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chris08876

Nov 19, 2014 7:21 PM

NEW YORK | "Pier55" Redevelopment

Hudson River Park Gets $100 Million Launch

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/i...1116164211.jpg
A rendering shows the landscape of Pier55, which is planned to replace Pier 54 on the west side of Manhattan. PIER55/HEATHERWICK STUDIO

Quote:

It is one of the largest privately funded parks in the country, and it will soon be off Manhattan’s western shore.

On Monday, billionaire businessman Barry Diller ; his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg ; and the Hudson River Park Trust are expected to announce the creation of a $130 million, 2.7-acre pier, public park and performance space near New York’s Meatpacking District.

Construction of the park, financed primarily through the couple’s private foundation, will begin in 2016 and include the demolition of the old Pier 54, which has been unused for years. The new pier will be called Pier55, and Mr. Diller has created an independent foundation that will build, operate and provide cultural programming for it in cooperation with the Hudson River Park Trust.

The city is providing $17 million, money that was allocated for the project under the Bloomberg administration and reaffirmed by Mayor Bill de Blasio . But the vast majority of the financing, more than $100 million, comes from Mr. Diller, the 72-year-old chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp, a New York-based media company. New York state isn’t contributing funds to the park but will provide $18 million for construction of an esplanade leading into it.

[...]

Hudson River Park Trust has the right to build piers and water rights up to 1,000 feet off Manhattan’s shoreline. Permits from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation and the Army Corps of Engineers will be needed for Pier55, but it requires no major city approvals. The Hudson River Park Trust will vote on whether to approve a 20-year lease to Mr. Diller’s foundation for the operation and construction of the pier.

[...]

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/i...1116162140.jpg

Current Site:

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/i...1116162025.jpg

==================================
http://online.wsj.com/articles/hudso...nch-1416200520

chris08876

Nov 23, 2014 4:04 PM

Amphitheater:

http://d3exkutavo4sli.cloudfront.net...phitheater.jpg
Image: Pier55, Inc./Heatherwick Studio
=============================
http://www.heatherwick.com/

mhays

Nov 23, 2014 8:16 PM

That's really great design. They take a relatively small space and make it feel like several "rooms". Sloping inward will allow it to be more of a respite from the city.

I assume they'd use a lot of prefab construction to avoid the huge challenges of building over water. Probably a stationary barge and another for the crane to support construction. Move a lot of materials by water, which will allow larger prefab pieces than would fit on trucks....

chris08876

Nov 24, 2014 7:50 AM

I agree. Its good that the city is utilizing many of these piers towards the public sphere. Some of these piers are also going to be used as an extra source of affordable housing such as pier 40. Design wise, I think this is a success. Not overly flashy, and will fit in perfectly with the the rest of the Hudson River Park. Also, a fish habitat will be created between the pile fields of Pier 54 and 56.

Some extra info could be found for those interested: http://www.hudsonriverpark.org/

Also to find out news about HR Park and some of the changes that are occurring.

StoOgE

Nov 24, 2014 5:42 PM

Fantastic design.

I can't wait to see what the city comes up with on the East River Park.

Everything on the Hudson to date is just fantastic. I'm a huge fan of the portion North of 59th (though, I really wish they could do something to connect from 59th down to the mid-town portion of the park).

NYguy

Dec 6, 2014 12:44 PM

Haven't been to excited about this, but the renders are nice...

mottimes1013

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7526/...e25982b3_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7487/...c5e2e689_b.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8615/...c5eaf279_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7550/...901dff5c_b.jpg

sparkling

Dec 8, 2014 4:06 AM

I just came across this opinion piece from November 30. Misplaced criticism or not is for you to decide.

The Billionaires’ Park
By DAVID CALLAHAN
NOV. 30, 2014

Quote:

CAN billionaires remake the Manhattan shoreline? Apparently so, in light of the news that a new park will be just offshore in the Hudson River, largely financed by the media mogul Barry Diller and situated, conveniently, a short walk from his office in Chelsea.

