New York's newest park delights visitors

Nestled at the end of a busy Manhattan street, Little Island is the latest park to enhance New York's outdoor space, offering a respite to a city that was the nation's hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic over the past year.

The unusual "floating" 2.4-acre green space welcomes visitors with its giant concrete white tulip-shaped support columns emerging from the Hudson River 15 to 62 feet above the water.

The park, which cost $260 million to build, can be reached by two large bridges on Manhattan's far West Side near the Whitney Museum, the High Line and Hudson River Park.

Opened to the public on May 21, Little Island has been described as the most creative park since the 2009 opening of the neighboring High Line, a 1.45-mile-long elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail created on a section of a disused railroad spur. The single largest donor to the High Line had been the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation.

Little Island also was funded by the foundation, headed by IAC chairman and former Hollywood mogul Barry Diller, 79, and his wife, the designer Diane von Furstenberg, 74. At least $235 million in funding came from the foundation. The city added an additional $17 million, and the Hudson River Park Trust contributed $4 million.

The foundation will pay for maintenance of the park for the next 20 years, the park's 110 full-time and part-time employees, and will subsidize the park's public programming.

Little Island has 65 species of shrubs, 114 trees from 35 different species, and 290 varieties of grass, vines and perennials.

Signe Nielsen, a co-founder of Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, designed the floral arrangements and grassy areas.

Shiqi Lin, a 15-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, went to see the park with her family and was keen to take selfies to show her friends on social media.

"It's really fresh. It's kind of creative," she told China Daily. "It's the first on the water, so we came to visit it and see all of the flowers. I think I will come again with friends. Everything's beautiful and natural. It's a remarkable idea. Just beautiful."

Rosie, 79, who declined to give her last name, watched her two grandchildren play with a wind chime sculpture in the park. "This is a lot of fun for kids and big kids too!" she said. "It's really nice."

The project was first announced in 2014 when Diller became involved in fixing up Pier 54, which had fallen into disrepair and needed to be replaced. For a decade, he faced opposition from real estate opponents and political foes. The island was put on a final track to completion in 2017 after Governor Andrew Cuomo brokered a deal between Diller and opponents who had threatened a legal battle.

Diller and his wife commissioned British architect Thomas Heatherwick to design the park. He also has designed the Vessel, the public centerpiece for Hudson Yards, a residential and retail development on Manhattan's West Side.

Inside the park, a food truck in the main plaza offers everything from avocado toast to beer and wine, to baked goods like croissants. A seating area with café tables and umbrellas is provided.

Deeper inside the park, winding steps lead up to an amphitheater that seats 687 people, has room for 50 to stand and offers a stunning view of the Hudson River.

Amelida, 78, a retiree who declined to give her family name, went to the park with a large group of friends from nearby Jersey City. She sat on a bench near the amphitheater, admiring the view.

"It's a break from the rest of all that's been going on with the pandemic and all the sad stuff," she said. "The place is beautiful. We're all enjoying it."

Little Island is open to the public daily from 6 am to 1 am. Entry is free, but high demand has led the park to create timed entrances from noon each day to ensure that it isn't overcrowded.