“Little Island”, accessible free of charge by two footbridges, was built along the site where the White Star Shipping Company’s Pier 54 once stood, where in April 1912 705 survivors of the sinking of the Titanic.
Cost of this artificial island, about 260 million dollars, essentially financed by the foundation of the entrepreneur Barry Diller and his wife, the designer Diane von Furstenberg. The billionaire told the New York Times that he will cover the maintenance costs of the park for the first 20 years.
In total, his contribution could thus reach 380 million dollars, he estimated, unheard of New York for a private donation to a public garden.
“Little Island” was almost never completed, crippled by an endless series of legal challenges, before New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo managed to reach a settlement between the parties in 2017.
Built at different heights, from 5 to 18 meters, to create relief, the tulips, weighing 68 tons each, were filled with earth, like gigantic flower vases. More than 350 different species of flowers, shrubs and trees have been installed at the site, which will be open from 6am to 1am daily.
The project, located between 13th and 14th Streets, also includes a nearly 700-seat amphitheater. It is part of Hudson River Park, a project to develop the docks of the Hudson between 59th Street and Battery Park City in far south manhattan.
“I am incredibly happy to be here and to have survived the pandemic,” reacted one of the first visitors to the venue, Barbara Kenner, who lost her job as a personnel manager during the health crisis, which claimed more than 30,000 lives in New York. York. “Here we celebrate what New York is all about.”
At water level, the remains of the old wooden pillars of Pier 54 are still visible, preserved to preserve the underwater habitat.
Landscape designer Signe Nielsen, who designed Little Island’s surface, wanted visitors to “leave the city, the traffic, enter a space and be amazed,” she told AFP. “I hope they leave more serene and happier than they came in”.
“It’s a really nice place to get away from the city for a bit, especially in ‘downtown’,” the southern tip of Manhattan, “where we don’t have a lot of green space,” laments Lauren Moon. the meadow with her child.
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