By Sean Wenzel
“It’s like a war zone,” said a man sitting with his poodle.
“I just hope it’s done in my lifetime,” another called out while passing by.
The remarks came on September 19, when West Side Rag visited the northern Upper West Side portion of Riverside Park, from 108th to 116th streets, which is currently in the midst of the Riverside Park Drainage System Reconstruction Project.
We asked locals how they are managing the disruptions connected to the work and how they thought the construction was going. WSR last reported on the $26 million renovations in December of 2025. At the time, construction was one month underway. The goal of the project is to ease the flooding issues that have plagued the area for years.
Since the Rag covered the Riverside Park renovations last December, the estimated completion date for the project has been pushed back from April to May 2027 due to permit filing delays, according to a New York City Parks Department spokesperson.
If you walk on Riverside Drive along this stretch, you’re met with fencing, heaps of debris, construction equipment, and strewn caution tape.
The Parks Department has divided the construction project connected to Riverside Park from 108th to 116th streets into three distinct phases and paths.
Phase One of construction closed the upper path of the park, from 108th to 116th streets, which is directly below the west side of Riverside Drive within the park. There are posters in that stretch that state Phase One began last winter and ended this summer, but locals say otherwise.
“It’s been like this for the summer, but recently the closures moved all the way down,” two kids, pointing toward 108th Street, told the Rag.
Because the upper path in this stretch is closed off, the Parks Department has closed staircase entryways throughout this set of blocks.
However, WSR observed multiple people cutting through the barricades and sneaking through the fences to access the supposedly closed park entryways.
“I think I’m a bit past that,” an elderly woman joked when observing kids shimmying through a gap in the construction to make it to the staircase.
There is a laminated sheet near the 108th Street stair closure that says it would last “approximately three weeks.”
The sign is dated April 26.
22 weeks ago.
On September 21, though, the city placed a new sign near the staircase stating the closure would last until October 1. The Parks Department added that these staircase closures are “to allow for drainage reconstruction prior to the repaving of the asphalt paths.”
Next comes Phase Two of the project, which covers the Riverside Drive pedestrian path from 108th to 116th streets.
Posters along this stretch state that Phase Two will last from the spring of 2026 through the winter of 2027. However, this contradicts the end date for the entire Riverside Park Drainage System Reconstruction project, as stated on the Parks Department official online tracker for the project, as May 2027.
When asked about this discrepancy, the Riverside Park Conservancy referred the Rag to the Parks Department.
A spokesperson from the Parks Department told the Rag that the extension of the project’s end date was “to address grading and drainage issues, additional drainage structures, asphalt pavers, granite block, and expanded tree pits,” along with new work related to concrete curbs and sinkhole restoration work.
While no official disruptions for pedestrians were originally listed for Phase Two of the project, the Parks Department recently closed the Riverside Drive pathway closest to the park from 108th to 111th streets until next spring.
The closure of the pathway has caused people to make their way onto the grassy outskirts of the area to proceed along the stretch.
Lastly, Phase Three is connected to the lower-level path within Riverside Park from 108th to 116th streets. This closure is expected to begin this fall and last until Spring 2027. A buildup of pipes, concrete, and trailers is beginning to form in the area.
Multiple people the Rag spoke to expressed relief in seeing the chronic flooding in Riverside Park addressed, but still hoped for greater clarity from the city.
“I figured it was for the drainage, but I didn’t really have any idea what they were doing,” Richard Mooney, an Upper West Side artist, told the Rag while painting a pile of downed branches.
“I’m just glad they’re doing it,” Ken Doherty, who was standing next to Mooney, added, while also mentioning that the flooding has gotten worse in the last 20 years.
Ralph Pochoda, a 48-year resident of the Upper West Side, wanted the city to be more proactive with its updates about the Riverside Park construction.
“They have these posters, but they don’t update them,” he said. “I wish there were more.”
A Parks Department spokesperson told the Rag that the agency plans to add four new construction signs in the near future with updated information about the drainage and reconstruction project from 108th to 116 streets.
Columbia University student Iris Pope was perplexed at the sight of a pile of benches, “I saw the pile, and I was like, what are we doing here.”
Pochoda, though, remained overall grateful for the work.
“The park wouldn’t survive without it,” he stated plainly.