The new park will also be near the High Line, allowing for an easy tour of how private wealth is remaking the city’s public spaces. This trend isn’t unique to New York: Philanthropists are also busy reshaping the riverfront of Philadelphia and building a green corridor through Houston. In Tulsa, Okla., a vast new park system is being financed in part by the billionaire George B. Kaiser.

While it’s hard to argue with more parks, or the generosity of donors like Mr. Diller, this isn’t just about new patches of green. It’s more evidence of how a hollowed-out public sector is losing its critical role, and how private wealth is taking the wheel and having a growing say over basic parts of American life.

The new era of parks philanthropy began in the 1980s, when private donors created the Central Park Conservancy, a nonprofit that has since taken a central role in shaping the park. Starting in the late 1990s, Friends of Hudson River Park, a likewise privately bankrolled nonprofit, has helped expand what is now the second-biggest park in Manhattan. Diller Island (although it won’t be called that) will further transform the shoreline.

One result of this influx of funds into putatively public parks is that the city’s more affluent sections have nicer open spaces and playgrounds. Central Park is now a gleaming jewel thanks to $700 million in private investments, and two years ago a hedge fund manager — who lives in a mansion steps from the park — gave $100 million to shine it further. Private money now covers 75 percent of the park’s annual operating budget.

Meanwhile, many parks, starved of funds, have fallen into disrepair. This fall Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to spend $130 million to upgrade 35 parks in poor neighborhoods — the same amount Mr. Diller and his wife, Diane von Furstenberg, pledged for the new 2.7-acre park.

And who will use this pricey new island park, in one of the most expensive and least densely populated parts of Manhattan? Take a stroll on the High Line, which was also heavily financed by Mr. Diller and Ms. von Furstenberg, and you’ll get a sense of the likely visitors: out-of-town tourists and locals who can afford lunch in the Meatpacking District.

The plans for Mr. Diller’s park, like the High Line, illustrate the sorts of recherché spaces that such projects prioritize: amphitheaters, footpaths, gardens. While these are all nice, they fit most neatly into the lifestyles of the affluent, who don’t need more open public spaces for things like exercise or family gatherings, since they often have second homes outside the city. Thanks to Mr. Diller’s impressive largess, New York will have another striking park, but it’s unclear how useful it will be to ordinary people.

The design, placement and maintenance of parks were once a function of democratic processes. Now, as a citizen, you feel like a spectator to largely privatized decision making. A declining public sector, burdened by budget cuts, creates a vacuum for imaginative civic leadership that is being filled by a new class of Medicis. Things are going to get a lot worse, too. Nondefense discretionary federal spending will fall to its lowest level in modern history by 2017, leaving Washington less able to finance projects like new parks and infrastructure.
In contrast, the combined net worth of the Forbes 400 has nearly doubled since 2009, to $2.3 trillion, and today’s big philanthropy is merely a warm-up for larger giving to come. More than 100 billionaires worldwide have pledged to give away at least half their wealth, further supersizing philanthropy even as the fiscal screws on government turn tighter as the boomer generation retires. Their beneficence is admirable, but it also poses a threat to the ability of everyday Americans to have an equal voice in civic life.

This power shift is part of a larger story about rising inequality and shrinking democracy. One reason the wealthy are flush with cash is that they’ve paid historically low taxes in recent decades, which helps explain why government can’t afford to do big things. A small step toward rebalancing things would be to tax capital gains — the source of much of the wealth of the superrich — at the same rate as regular income, and then dedicate most of that money to rebuilding our eroding infrastructure.

As for ensuring that all New Yorkers have equal access to good public parks, we should require private parks conservancies to chip in to rehabilitate parks in low-income parts of the city, just as developers are expected to help finance affordable housing. If we want even the semblance of equity in civic spaces, new ways must be found to pay for it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/op...ires-park.html

chris08876

Dec 8, 2014 4:53 AM

Just some writer who feels that there are too many rich people. More political than anything. Although I do agree that the wealthy should pay their fare share, but thats for another thread.

