Little Island at Pier 55

Little Island adjoins Hudson River Park near the intersection of West Street and West 13th Street in Manhattan. Commissioned by businessman Barry Diller and designed by Thomas Heatherwick's company Heatherwick Studio, the park covers . It is accessible from two passageways extending across the water from Hudson River Park: a southern esplanade at Little West 12th Street and a northern esplanade at West 14th Street. The park can fit 1,000 people simultaneously. , the park opens every day at 6 a.m., with different ending times depending on the season. Numerous other firms were involved in the structural design, including precast cement contractor Fort Miller Company, marine consultant Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers, and marine contractor Weeks Marine. The tulips vary in height, sitting between above the mean waterline. The heights of the pots were intended to give the appearance of a floating leaf The Fort Miller Company hired a partner to create foam molds for the pieces of the pots using a laser cutter, then cleared out a 600-foot-long building for these foam pieces. Thirty-nine types of molds were fabricated. According to the company's president, "A full one-third of our annual production capacity was displaced by this project." while BrightView Landscape Development was the landscape contractor. The landscape includes 35 tree species and 65 shrub species. In addition, there are 270 species of perennials and grasses, for a total of over 350 species of flora. There are overlooks at the northwest, southwest, and southeast corners of the park. Concessions and programming A portion of the park contains a small stage and two concession stands, operated by Union Square Events. According to Diller, the park's management had interviewed Danny Meyer's company for the concessionaire position before selecting a smaller firm, Savory Hospitality. Savory operates three concession stalls for food and drinks around a plaza called "The Play Ground". The drinks served at the concession stalls include cocktails that are custom-made for park visitors. The southern portion of the park contains "The Glade", an arts and crafts area for families and children. There is also a 687-seat amphitheater nicknamed "The Amph", which is in the western end of Little Island. The Amph is on the north side of the park's tallest hill, where there is a flat pier with public restrooms and actors' changing rooms. The utilities had to be placed on top of the flat pier. At the park's opening in 2021, most events at the Amph were free but, for ticketed shows, thirty percent of tickets were to be sold online. The ticketed shows are largely free or have low admission fees, and educational programming and performances are scheduled for six days a week. The free or low admission fees were a term of Diller's lease agreement from the Hudson River Park Trust, which operates Hudson River Park. Under the terms of the agreement, at least 51 percent of tickets must be under 30 dollars, including tickets provided for free. == Planning and construction ==

Initial proposal By 2011, Hudson River Pier 55 was deteriorating, a situation that was worsened by Hurricane Sandy in New York the next year. and $160 million. Diller's foundation, headed jointly by his wife Diane von Fürstenberg, contributed $100 million The city and state promised to give $17 million and $18 million, respectively. The park was to float completely above the water, resting on 300 concrete pillars. Diller had cold-called Heatherwick to design a park at the site. According to Diller, the first plan was "completely unbuildable" and resembled "Noah's Ark in stainless steel". The plans received final approval in March 2016. The next month, a judge for the New York Supreme Court dismissed the case. The City Club filed an appeal, and a hearing was scheduled for September 2016. In the meantime, an appellate court placed an injunction in June 2016, temporarily stopping any further work from proceeding. Less than a month later, the injunction was partially lifted, allowing work on nine pilings to proceed. At the appellate hearing, representatives of Pier 55's developers argued that the trust had performed a proper environmental review. The court rejected the City Club's appeal. The suit was escalated to the New York Court of Appeals, which also rejected the appeal. By November 2016, construction of concrete footings was underway. While appealing the City Club's lawsuit, Diller claimed that developer Douglas Durst was financing the lawsuit against Pier 55. Early in 2017, Durst confirmed that he had funded the City Club's suit against the project, though he said he had not been involved with the lawsuits for half a year. At the time, Robert Durst had been accused of murder, and Diller subsequently apologized for the comments. In June 2017, the USACE issued a permit for the park's construction after plans were slightly modified. The City Club filed a complaint the next month, opposing the changes to the permit. Cancellation and revival Plans for the park were scrapped in September 2017 due to continuing legal disputes. The park also experienced cost overruns as its budget had exceeded $200 million by then. According to Diller, he had already invested $45 million of his foundation's money. On the day the project was canceled, he was scheduled to order $80 million in cement. After his lawyers advised him that the City Club's lawyers may request an injunction on the project, von Fürstenberg and the couple's children advised Diller to stop the project and "go where you're wanted". Cuomo also promised the ecology of the Hudson River estuary would not be adversely affected by the construction of Pier 55. Completion Cuomo provided $50 million for the park in April 2018, but with the condition that the city raise a matching amount. Construction of the structure began the same month, with the construction of walkways from the Hudson River Park esplanade to the future park site. The new estimate for the project was $250 million. By that August, the pilings were being installed. A symbolic cornerstone was laid in December 2018. and the Pier 55 project was renamed Little Island in November. The first trees at Little Island were installed in March 2020. All the piles and pots had been installed by the next month, and the layers of soil supporting the vegetation were being planted. == Operation ==

The idea of performances in the park was created midway through the park's development. Among the artistic advisors Diller hired were film director Stephen Daldry, playwright George Wolfe, and theater film producer Scott Rudin. The residencies had been planned before the COVID-19 pandemic, but because of restrictions that prevented indoor performances, Little Island's executive director Trish Santini said the artists' work was more important. The park officially opened on May 21, 2021. It ultimately cost $260 million to construct. During its 2022 season, Little Island hosted a three-week performing-arts festival called The Big Mix. By 2023, the park had presented 572 shows and recorded over three million visitors. Little Island staff began focusing on creating entirely new shows for the park during the 2024 season; previously, the park's shows had been one-time performances and adaptations of existing shows. Reception At the opening of the park, architecture critic Michael Kimmelman wrote for The New York Times that the design concept "is in the theatrical vein of 18th century English garden follies". a sentiment also expressed by architecture critic Inga Saffron in The New Republic magazine. == See also ==