [[Harlem River Drive]]. Between most of the FDR Drive and the River is the [[East River Greenway]], part of the [[Manhattan Waterfront Greenway]].
In 1963, [[Consolidated Edison|Con Edison]] built the [[Ravenswood Generating Station]] on the [[Long Island City]] shore of the river, on land some of which was once stone quarries which provided granite and marble slabs for Manhattan's buildings.
North of the power plant can be found [[Socrates Sculpture Park]], an illegal dumpsite and abandoned landfill that in 1986 was turned into an outdoor museum, exhibition space for artists, and public park by sculptor [[Mark di Suvero]] and local activists. The area also contains Rainey Park, which honors Thomas C. Rainey, who attempted for 40 years to get a bridge built in that location from Manhattan to Queens.
===21st century===
In 2011, [[NY Waterway]] started operating its East River Ferry line.<ref name=":10" /> The route was a 7-stop East River service that runs in a loop between [[East 34th Street Ferry Landing|East 34th Street]] and [[Long Island City|Hunters Point]], making two intermediate stops in Brooklyn and three in Queens. The ferry, an alternative to the New York City Subway, cost $4 per one-way ticket.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/nyregion/east-river-ferry-service-begins-with-7-stops.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/nyregion/east-river-ferry-service-begins-with-7-stops.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |title=East River Ferry Service Begins |last1=Grynbaum |first1=Michael M. |date=June 13, 2011 |last2=Quinlan |first2=Adriane |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=September 23, 2016}}{{cbignore }}</ref> It was instantly popular: from June to November 2011, the ferry saw 350,000 riders, over 250% of the initial ridership forecast of 134,000 riders.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/nyregion/east-river-ferry-service-exceeds-expectations.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/nyregion/east-river-ferry-service-exceeds-expectations.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |title=East River Ferry Service Exceeds Expectations |last=McGeehan |first=Patrick |date=October 16, 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=September 23, 2016}}{{cbignore }}</ref> In December 2016, in preparation for the start of [[NYC Ferry]] service the next year, [[Hornblower Cruises]] purchased the rights to operate the East River Ferry.<ref>{{cite web |
In February 2012 the federal government announced an agreement with [[Verdant Power]] to install 30 [[Tidal power|tidal turbines]] in the channel of the East River. The turbines were projected to begin operations in 2015 and are supposed to produce 1.05 megawatts of power.<ref>{{cite web |title=Turbines Off NYC East River Will Create Enough Energy to Power 9,500 Homes |url=http://energy.gov/articles/turbines-nyc-east-river-will-create-enough-energy-power-9500-homes |author=[[United States Department of Energy]] |access-date=February 13, 2012 |archive-date=February 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211073710/http://energy.gov/articles/turbines-nyc-east-river-will-create-enough-energy-power-9500-homes |url-status=live }}</ref> The strength of the current foiled an earlier effort in 2007 to tap the river for [[tidal power]].<ref>{{cite news |title=East River Turbines Face Upstream Battle |first=Dave |last=Hogarty |url=http://gothamist.com/2007/08/13/east_river_turb.php |newspaper=[[Gothamist]] |date=August 13, 2007 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521082250/http://gothamist.com/2007/08/13/east_river_turb.php |archive-date=May 21, 2011
On May 7, 2017, the catastrophic failure of a [[Consolidated Edison|Con Edison]] substation in Brooklyn caused a spill into the river of over {{convert|5,000|gal|0}} of [[Liquid dielectric|dielectric fluid]], a synthetic mineral oil used to cool electrical equipment and prevent electrical discharges. (See [[#2017 oil spill|below]].)
At the end of 2022, gold miner John Reeves claimed that up to 50 tons of ice age artifacts bound for the [[American Museum of Natural History]] , including mammoth remains, had been dumped into the East River near 65th Street. Although the museum denied that any fossils had been dumped into the river, Reeves's allegations prompted commercial divers to search the river for evidence of mammoth bones.<ref>{{cite web |
==Ecosystem collapse, pollution and health==
Throughout most of the history of New York City, and [[New Amsterdam]] before it, the East River has been the receptacle for the city's garbage and sewage. "Night men" who collected "night soil" from outdoor privies would dump their loads into the river, and even after the construction of the [[Croton Aqueduct]] (1842) and then the [[New Croton Aqueduct]] (1890) gave rise to [[Tap water|indoor plumbing]], the waste that was flushed away into the [[Storm drain|sewer]]s, where it mixed with ground runoff, ran directly into the river, untreated.
In an earlier time, one person had described the transparency of the water: "I remember the time, gentlemen, when you could go in twelve feet of water and you could see the pebbles on the bottom of this river."