NYguy

Dec 9, 2014 3:35 PM

Quote:

Stupid article. Let's see, would we rather have something paid for privately, or nothing at all? Just a stupid article, especially when you consider the problems with financing for NYC parks.

Perklol

Dec 9, 2014 10:20 PM

its the NYT... they have really good articles

chris08876

Dec 9, 2014 11:17 PM

Yea I never understood why some criticize individuals or organizations with money. You need money to build in NYC. In Manhattan, you need a boatload of money. They don't seem to realize that or understand the economics behind it. They always bring up class and all that. This is a Capitalistic society and NYC shows this better than any other place. Even a park can become very expensive.

Perklol

Dec 10, 2014 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris08876 (Post 6837573)

Even a park can become very expensive.

+1

The city spend over $130 million on parks. They won't spend more on a new park at the moment.

sparkling

Jan 8, 2015 11:14 PM

Board Likes Ambitious Pier55, But Wants More Transparency

Quite a lenghty article, I am posting the first paragraph and if interested you can read the rest here
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/0...ansparency.php

January 8, 2015
Shannon Ayala

Quote:

The park that billionaire Barry Diller would like to perch above the Hudson River by the remnants of Pier 54 got a nod of support from Community Board 2 at a public meeting last night. But after hearing from a polarized crowd, the Parks and Waterfront committee agreed that concerns—including how the Hudson River Park Trust worked on this plan behind-the-scenes for two-plus years, and transparency from this point on—will have to be addressed.

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs...land-View2.jpg

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs...land-View1.jpg

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs...land-View3.jpg

chris08876

Jan 9, 2015 4:15 PM

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs...oking-west.jpg
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/0...ansparency.php

ChiTownWonder

Feb 6, 2015 1:00 PM

looks like a bunch of golf tees, im not sure if i like it. will they keep the gate of pier 54 or take it down? in the areal renderings it seems that its shadow is there but i cant seem to find the actual gate

EDIT: found it :) It looks like they are planing to keep the gate there.:tup:

sparkling

Feb 12, 2015 4:34 PM

Pier55 Park Moves Toward Reality

Thursday, February 12, 2015
Jessica Dailey

Quote:

Plans for an undulating, Avatar-esque floating park in the Hudson River are zipping right along. Since the design for Pier55, a Heatherwick Studio-designed green space funded largely by billionaire Barry Diller, were revealed in November, the ambitious project won approval from the local community board, and now the Times reports that a 20-year lease deal has been made with Hudson River Park Trust. The agreement makes official Diller's commitment to running the pier, to which he and his wife, Diane von Furstenberg, pledged $113 million. The city will make us the rest of the $130 million cost.

Given that Hudson River Park has struggled financially (see: Pier 40), residents in the area worry what will happen 20 years in the future, after Diller's lease ends. But Hudson River Park Trust isn't that concerned about it. President Madelyn Wils told the Times that they have "all the protections we need to make sure the project is financed." In addition to normal park things like paths and landscaping, Pier55 will have a 700-seat amphitheater that will be rented out for cultural events.

Other concerns are environmental and could prove to be a challenge for the project, as the Army Corps of Engineers and the State Department of Environmental Conservation still need to approve the plans. The pier will built near 13th Street beside the crumbling Pier 54, which will be demolished. Three hundred concrete columns will be drilled into the riverbed for Pier55, and the new structure will jut 186 feet over the river. Environmentalists want a full environmental impact statement to examine how the pier will affect "an undisturbed area of the river that is a designated estuarine sanctuary."

Again, Wils doesn't think this is a problem, as the Trust completed a 200-page environmental assessment form, but this has less requirements than a full EIS, so the group Riverkeeper is pushing for more.

