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===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. The New East River through Queens would be about three times the average width of the existing one at an even {{convert|3600|ft|m}} throughout, and would run as straight as an arrow for {{convert|5|mi|spell=in}}. The new land, and the portions of Queens which would become part of Manhattan, adding {{convert|2500|acre|ha}}, would be covered with an extension of the existing street grid of Manhattan.<ref>Koeppel (2015), pp.202–04</ref>
Variations on Serrell's plan would be floated over the years. A pseudonymous "Terra Firma" brought up filling in the East River again in the ''Evening Post'' and ''[[Scientific American]]'' in 1904, and [[Thomas Edison|Thomas Alva Edison]] took it up in 1906. Then Thomas Kennard Thompson, a bridge and railway engineer, proposed in 1913 to fill in the river from Hell Gate to the tip of Manhattan and, as Serrell had suggested, make a new canalized East River, only this time from [[Flushing Bay]] to [[Jamaica Bay]]. He would also expand Brooklyn into the Upper Harbor, put up a dam from Brooklyn to [[Staten Island]], and make extensive landfill in the Lower Bay. At around the same time, in the 1920s, John A. Harriss, New York City's chief traffic engineer, who had developed the first traffic signals in the city, also had plans for the river. Harriss wanted to dam the East River at Hell Gate and the Williamsburg Bridge, then remove the water, put a roof over it on stilts, and build boulevards and pedestrian lanes on the roof along with "majestic structures", with transportation services below. The East River's course would, once again, be shifted to run through Queens, and this time Brooklyn as well, to channel it to the Harbor.<ref>Koeppel (2015), pp.221–226</ref>
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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>https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Portals/37/docs/history/hellgate.pdf {{bare URL PDF|date=February 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. Newton estimated that the operation would cost about half as much as the annual losses in shipping. The 2021 book by Thomas Barthel titled ''Opening the East River: John Newton and the Blasting of Hell Gate'' traces Newton's work on this project from 1866 to 1885. On September 24, 1876, the Corps used {{convert|50000|lb|kg}} of explosives to blast the rocks, which was followed by further blasting.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rendering Hell-Gate Rocks; The Submarine Mine Exploded |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D0CE3D81630E53ABC4D51DFBF66838D669FDE |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 25, 1876 |page=1 |access-date=November 19, 2011 |archive-date=November 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109224725/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D0CE3D81630E53ABC4D51DFBF66838D669FDE |url-status=live }}</ref> The process was started by excavating under Hallets reef from [[Astoria, Queens|Astoria]]. [[Cornish people|Cornish]] miners, assisted by steam drills, dug galleries under the reef, which were then interconnected. They later drilled holes for explosives. A patent was issued for the detonating device. After the explosion, the rock debris was [[Dredging|dredged]] and dropped into a deep part of the river. This was not repeated at the later Flood Rock explosion.
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 |access-date=April 12, 2009 |archive-date=July 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240711080617/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/mill-rock-park/history |url-status=live }}</ref> The blast was felt as far away as [[Princeton, New Jersey]] (50 miles).<ref name=nycgovparks/> It sent a [[geyser]] of water {{convert|250|ft|m}} in the air.<ref name=Whitt>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0DE3D71631F931A35755C0A9609C8B63 |title=The East River is Cleaner Now. The Water Birds Say So. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 2, 2006 |access-date=April 12, 2009 |last=Whitt |first=Toni |archive-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107065011/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0DE3D71631F931A35755C0A9609C8B63 |url-status=live }}</ref> The blast has been described as "the largest planned explosion before testing began for the atomic bomb",<ref name=Whitt/> although the detonation at the [[Battle of Messines (1917)|Battle of Messines]] in 1917 was larger. Some of the rubble from the detonation was used in 1890 to fill the gap between Great Mill Rock and Little Mill Rock, merging the two islands into a single island, [[Mill Rock]].<ref name=nycgovparks/>
At the same time that Hell Gate was being cleared, the [[Spuyten Duyvil Creek|Harlem River Ship Canal]] was being planned. When it was completed in 1895, the "back door" to New York's center of ship-borne trade in the docks and warehouses of the East River was open from two directions, through the cleared East River, and from the Hudson River through the [[Harlem River]] to the East River.<ref>Steinberg, p.140</ref> Ironically, though, while both forks of the northern shipping entrance to the city were now open, modern dredging techniques had cut through the sandbars of the Atlantic Ocean entrance, allowing new, even larger ships to use that traditional passage into New York's docks.<ref>{{cite concrete|page-96 }}</ref>
