Corlears Hook Park

Corlears Hook Park is a 4.36-acre waterfront park on the Lower East Side at the bend in the East River where Jackson and Cherry Streets meet the FDR Drive. The park takes its name from Corlears Hook, a point of land that once jutted into the East River at this location, named for Jacobus van Corlaer, an early Dutch settler.

The hook of land was historically significant for shipbuilding: the area's shipyards were among the most productive in early New York, and the neighborhood that grew up around them became known for its rough character. Some etymologists have suggested that the neighborhood's reputation gave rise to the slang term associated with the area, though this origin is debated.

Today the park provides much-needed waterfront access and green space in a densely populated part of the Lower East Side, surrounded by public housing developments. The park includes a playground, basketball courts, seating areas, and paths that connect to the East River Esplanade.

Views from the park take in the Williamsburg Bridge to the north, Brooklyn across the river, and the industrial waterfront of the East River's edge. The park's riverside location provides cooling breezes in summer and a sense of openness that is rare in the tight streets of the Lower East Side.

Corlears Hook Park has benefited from investment tied to the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, a major infrastructure effort to protect the Lower East Side from storm surge flooding following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The project aims to integrate flood protection with improved parkland and public access.