If the Trust nabs timely approvals from the Army Corps and DEC, construction should being in 2016.

chris08876

Apr 20, 2015 4:27 PM

City Has Backup Plan if Barry Diller Pulls Out of Island Project

Quote:

Billionaire media mogul Barry Diller plans to build a $151 million island oasis in Hudson River Park — if the group that runs the park meets his demands to revitalize nearby dormant space along the waterfront.

Under a lease inked with the Hudson River Park Trust, Diller has the right to pull his money from the project at Pier 54 if overhauls at neighboring piers don’t meet his satisfaction.

The lease sets out expectations that two long-troubled points in the cash-strapped park — Pier 57, a dilapidated former garage, and Gansevoort Peninsula, a swath of unused land whose fate is tied to the construction of a waste transfer station — will be developed into parkland and a commercial space.

Diller’s donation is also predicated on the construction of a publicly funded $22.5 million esplanade that will serve as an entrance to the island.

The city has pledged $17 million toward Diller’s vision and the adjacent esplanade. But DNAinfo New York has learned that, to hedge against the possibility of Diller bowing out, the Parks Department and the trust created a backup plan, a more modest $30 million park at Pier 54.

DNAinfo reviewed a working draft of the contract between the city Parks Department and the trust, which reveals that if Diller pulls out, the city’s $17 million investment will go toward a park in the same spot — but it'll come without the bells and whistles in the billionaire’s vision. The contract is still in the process of being approved.

The difference between the parks is dramatic. Where Diller imagines a floating paradise for fundraisers and theater shows, the alternative park would be similar to other pier parks along the Hudson.

Diller’s park, to be re-dubbed Pier55, would be a 2.4-acre futuristic confection designed by British architect Thomas Heatherwick. The alternative park would be 1.9 acres, with stainless steel railings and some decorative planters.

The trust told DNAinfo that it was confident that Diller’s project would move forward without a hitch.

“We have no reason to believe the Pier55 project won’t proceed. Good planning dictates that, as a contract contingency, the Trust and city consider the ‘what if’ scenario of no Pier 55 project,” Hudson River Park Trust spokesman James Yolles said.

=============================
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/2015...31d3-132355789

mrnyc

Apr 22, 2015 3:47 PM

^ pier 57 is supposed to be redeveloped, although i don't notice anything obvious happening there at the moment:

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...-build-offices

sparkling

Apr 23, 2015 4:15 PM

Barry Diller-Funded Pier55 Plan: Pocket Gadget, Meme-tecture, or Something More Nefarious?

Alexandra Lange
Thursday, April 23, 2015

Quote:

Pier55 is a gadget. Pocket-size, stuffed with event spaces and paths to point you at the view, it will dangle off the southwestern edge of Manhattan like a Leatherman on a wallet chain. There's a scenic overlook, a 200-seat amphitheater, a tunnel designed to give you an eyeful of designer Thomas Heatherwick's signature mushroom piers, varied in height, holding up the molded surface of dirt, concrete and grass. Underneath the lawn, the plaza, and the pre-ruined staircases must be a theaters-worth of lights, wiring, speakers, electronics veiled in a skim-coat of plant life. As a design, Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg's "$113 million dollar "gift" to New York City, is the culmination of two forces: private funding for public parks, with the High Line as reference point for elaborated outdoor urbanism, and architecture as online popularity contest, where good publicity is in direct relation to the amount of engineering required to make your park or your pool.

Presented to the public as a handful of gauzy renderings (no plans or sections) intended to dazzle, Pier55 combines elements of Heatherwick's Garden Bridge for London and his Al Fayah desert park for Abu Dhabi, as well as earlier investigations into crinkled surfaces and terraforms, landscape as a designer crust. It worked on most: Lisa W. Foderaro's New York Times play-by-play on the island is peppered with unsophisticated, reaction quotes from a variety of highly-placed officials who knew this park was in the pipeline years before the rest of us. "It was very cool looking," says Diana Taylor, chairwoman of the Hudson River Park Trust's board of directors. "It showed the amount of work he put into it—his imagination," says Madelyn Wils, the trust's president. "This is New York City, and what's important in New York is glamour," says Tobi Bergman, chairman of Community Board 2.

