There's several concepts already that reimagine the space as a public park, with beautiful winding paths for pedestrians and cyclists:

Or a wide public plaza for pedestrians to enjoy the waterfront —

Several exciting entries have been created already. What if we replaced FDR drive with a street car —

We're applying open innovation to urban design. Contribute to our first public challenge where we'll be reimagining Manhattan's East Waterfront without FDR Drive: https://laneform.com/visioning/bd178a93-ccfe-4b0f-b466-f7bd71452223