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Inconvenient and unsightly, but very necessary. It will be worth it in the long run.
Please get this done.
No wonder why people want Columbia to open their gates. You can’t use the City’s park in the area. Maybe the City should work on getting this done faster.
The article (and the Parks Dept.) still doesn’t answer the basic question— was this project bigger than expected? Did they find other problems as the project progressed? Was the project bid incorrect? Is the contractor incompetent?
Yes, we are glad that they are getting it done, but can we get a realistic estimate of how much longer this will go on, and, finally, for the taxpayer, will this cost more?
It needs to be done and it’s good, but construction projects in the city (overall) need to get significantly better at remaining active.
They’ll close off huge stretches and then no one works on 90% of it for weeks. If you’re going to close it off, then work on it. If you’re waiting for materials or permits, then don’t close it off. Don’t just put up scaffolding and let it sit for years.
If you’re closing it off, then work on it.. move the ball forward.
I’ve walked my dog there every day for twelve years. RSP turns into a seasonal cesspool of mud, mosquito-breeding swamp, rot, and snowmelt. These repairs are so needed and what they’ve done so far looks fantastic.
It’s a mess – they seem to be as invasive and destructive as they can possibly be. Add on the disgusting service road with gravel they have built over green space from about 99 street and up. Add on the failure of the build over covering the tracks and the useless fix. . So overall a large swath of the park resembles a filthy building site and precious little activity at all times. I particularly dislike the Lundy fence compound they built with at least five huts/trailers for the invisible workers.
I guess this is what you get for 1% of the city budget.
If only Parks had 1% of the budget! That’s the Parks advocates’ aspirational target. In fact they have far less.
How are they going to remove all of the gravel they have laid down to make the truck roads? Do they have a gravel vacuum?
I think they put it down to avoid driving trucks over the train tunnel to get accross the park.
You said it all. It’s a mess and should be completed as soon as possible but not holding my breath.
Will JFK ever be done?
Will the Van Wyck ever be done?
Will the church on 86th st & Amsterdam ever remove the scaffold?
Will the subway elevator on CPW at 96th st ever be done?
This is an existential wish list of things that won’t be done in my lifetime
Agree, drainage is desperately needed in the park but there should have been a better plan. They just keep closing more areas without finishing any work. Often times people are forced to walk on Riverside Drive as the paths are completely inaccessible. I walk in this park every day. and a majority of the time I see no one doing any work other than leaf-blowing the same stretch of path for hours. There used to be loops to traverse but now it’s like some crazy oft-changing maze. Keeps me on my toes but that’s not the exercise I’m looking for.
I think there is a map that showed them not fixing all of Riverside drive pavers. Just fix drains here and there. Which I thought was stupid. But since it’s all tore up now, looks like they are going to fix it all. I’m glad. That’s why it’s a maze of fence. I’m glad the city changed it so they fix the pavers and it looks good at the end! Thank you for someone thinking ahead finally!
i walk there everyday and never see anybody working. a friend sees them very early in the morning. why not work through the day and get it done?
I see them working on upper path and Riverside drive everyday.
Necessary, sure, but the vehicle traffic at 6:15 a.m. is out of control. Cars full of workers speeding in off 96th street and going too fast to the work site. Food delivery trucks, the park trucks and Toros and the deliveristas in ICE cosplay outfits using the park as a commuter route, the electric scooters and the cyclists zooming through as dog owners and dogs (legally off-leash), parents with strollers, runners and regular pedestrians are jumping off the paths to stay alive. I wrote to the Conservancy and they said, “Take pictures.” Okay, sure.
This is a nag Article and isn’t correct. Look it up online, the project includes redoing all the drainage work over an 8 block area. How else do they do the work if they can’t tear up the ground? People are not happy if its closed, and not happy if its not finished? Give me a break people. I see people working there everyday of the week. The sign says they are working there until May 2027 or later. Go complain about something that is a real problem. This is an article to get views. When this is really a good thing for our community. LET THEM WORK SO WE DONT HAVE FLOODS IN THE PARK ANYMORE. THIS NEEDED TO FIXED FOR 30 years. WE FINALLY GET THE MONEY TO DO IT -AND NOW YOU WRITE AN ARTICLE COMPLAINING THAT ITS BEING DONE, AND CANT THEY DO IT FASTER? I think the phrase “Get a life” fits here. Or better yet walk your dog down the block, until they are done the park is huge.
