Pols ask residents to weigh in on East River esplanade plans

Rendering of esplanade plan

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Local officials are seeking input from East Side residents on plans to develop new public park space along the East River as part of a land swap deal with the United Nations, DNAinfo reported. Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed off on a new law that would allow the U.N. to build a new office tower on the site of Robert Moses Playground, on First Avenue between 41st and 42nd streets, in exchange for improvements along the East River esplanade. As part of the deal, the city would also sell two apartment buildings near the U.N. to help fund the parkland development. But no details have been finalized yet, and the city and state must reach an agreement by Oct. 10 for the legislation to take effect. Yesterday, state Sen. Liz Krueger, state Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh and City Council member Dan Garodnick announced that they will ask the community to participate in negotiations as that deadline approaches, through public forums in August and September. [DNAinfo