Diller Island, the Floating Park on the Hudson River, is Happening Again

A 4.5-mile stretch of redeveloped waterfront property near Pier 55 will finally (hopefully) be transformed into a floating park and outdoor performance center on the Hudson River, TimeOut New York reports.

The project– which has been on again, off again since the idea’s genesis in 2003– is known as “Diller Island”, so named after media mogul Barry Diller, who conceived of and once planned to fund the project. (According to recent reports, it’s now back on.)

In the early 2000’s, Diller was hit with several lawsuits from associates like real estate mogul Douglas Durst, which initially caused Diller to abandon the project– until spring 2017, that is, when then Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio called Durst and convinced him to drop the suit.

Reportedly, 70 percent of the project is now done, and both Diller and Hurst have reconfirmed their involvement. “I’m going to make one last attempt to revive plans to build the park, so that the intended beneficiaries of our endeavor can fall in love with Pier 55 in the way all of us have,” Diller told the New York Times.

Diller Island is tentatively set for completion in late 2019.
For more information, visit the project’s website.