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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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| name_other =
| name_etymology =
| image = East River and UN.jpg
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| image_caption = East River (foreground) and the [[headquarters of the United Nations]] in [[Manhattan]] (background) seen from [[Roosevelt Island]] in December 2006
| map = Wpdms terra east river.jpg
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| map_caption = Aerial map of New York City with the East River shown in red
| pushpin_map =
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| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = United States
| subdivision_type2 = State
| subdivision_name2 = New York
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| subdivision_name3 =
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| subdivision_type5 = Municipality
| subdivision_name5 = New York City
| length = {{cvt|16|mi|km}}
| width_min =
| width_avg =
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| discharge1_max =
| source1 = [[Long Island Sound]]
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| source1_coordinates = {{coord|40.800|-73.785|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation =
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| basin_size =
| tributaries_left = [[Newtown Creek]], [[Flushing River]]
| tributaries_right = [[Westchester Creek]], [[Bronx River]],<br />[[Bronx Kill]], [[Harlem River]]
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}}
The '''East River''' is a
Because of its connection to ==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 |
[[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 (2014), p.91</ref> all of which led to a number of shipwrecks, including [[HMS Hussar (1763)|HMS ''Hussar'']], a British [[frigate]] that sank in 1780 while supposedly carrying gold and silver intended to pay British troops. The stretch has since been cleared of rocks and widened.<ref name=wolfe>Wolfe, Gerard R., "Hell Gate and Hell Gate Bridge", in Jackson, pp.588–589</ref> [[Washington Irving]] wrote of Hell Gate that the current sounded "like a bull bellowing for more drink" at half tide, while at full tide it slept "as soundly as an alderman after dinner". He said it was like "a peaceable fellow enough when he has no liquor at all, or when he has a skinful, but who, when half-seas over, plays the very devil."<ref name=fed420 /> The tidal regime is complex, with the two major tides – from the Long Island Sound and from the Atlantic Ocean – separated by about two hours; and this is without consideration of the tidal influence of the Harlem River, all of which creates a "dangerous cataract", as one ship's captain put it.<ref>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), pp.92–93</ref>
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 />
The broadness of the river's channel south of Roosevelt Island is caused by the dipping of the hardy [[Fordham gneiss]] underlying the island under the less strong [[Tuckahoe marble|Inwood marble]] which lies under the river bed.<ref name=concrete90 /> Why the river turns to the east as it approaches the three lower Manhattan bridges is geologically unknown.<ref>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), pp.90–91</ref>
===Islands===
[[Roosevelt Island]], a long ({{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on}}) and narrow ({{convert|800|ft}}) landmass, lies in the stretch of the river between Manhattan Island and the borough of [[Queens]] roughly paralleling Manhattan's East
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)]].
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}} but now over {{convert|400|acres|km2}}<ref>Steinberg, p.214</ref> following extensive landfill expansion after the island's 1884 purchase by the city as a prison farm<ref>Steinberg, p 148</ref> and still home to New York City's massive and controversial primary jail complex; and [[North and South Brother Islands (New York City)|North and South Brother Islands]], both of which also constitute part of the Bronx.<ref name="encnyc" />
[[File:Manhattan1781.jpg|thumb|left|237px|A map from 1781]]
===Tributaries===
The [[Bronx River]],<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|63}} [[Pugsley Creek]], and [[Westchester Creek]] drain into the northern bank of the East River in the northern section of the strait.<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|70–71}} The [[Flushing River]], historically known as Flushing Creek, empties into the strait's southern bank near [[LaGuardia Airport]] via [[Flushing Bay]].<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|98}} Further west, Luyster Creek drains into the East River in [[Astoria, Queens]].<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|94}}
North of [[Randalls and Wards Islands|Randalls Island]], it is joined by the [[Bronx Kill]]. Along the east of Wards Island, at approximately the strait's midpoint, it narrows into a channel called [[Hell Gate]], which is spanned by both the [[Robert F. Kennedy Bridge]] (formerly the Triborough), and the [[Hell Gate Bridge]].<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|84}} On the south side of Wards Island, it is joined by the [[Harlem River]].