Because of these changes to the ecosystem, by 1909, the level of dissolved-oxygen in the lower part of the river had declined to less than 65%, where 55% of saturation is the point at which the amount of fish and the number of their species begins to be affected.<ref>Steinberg, pp.161, 163–64</ref> Only 17 years later, by 1926, the level of dissolved oxygen in the river had fallen to 13%, below the point at which most fish species can survive.<ref>Steinberg, p.177</ref>
<!--The following information, right up to the 8/30/07 NY Times footnote, is covered by the source in that footnote. Please do NOT add missing-citation tags as was done in the past because ... the citation is adequate.-->Due to heavy [[water pollution|pollution]], the East River is dangerous to people who fall in or attempt to swim in it, although as of mid-2007 the water was cleaner than it had been in decades.<ref name=times2007 /> {{as of|2010}}, the [[New York City Department of Environmental Protection]] (DEP) categorizes the East River as Use Classification I, meaning it is safe for secondary contact activities such as boating and fishing.<ref>[[New York City Department of Environmental Protection]] (September 2010) [http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/green_infrastructure/11x17map_eastriver_openwaters.pdf "East River and Open Waters"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729003256/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/green_infrastructure/11x17map_eastriver_openwaters.pdf |date=July 29, 2014 }} in [http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/green_infrastructure/NYCGreenInfrastructurePlan_LowRes.pdf ''Green Infrastructure Plan''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416043855/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/green_infrastructure/NYCGreenInfrastructurePlan_LowRes.pdf |date=April 16, 2016 }}</ref> According to the marine sciences section of the DEP, the channel is swift, with water moving as fast as four knots, just as it does in the [[Hudson River]] on the other side of Manhattan. That speed can push casual swimmers out to sea. A few people drown in the waters around New York City each year.<ref name="times2007">{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Welcome, Students. Now Watch It. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/nyregion/30students.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 30, 2007 |access-date=August 30, 2007 |archive-date=June 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605114602/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/nyregion/30students.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{as of|2013}}, it was reported that the level of bacteria in the river was below
Thanks to reductions in pollution, cleanups, the restriction of development, and other environmental controls, the East River along Manhattan is one of the areas of New York's waterways – including the [[Raritan River|Hudson-Raritan Estuary]] and both shores of [[Long Island]] – which have shown signs of the return of biodiversity.<ref>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), p.186</ref>
===2017 oil spill===
On May 7, 2017, the catastrophic failure of [[Consolidated Edison|Con Edison]]'s Farragut Substation at 89 John Street in [[Dumbo, Brooklyn]], caused a spill of [[Liquid dielectric|dielectric fluid]] – an insoluble synthetic mineral oil, considered non-toxic by New York state, used to cool electrical equipment and prevent electrical discharges – into the East River from a {{convert|37,000|gal|0|adj=on}} tank. The [[United States Coast Guard|National Response Center]] received a report of the spill at 1:30pm that day, although the public did not learn of the spill for two days, and then only from [[Twitter|tweets]] from [[NYC Ferry]].
The loss of the sub-station caused a voltage dip in the power provided by Con Ed to the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]'s [[New York City Subway]] system, which disrupted [[Signaling of the New York City Subway|its signals]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Staff |date=May 10, 2017 |url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/05/10/con-ed-oil-spill-east-river/ |title=Con Ed Cleaning Up Oil Spill Along East River |work=[[CBS News|CBS New York]] |access-date=May 12, 2017 |archive-date=May 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512124336/http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/05/10/con-ed-oil-spill-east-river/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The Coast Guard estimated that {{convert|5,200|gal|0}} of oil spilled into the water, with the remainder soaking into the soil at the substation. In the past the Coast Guard has on average been able to recover about 10% of oil spilled, however the complex tides in the river make the recovery much more difficult, with the turbulent water caused by the river's change of tides pushing contaminated water over the containment booms, where it is then carried out to sea and cannot be recovered. By Friday May 12, officials from Con Edison reported that almost {{convert|600|gal|0}} had been taken out of the water.<ref name=amny /><ref name=dna /><ref name=ny1 />
