Little Island NYC

In the western part of Manhattan, on the Hudson River, an artificially created Little Island has grown, and on it - a luxurious park.

 

Little Island - Man made island in nyc

For many years, the whole of New York followed the fate of this project. The first talk about the construction of Little Island (Little Island) began in 2011, when Hurricane Sandy thoroughly battered the city. It was decided to build the island on the site of the old pier at number 54. 

The history of this pier is remarkable. In 1912, it was here that the survivors of the Titanic crash arrived. In 1915, the transatlantic liner Lusitania recovered from this pier on its last voyage - five days later it was hit by torpedoes from German submarines off the coast of Ireland, killing 1195 people. 

Over time, the pier simply fell apart, leaving only wooden piles in the water and a huge iron arch. All this became a source of inspiration for the British designer Thomas Heatherwick, who developed a project for a man-made island. 

Billionaire media mogul Barry Diller and his wife, designer Diane von Furstenberg, donated money to the project. Initially, the couple was expected to invest $130 million in construction, with the city and state each adding about $17 million to $18 million. But the construction dragged on for 6 years and was accompanied by loud scandals (protectors of nature protested especially zealously, assuring that the construction of the island would have a detrimental effect on fish in the Hudson). As a result, costs rose to 250 million, and construction was delayed until 2021. But this spring the park was commissioned. 

The highlight of the project is 267 piles on which the island stands. They look like funnels, with their narrow part stuck into the bottom of the river.

The first trees on Little Island were planted in March 2020. During the lockdown, when most other projects in New York were put on hold, construction on Little Island continued and was only put on hold for three weeks to decontaminate how important the project was to the city.

In the park, in addition to a variety of greenery, there are concert and sports grounds and an amphitheater. 

The New York city's waterfront just got a radical addition. This is little island a public park over the water financed by a billionaire.