Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, City Councilman Dan Garodnick and some civic activists held a press conference today to campaign for a bridged park over the FDR Drive to the east of the huge mixed-use development project planned by the East River Realty Corporation, which is headed by Sheldon H. Solow on sites formerly owned by Con Edison on First Avenue south of the United Nations.

The officials and activists displayed a large rendering of a concept design prepared for the Municipal Art Society and shown at the right for such a park that was created by six landscape architects at a charette last spring. The proposal would require the city to give Mr. Solow an easement to modify his plans to accommodate the park.

A lot of things need to happen to turn the "concept of the park into a reality," according to Frank Sanchez, the vice president of the Municipal Arts Society.

The park design includes a bridge running over the FDR Drive from Mr. Solow's building to the East River. The speakers at today's rally indicated that Mr. Solow would need an easement to modify his building plans to accommodate the park.

An article by Lysandra Ohrstrom in today's online edition of The New York Observer quoted Charles Buchwald, a member of Community Board 6 and the East Midtown Coalition for Sensible Development that "The city has to push to get it done."

"Without the easement," Mr. Buchwald continued, "we wouldn't be able to build the bridge from Solow's property over the FDR. He said he'd be open to it, but that no one from the city has asked him to do anything about it so the state and city need to make this a priority."

The city has funds to renovate the FDR Drive, but lowering the "world's largest exit ramp," Mr. Garodnick was quoted as saying in the article, will require revised funding commitments from all stakeholders.

According to the article, Mr. Sanchez declared that he does not "believe the city is opposed to the park, but Mr. Solow is willing to grant the easement, so they just have to ask him and this is the moment to do that."

The City Council is holding a public hearing on the plan on Monday, February 25th at 3:00 PM in the City Council Chambers.

The recently revised plans of the East River Realty Corporation for the redevelopment of the former Con Edison sites on First Avenue south of the United Nations did not quell many objections from community activists at a recent hearing on the project held by Mr. Stringer.

Elected officials and community leaders announced November 5, 2007 commitments from the corporation for the inclusion of permanently affordable housing as well as dedicated space for a new public school at the project.

The concessions marked a significant breakthrough for the elected officials and community, who put affordable housing and a new school for about 650 students high on their list of conditions before they would begin considering the developer's proposal to rezone his properties from low-scale manufacturing zoning to high-density mixed-use.

Under the revised plans of the East River Realty Company, Mr. Solow's concern for the project, properties being upzoned would become part of a new "inclusionary housing" area, which will require the development to devote 20 percent of its floor area to permanently affordable housing.

The plan by ERRC had previously had no provision for affordable units. The space being provided for a school is large enough to house a K-8 school of some 650 students.

The development consists of two separated parcels fronting on First Avenue between 35th and 41st Streets. The proposed park along the East River would be next to the larger and northern parcel.