Environmental damage to wildlife is expected to be less than if the spill was of petroleum-based oil, but the oil can still block the sunlight necessary for the river's fish and other organisms to live. Nesting birds are also in possible danger from the oil contaminating their nests and potentially poisoning the birds or their eggs. Water from the East River was reported to have tested positive for low levels of [[Polychlorinated biphenyl|PCB]], a known [[carcinogen]].<ref name="amny">{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Nicole |date=May 11, 2017 |url=http://www.amny.com/news/east-river-oil-spill-thousands-of-gallons-seeped-into-water-coast-guard-estimates-1.13601845 |title=East River oil spill: Thousands of gallons seeped into water, Coast Guard estimates |work=[[AM New York]] |access-date=May 12, 2017 |archive-date=May 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511145041/http://www.amny.com/news/east-river-oil-spill-thousands-of-gallons-seeped-into-water-coast-guard-estimates-1.13601845 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=dna /><ref name="ny1">{{cite news |author=Staff |date=May 12, 2017 |url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2017/05/12/pcb-found-east-river-water-samples-after-oil-spill.html?google_editors_picks=true |title=East River Water Samples Test Positive for Carcinogen After Oil Spill |work=[[NY1 News]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209212458/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2017/05/12/pcb-found-east-river-water-samples-after-oil-spill?google_editors_picks=true |archive-date=December 9, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="fox">{{cite news |last=Delikat |first=Stacey |date=May 12, 2017 |url=http://www.fox5ny.com/news/254349477-story |title=Impact, extent of East River oil spill unclear |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170513030709/http://www.fox5ny.com/news/254349477-story |archive-date=May 13, 2017 |work=Fox5 News }}</ref>
Putting the spill into perspective, John Lipscomb, the vice president of advocacy for [[Riverkeeper]]s said that the chronic release after heavy rains of overflow from city's wastewater treatment system was "a bigger problem for the harbor than this accident."<ref name=fox /> The state Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating the spill.<ref name=ny1 /> It was later reported that according to DEC data which dates back to 1978, the substation involved had spilled 179 times previously, more than any other Con Ed facility.
On June 22, Con Edison used non-toxic green dye and divers in the river to find the source of the leak.
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==In popular culture==
* [[Brecker Brothers|The Brecker Brothers]] performed a song named after the river that is featured on their album ''Heavy Metal Be-Bop'' (1978)
* According to its author, [[Yasushi Akimoto]], the noted Japanese song "[[Kawa no Nagare no Yō ni]]" – the "swan song" of the noted singer [[Hibari Misora]] – was inspired by the East River.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicman-net.com/relay/86-3.html |title=第86回 秋元 康 氏 |trans-title=86th Yasushi Akimoto |website=Musicman |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304200606/http://www.musicman-net.com/relay/86-3.html |archive-date=March 4, 2014 |language=ja }}</ref>
* In the ''[[Seinfeld]]'' episode [[The Nap (Seinfeld)|"The Nap"]], [[Cosmo Kramer]] takes up swimming in the East River.
* In the 2004 film ''[[Spider-Man 2]]'', [[Doctor Octopus]]'s run down lair is situated on the East River. This is also where the final battle between him and [[Spider-Man]] takes place and also where he sacrifices himself to stop the fusion reactor he created which would threaten all of New York City.
* In ''[[Forever (2014 TV series)|Forever]]'', the immortal Dr. Henry Morgan is reborn naked in the East River each time he dies.
* In the final ''[[Percy Jackson & the Olympians|Percy Jackson and the Olympians]]'' novel, ''[[The Last Olympian]]'', the East River appears as a river spirit in the form of a telkhine. The East River Spirit is a rival to the Hudson River Spirit, but assists the Demigods in the Battle of Manhattan by sinking the Titan's ships.
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File:USA-NYC-East River.jpg|The East River with [[Brooklyn Heights]] in the background, Topsail Schooner Clipper City (2013)
File:USA-NYC-Lower Manhattan from East River.jpg|The East River and [[Lower Manhattan]] (2013)
File:Baker, Elisha Taylor - East River Scene, Brooklyn, NY (ca 1886).jpg|[[Elisha Taylor Baker]], ''East River Scene, Brooklyn, NY'', 1886. Oil on canvas.
</gallery>
==See also==
* [[List of rivers of New York|List of New York rivers]]
* [[Lists of crossings of the East River]]
* [[Geography of New York City|Geography and environment of New York City]]
* [[Geography of New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary|Geography of New York Harbor]]
==References==
https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Portals/37/docs/history/hellgate.pdf.
'''Informational notes'''
{{reflist|group=notes}}
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'''Bibliography'''
* {{cite book |last=Barthel |first=Thomas |year=2021 |title=Opening the East River: John Newton and the Blasting of Hell Gate |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1476682983}}
*{{cite gotham}}▼
* {{cite
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==External links==
{{Commons category|East River}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160305090952/http://www.eastrivernyc.org/ East River NYC] from the [[Greater Astoria Historical Society]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200112072349/http://www.licboathouse.org/ LIC Community Boathouse site for free paddling on the East River]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051220083611/http://astoriawaterfront.org/ Western Queens waterfront information page]
{{New York City waterways}}
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