Speaking of Riverside Park construction what is going one with the South end expansion (phase 6- between 59th and 65th street), was supposed to open almost 2 years ago and is still closed. Can we get an update?
The sign says the project will be done May 2027. I see people working there everyday. I’m glad they are fixing all the drainage, too many years of floods in the park! It’s messy now but we are new yorkers. I think they are doing a great job.
I’m grateful that this much-needed work is being done. And the parts that are finished seem to be done well. It’s understandable that 100-year old infrastructure with mature trees has unexpected challenges, but what is NOT unexpected is that people still need and want to use the park.
The hodgepodge of blocked-off areas along Riverside Drive makes no sense. Pedestrians could easily be routed to safer and more convenient pathways. Instead, they’re forced to wander off onto the street, back onto the path, off onto the grassy areas, back into the street…
And much of the time, there’s no work going on, so it’s really maddening to have to navigate it all. No wonder people are pushing the barriers out of the way and using paths and stairways that seem perfectly fine.
It seems to be up to the contracting crews to determine where the barriers go. How about Parks put someone on this who has the safety and concerns of park-goers in mind? And, yes, accurate signage would help a lot.
Parks has been stripped down to a skeleton crew. This would be a great time for UWSers to flood the Mayor’s Office with calls for more park funding and better accountability for outside contractors who drag these contracts out for years. It is a complex project but there’s a massive issue with graft and infrastructure contracts coming in way over budget (79th Street Boathouse, anyone???)
Lizzie, if the city added more things to be fixed, how is that over budget? Just because they spend more on a project doesn’t mean they are over paying. Would you rather wait another 5 years, they agree to spend the money and then go thru a long bidding process? I think it’s better to have the city pay for it now and get the contractor there to do it. I don’t think the contractor is the problem, he’s just the worker. The city’s process to get work done is way too long. And they should be better planners. The people putting together the designs and drawings I don’t think are paid much . Because it seems like they miss a lot of stuff. That’s why the budgets are always too low. Maybe they should outsource it all.
Almost lost in the discussion is the quality of the planning, the thoroughness of the work , and the finesse with which it is being carried out. Apparently no one thought it would be enough to throw some dirt in the sinkholes and puddles, and let someone else worry about it in five or ten years… It is thrilling to see it taking shape.
I’d be happy to discuss the “finesse” of the project, from a daily park-user’s perspective. From 99th-102nd, where trucks come through, they:
first: just drove through the green space, making mud and deep ruts
then: put down many wooden planks, which were immediately splintered to pieces
then: without fixing the ruts or moving the planks, laid tons of gravel on top
that’s the current state of half of the green space in that area. It is also cordoned off with police tape, much of which has fallen and is now in the earth. It’s a disaster.
That’s not even mentioning the fenced park for trailers in the middle of the park, or the chainlink fencing around several park areas that are now parking for vehicles.
Of course they are not meeting their deadlines or giving more information. Just compare this project to the current Central Park construction, with secure perimeters and clear and helpful signage. Ours is the poor cousin, to be sure.
Wow, these things always take so long. Get those ugly fences and orange nets out of our park already!
You are worried about ugly fences? You see all the concrete structures they are putting in the ground. We needed this done 10 years ago. Seriously have some perspective. At this rate it wont be worked on again for another 30 years.
I very much appreciate the information shared in this article, including its reference the project scope and original article. The pictures are very telling too – including trying to work around the endless construction to enjoy the park. We need updated and clearly the city is not communicating well. If we had updated information we could manage expectations and exercise even more patience for the end result. As it stands now, that’s probably a good year to 15 months away.
Wish we had more information, but at least the city is seeing to these necessary renovations. Better under construction than never fixed.
And why can we not receive any information on the sealed off ramp at 125th Street? No sign of man, beast or machine. Not even a sign with some hopeful project goal. But the Gov. Hochul has steered several million Albany dollars for bathrooms at the dinosaur park lower down Riverside. Are there more voters there? I think they may have separate sections for more than 2 genders, catering to only male and female is not how contemporary New Yorkers see it.