A new two-mile esplanade and bicycle path - no less than 40 feet wide in most places - would run along the river, linking Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan Island to the East River Park, between the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges. Benches, tables, planters and trellises would line the planked walkway.

More than a dozen small, boxy pavilions for shopping, recreation, cultural programs and community gatherings would be built under the F.D.R. Drive, each with about 10,000 square feet of space. Some might have facades that could be opened in summer. The elevated highway viaduct would remain, but its underside would get new lighting and cladding to improve its appearance and acoustics.