[[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}}
==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 [[
Dutch settlement of what became [[New Amsterdam]] began in 1623.<ref name=history />
===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
[[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]]
===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
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> In the 1850s the depth continued to lessen – the harbor commission said in 1850 that the mean water low was {{convert|24|ft}} and the extreme water low was {{convert|23|ft}} – while the draft required by the new ships continued to increase, meaning it was only safe for them to enter the harbor at high tide.<ref name=concrete9495>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), pp.94–95</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]], "under Lt. Bartlett of the Army Corps of Engineers," <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Portals/37/docs/history/hellgate.pdf |title=The Conquest of Hell Gate |website=United States Army Corps of Engineers |access-date=February 16, 2024}}</ref> began to do the job, in an operation which was to span 70 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/new_york_charts/hell_gate.html |title=NOAA 200th Collections: Hell Gate and Its Approaches nautical chart from 1851 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=April 12, 2009 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716233733/http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/new_york_charts/hell_gate.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The appropriated money was soon spent without appreciable change in the hazards of navigating the strait. An advisory council recommended in 1856 that the strait be cleared of all obstacles, but nothing was done, and the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] soon broke out.<ref name=concrete9495 />
====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
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
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,
===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
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
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 |last=Evelly |first=Jeanmarie |title=Citywide Ferry Operator Hornblower Begins Takeover of East River Ferry |website=DNAinfo New York |date=December 19, 2016 |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161219/long-island-city/hornblower-citywide-ferry-system-east-river-ferry |access-date=September 23, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924001647/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161219/long-island-city/hornblower-citywide-ferry-system-east-river-ferry |archive-date=September 24, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-newly-opened-ferry-service-hit-constant-delays-article-1.3151247 |title=NYC's newly opened ferry service already hit by constant delays |work=NY Daily News |last=Rivoli |first=Dan |date=May 10, 2017 |access-date=September 23, 2017 |language=en |archive-date=September 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923194202/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-newly-opened-ferry-service-hit-constant-delays-article-1.3151247 |url-status=live }}</ref> NYC Ferry started service on May 1, 2017, with the East River Ferry as part of the system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/newswires/new-york/nyc-launches-ferry-service-queens-east-river-routes-article-1.3122046 |title=NYC launches ferry service with Queens, East River routes |date=May 1, 2017 |website=NY Daily News |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=May 1, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501154444/http://www.nydailynews.com/newswires/new-york/nyc-launches-ferry-service-queens-east-river-routes-article-1.3122046 |archive-date=May 1, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/nyregion/new-york-today-citywide-ferry-service-begins.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/nyregion/new-york-today-citywide-ferry-service-begins.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |title=New York Today: Our City's New Ferry |last1=Levine |first1=Alexandra S. |date=May 1, 2017 |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 1, 2017 |last2=Wolfe |first2=Jonathan |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore }}</ref>
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]] |
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 |title=Treasure hunters search NYC's East River after claim that mammoth bones were dumped there in the 1940s |website=CBS News |date=January 16, 2023 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/treasure-hunters-east-river-nyc-claim-mammoth-bones-1940s-joe-rogan-podcast/ |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322203601/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/treasure-hunters-east-river-nyc-claim-mammoth-bones-1940s-joe-rogan-podcast/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Michael |date=January 27, 2023 |title=Mammoth Tusks in the East River? How Joe Rogan Started a 'Bone Rush.' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/nyregion/joe-rogan-mammoth-tusks-east-river.html |access-date=March 22, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322203601/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/nyregion/joe-rogan-mammoth-tusks-east-river.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
==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
{{as of|2013}}, it was reported that the level of bacteria in the river was below
===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
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
Putting the spill into perspective, John Lipscomb, the vice president of advocacy for [[Riverkeeper
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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|[[63rd Street Tunnel]]
|{{NYCS 63rd IND|time=bullets}}<br>[[File:MTA NYC logo.svg|15px]] [[Long Island Rail Road]]
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|[[New York City water supply system|City Tunnel #3]]
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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.
==Views of the river==
<gallery class="center" mode="packed" heights="
File:Shot factory, East River, Manhattan.jpeg|A
File:Blackwells Island East River 1862 crop.jpg|''[[Blackwells Island]] from [[86th Street (Manhattan)|Eighty Sixth Street]]'', [[Currier & Ives]] (1862); Blackwell's Island is now known as [[Roosevelt Island]]
File:Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges on the East River, New York City, 1981.jpg|[[Manhattan Bridge]] (top) and [[Brooklyn Bridge]] (bottom); Manhattan is on the left, Brooklyn on the right (1981)
File:East River Park in Fall 2008 number 3.jpg|The East River passes children playing [[American football|football]] in [[East River Park]] (2008)
File:Powells Cove BWB jeh.jpg|Powell's Cove, in [[Whitestone, Queens]]<br>(2009)
File:East River 59 jeh.JPG|The East River flows past the [[Upper East Side]]<br>(2009)
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
* {{cite
* {{cite
* {{cite
* {{cite unbound}}
==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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{{Authority control}}
[[Category:East River| ]]
[[Category:Transportation in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Estuaries of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Straits of New York County, New York]]
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[[Category:Straits of Kings County, New York]]
[[Category:Straits of Bronx County, New York]]
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