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===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. The bridge offered [[cable car (railway)|cable car]] service across the span. The Brooklyn Bridge was followed by the [[Williamsburg Bridge]] (1903), the [[Queensboro Bridge]] (1909), the [[Manhattan Bridge]] (1912) and the [[Hell Gate Bridge|Hell Gate Railroad Bridge]] (1916). Later would come the [[Triborough Bridge]] (1936), the [[Bronx–Whitestone Bridge|Bronx-Whitestone Bridge]] (1939), the [[Throgs Neck Bridge]] (1961) and the [[Rikers Island|Rikers Island Bridge]] (1966). In addition, numerous rail tunnels pass under the East River – most of them part of the [[New York City Subway]] system – as does the [[Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel|Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel]] and the [[Queens–Midtown Tunnel|Queens-Midtown Tunnel]]. (See [[#Crossings|Crossings]] below for details.) Also under the river is Water Tunnel #1 of the [[New York City water supply system]], built in 1917 to extend the Manhattan portion of the tunnel to Brooklyn, and via City Tunnel #2 (1936) to Queens; these boroughs became part of New York City after the city's consolidation in 1898.<ref>Burrows and Wallace, p.1229</ref><ref name="water">{{cite web |website=[[New York City Department of Environmental Protection]] |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/dep_projects/cp_city_water_tunnel3.shtml |title=City Water Tunnel #3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401173724/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/dep_projects/cp_city_water_tunnel3.shtml |archive-date=April 1, 2016 }}</ref> City Tunnel #3 will also run under the river, under the northern tip of Roosevelt Island, and is expected to not be completed until at least 2026;<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kensinger |first1=Nathan |title=NYC's Giant Water Tunnel Begins Work On Final Shafts, Following 50 Years Of Construction |url=https://gothamist.com/news/nycs-giant-water-tunnel-begins-work-on-final-shafts-following-50-years-of-construction |access-date=August 11, 2021 |work=Gothamist |date=April 22, 2021 |archive-date=January 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122003757/https://gothamist.com/news/nycs-giant-water-tunnel-begins-work-on-final-shafts-following-50-years-of-construction |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=big>{{cite news |title=Tunnelers Hit Something Big: A Milestone |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/nyregion/10tunnel.html |quote=It is the biggest public works project in New York City’s history: a $6 billion water tunnel that has claimed 24 lives, endured under six mayors and survived three city fiscal crises, along with the falling and rising fortunes of the metropolis above it. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=August 10, 2006 |access-date=December 15, 2011 |archive-date=February 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223231128/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/nyregion/10tunnel.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the Manhattan portion of the tunnel went into service in 2013.<ref name=water />
[[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]]]]
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[[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. It was carrying 1,400 German-Americans to a picnic site on Long Island for an annual outing. There were only [[PS General Slocum#1904 disaster|321 survivors of the disaster]], one of the worst losses of life in the city's long history, and a devastating blow to the [[Little Germany, Manhattan|Little Germany]] neighborhood on the [[Lower East Side]]. The captain of the ship and the managers of the company that owned it were indicted, but only the captain was convicted; he spent 3 and a half years of his 10-year sentence at [[Sing Sing|Sing Sing Prison]] before being released by a federal parole board, and then pardoned by President [[William Howard Taft]].<ref>Jackson, Kenneth T. "General Slocum" in Jackson, p.499</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Staff |date=December 20, 1912 |title=Van Schaick Pardoned. Captain of the Ill-Fated Slocum Is Restored to Full Citizenship. |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9902E0DA1E3AE633A25753C2A9649D946396D6CF |access-date=April 13, 2009 |archive-date=April 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413155214/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9902E0DA1E3AE633A25753C2A9649D946396D6CF |url-status=live }}</ref>
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]]. The East River Greenway was primarily built in connection with the building of the FDR Drive, although some portions were built as recently as 2002, and other sections are still incomplete.<ref>{{cite news |author=Staff |date=November 7, 2013 |url=http://ny.curbed.com/2013/11/7/10178406/city-unveils-designs-for-midtowns-east-river-greenway |title=City Unveils Designs For Midtown's East River Greenway |work=[[Curbed|Curbed New York]] |access-date=November 9, 2016 |archive-date=November 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109222218/http://ny.curbed.com/2013/11/7/10178406/city-unveils-designs-for-midtowns-east-river-greenway |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Stephen |date=August 8, 2013 |url=http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/08/08/patchwork-upgrades-move-ahead-as-east-side-waits-for-complete-greenway/ |title=Patchwork Upgrades Move Ahead as East Side Waits for Complete Greenway |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110043410/http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/08/08/patchwork-upgrades-move-ahead-as-east-side-waits-for-complete-greenway/ |archive-date=November 10, 2016 |work=Streetsblog NYC }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Greenway Plan Gets 'Missing Link' |first=Erica |last=Orden |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203476804576613423025143388 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=October 6, 2011 |access-date=October 6, 2011 |archive-date=February 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210175849/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203476804576613423025143388 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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. The plant has since been owned by [[KeySpan]]. [[National Grid plc|National Grid]] and [[TC Energy|TransCanada]], the result of deregulation of the electrical power industry. The station, which can generate about 20% of the electrical needs of New York City – approximately 2,500 megawatts – receives some of its fuel by oil barge.<ref name=concrete89>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), p.89</ref>
