Litte Island: New York’s new attraction

New York’s newest attraction is enthroned in the Hudson River: “Little Island”. The public park is slightly larger than a soccer field and is intended to become a green place to relax for New Yorkers – with the best view of the skyline

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As of this week, New York has one attraction. The futuristic-looking stilt island is on Friday “Little Island” has been made available to the public.

The new park is located on the west coast of Manhattan, is around 10,000 square meters and accessible via sidewalks from 13th and 14th streets. In addition to meadows and hills, through which walking paths meander, all kinds of plants and great views of the New York skyline, “Little Island” also has an amphitheater, in which in the future events with around 700 spectators will be possible in the open air.

The concrete island was designed by the British designer Thomas Heatherwick, whose design and architecture office had already planned and built the staircase “The Vessel”, which opened in 2019 in the Hudson Yards.

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The construction, which cost around $ 260 million (about 210 million euros), was financed by media mogul Barry Diller, who had already financed the revitalization of the nearby, former elevated railway line, High Line.

At the beginning of the planning for “Little Island” a few years ago costs of around 35 million dollars were expected, but several years of planning and construction time as well as a cost explosion drove the construction costs for the “floating island” up.

“Little Island” now adorns Pier 54

Where New York’s new island now rises out of the water on stilts, only the rotten pillars of the orphaned Pier 54 protruded from the Hudson River for years. The quay was once an important landing stage for ocean liners of the British shipping company “Cunard-White Star”. In 1912 the “Carpathia” docked here – with more than 700 rescued passengers of the sunken “Titanic” on board.

Later the pier rusted, today only a rusty steel structure with the inscription “Cunard White Star” reminds of its historical importance.

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The construction of the new park island had dragged on for a few years and was even canceled completely in 2017. Activists protested out of concern for the environment and aesthetic concerns. Only after mediation by the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo did Barry Diller make one last attempt. The stamina paid off: when it opened on May 21, 2021, the park received mostly rave reviews.

with dpa

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