Hot Salsa Band and Free Ice Cream Draw over 700 People to East River Waterfront Party

Friends of the East River Esplanade brought a lot of excitement and over 700 people to the waterfront on June 1, 2024, with live music by New York’s all women salsa orchestra “Lulada club,” crafts and art activities for kids and free ice cream for all.

The lawn at Andrew Haswell Green Park, that runs along the East River up to 63rd Street, was filled with fun and activities for all ages under a red-painted steel structure also known at the Alice Aycock Pavilion, named after the sculptor who designed it.

Under the sculpture, live music was performed by “Lulada Club,” led by vocalist Andrea Chavarro, and a cohort of New York-based musicians. Chavarro is a Columbian musician who “embarked on a mission to address the void of female ensembles within the live music scene in New York City,” according to the group’s website. The group is known for their interpretations of vintage tropical rhythms encompassing salsa, bolero, and cha-cha-cha that got people dancing at the June 1 event.

The group featured Puerto Rican and Colombian salsa prompting the audience to clapped and dance along.

“I heard them playing down by South Street Seaport about a year ago and thought they were very good. I was like—I want their band.” Jennifer Ratner, board chair of Friends of the East River Esplanade, told Our Town. “So, I asked them if they wanted to play on the esplanade.”

Esplanade Friends is the non-profit that hosted this fun event on June 1. And they couldn’t do it without the funds they receive from volunteers, donations and sponsorships to create events like these to liven up the East River.

EsplanadeFriends started hosting events like these in 2014 in East Harlem, where they successfully lobbied for city funds to repair and renovate part of the waterfront. They hosted afro Caribbean dancing along with salsa band events, until 2018 when they moved their events to the Alice Aycock Pavilion when the sculpture was reopened.

“We are so proud we can activate this space to surprise and delight New Yorkers of every generation—we have everyone from infants to seniors,” Ratner, board chair of Friends of the East River Esplanade, told Our Town. “We used to have anywhere from 0-7 people [on the waterfront] even on a gorgeous sunny day like this.” The event and the renovations are drawing people back. “Now we are giving out 700 ice creams.”

Ratner remembers running out of 700 ice creams last summer as well, provided by local “A La Mode Shoppe,” located at 360 East 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

The lawn at Andrew Haswell Green Park is not as easy to get to, as it is closer to the East Rivershore, and further away from the city streets. “Figuring out how to get people up here was a big undertaking, but worth it because these events are fantastic,” Ratner said.

Ratner could see the East River lapping beneath her through a sink hole while she grew up in the East Harlem area and has pushed for improvements to the park for many years. Her non-profit, EsplanadeFriends, successfully advocated $300 million to re-do the east Harlem portion of the once dilapidated waterfront. The renovation is expected to be completed in 2026, Ratner said. There are a flurry of activities now underway up and down the waterfront, she said.

Previously, EsplanadeFriends hosted yoga at the park on May 18, ice cream and a band “French Cookin’ Blues” on May 11 and a “Birding Tour” in partnership with NYC Audubon in November of 2023. Looking ahead, EsplanadeFriends will do another one of these events with live music and activities in the Fall, Ratner confirmed.

“This organization [EsplanadeFriends] has done a great job for the community,” Clara Lipson, a volunteer for EsplanadeFriends told Our Town, who has seen the area grow over the years. “It has really brought a lot of people out. Before, there were very little community activities here.”

“If people become comfortable here, the neighborhood becomes safer,” Lipson added.

EsplanadeFriends will be hosting a fundrasier on June 18 at Morso Restaurant, at 420 East 59th Street, with tacos to celebrate the east midtown greenway and the future rebuilding of the East Harlem esplanade.