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===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]] |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 }}</ref>
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==
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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 federal guidelines for swimming on most days, although the readings may vary significantly, so that the outflow from [[Newtown Creek]] or the [[Gowanus Canal]] can be tens or hundreds of times higher than recommended, according to [[Riverkeeper]], a non-profit environmentalist advocacy group. The counts are also higher along the shores of the strait than they are in the middle of its flow. Nevertheless, the "Brooklyn Bridge Swim" is an annual event where swimmers cross the channel from [[Brooklyn Bridge Park]] to Manhattan.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jeffries |first=Adrianna |date=July 8, 2013 |title=Into the murky waters: hundreds brave New York City's East River for annual swim |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/8/4503362/brookyln-bridge-swim-nyc-swim |newspaper=[[The Verge]] |access-date=August 31, 2017 |archive-date=June 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607132723/https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/8/4503362/brookyln-bridge-swim-nyc-swim |url-status=live }}</ref>
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> On the other hand, the river is also under attack from hardy, competitive, alien species, such as the [[Carcinus maenas|European green crab]], which is considered to be one of the world's ten worst invasive species, and is present in the river.<ref>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), p.188</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]]. A "safety zone" was established, extending from a line drawn between Dupont Street in [[Greenpoint, Brooklyn]], to [[List of numbered streets in Manhattan|East 25th Street]] in [[Kips Bay, Manhattan]], south to [[Buttermilk Channel]]. Recreational and human-powered vehicles such as [[kayak]]s and [[Paddleboarding|paddleboards]] were banned from the zone while the oil was being cleaned up, and the speed of commercial vehicles restricted so as not to spread the oil in their wakes, causing delays in NYC Ferry service. The clean-up efforts were being undertaken by Con Edison personnel and private environmental contractors, the [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]], and the [[New York State Department of Environmental Conservation]], with the assistance of [[NYC Emergency Management]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Del Signore |first=John |date=May 9, 2017 |url=http://gothamist.com/2017/05/09/east_river_oil_spill.php |title='Catastrophic' Con Ed Transformer Failure Causes Enormous East River Oil Slick |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017165300/http://gothamist.com/2017/05/09/east_river_oil_spill.php |archive-date=October 17, 2017 |work=[[Gothamist]] |access-date=May 9, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Newhouse, Sam |date=May 9, 2017 |title=Cleanup underway for East River mineral oil spill |newspaper=[[Metro New York]] |url=http://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/clean-underway-east-river-mineral-oil-spill |access-date=May 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509232556/http://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/clean-underway-east-river-mineral-oil-spill |archive-date=May 9, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="dna">{{cite news |last=Hogan |first=Gwynne |date=May 11, 2017 |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170511/williamsburg/con-edison-oil-spill-east-river-riverkeeper-water-quality-dec |title=30,700 Gallons of Oil Still Missing in East Rover Spill, Officials Say |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602104324/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170511/williamsburg/con-edison-oil-spill-east-river-riverkeeper-water-quality-dec |archive-date=June 2, 2017 |work=[[DNAinfo]] }}</ref><ref name= fox /><ref>{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Simon |date=May 12, 2017 |url=https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/east-river-oil-spill-not-over-yet-cleanup-crews-scrambling-ahead-big-storm |title=East River Oil Spill Not Over Yet: Cleanup Crews Scrambling Ahead Of Big Storm |work=[[Patch.com|New York City Patch]] |access-date=May 14, 2017 |archive-date=June 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620181504/https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/east-river-oil-spill-not-over-yet-cleanup-crews-scrambling-ahead-big-storm |url-status=live }}</ref>
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. The spills have included 8,400 gallons of dielectric oil, [[Hydraulic fluid|hydraulic oil]], and [[antifreeze]] which leaked at various times into the soil around the substation, the sewers, and the East River.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hogan |first=Gwynne |date=May 18, 2017 |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170518/dumbo/con-edison-oil-spill-east-river-riverkeeper-dec/ |title=Con Ed Site of Recent East River Spill Leached Oil 179 Times Before: DEC |work=[[DNAinfo]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518165540/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170518/dumbo/con-edison-oil-spill-east-river-riverkeeper-dec/ |archive-date=May 18, 2017 }}</ref>
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