But great cities are not made through gold stars awarded for imagination. The last thing the West Side of Manhattan needs is another financially unsustainable, high-maintenance, passive recreation space. (And besides, Heatherwick and Nelson Byrd Woltz are already designing such a space at Hudson Yards.) The last thing the Parks Department needs is another expensive, limited-use bauble, one that costs the same amount to build as the city is currently investing in 35 community parks. Yes, the Diller-Von Furstenberg Foundation has pledged to take care of its operating costs for 20 years, but that means the whole thing will be outdated, stylistically and technologically, once it becomes part of the Parks Department portfolio. Gadgets are not for the ages, and good design would take that into account from the get-go.

Building on piers is also the most expensive way to make a park: just ask Wils, who originally approached Diller asking for a donation to fix the pilings of long-closed Pier 54. (Pier 40, further north in Hudson River Park, also requires $104 million to fix its concrete pilings.) Their discussions morphed from him helping the trust with an existing but unglamorous infrastructure problem, to him adding a new pier to their portfolio. A pier, like the High Line (to which the couple donated $35 million), that is an extremely elaborate machine for sitting and strolling and looking. It's a square, but Heatherwick's design turns it into a series of paths and stairs.

More disturbing than Pier55's meme-tecture, however, has been the minimal public process. Who are Diller and Von Furstenberg to set priorities for the Hudson River Park or indeed, for open space in New York City? Why are we, the public, so often the audience and not the client? Why can't we set the agenda?

The problems with this kind of gifts have been enumerated, in far more vigorous language than we typically use in the American design press, in the debate about London's Garden Bridge, also designed by Heatherwick, also a thin layer of vegetation over a lot of engineering, also a "gift" that turns out to come at public cost. Like the Garden Bridge, Pier55 could be closed frequently (up to 5 times a month) for performances; like the Garden Bridge, Pier55 has only two routes on and off the island, and could become overcrowded or require "queues."

Only during the six-day public review process after Pier55 was announced in November was the lack of accessibility for wheelchairs and strollers of some of its scenic lookouts addressed. It wasn't too late, but it was definitely belated, given the fact that Diller had a design for the pier in 2012. Many good, critical questions were asked during that review, focusing on access and closure for private events, the closed-door planning process and the still-significant public investment of $35 million to make this project a reality.

The upshot of that limited process was more precise language about how often the park could be closed for events, and a reduction in the height of its peak from 71 feet to 62 feet. The specificity of that tweak seemed an indication of how far along this design really is: despite the fact that the public has only seen renderings, this is not an idea but something close to the actual design. Also: where are the bathrooms? The trash cans? The seating for those food vendors? Where would trucks for the performances load in and performers shelter?

The High Line has struggled since its inception to appeal to and attract neighborhood residents looking for more open space and more play options, so it seems bizarre to build more. At the hearing, the argument seemed to be that events specific to the community would be part of the programming (in the hands, at least for now, of Scott Rudin, George C. Wolfe, Stephen Daldry, and Kate Horton). It would be better if the landscape itself held some local appeal. On the flip side, why would anyone planning events want to be far from the subway, no parking, and only two entrances and exits?

Hudson River Park, like Brooklyn Bridge Park, was supposed to be self-sustaining, generating funds for its upkeep through real estate deals and concessions. From the beginning there have been questions about this model. It sounds good, but it privileges sites where adjacent real estate values are already high. And when parks can't support themselves after all, the city and the state basically have to step in. City Councilman Mark Levine, chair of the Park Committee, as well as advocacy groups like New Yorkers for Parks, have been pushing for more park funding in the city budget (currently at 0.55 percent). Such money would allow the parks department to maintain and plan for the parks we already have, rather than reacting to billionaires.

But we also need different strategies for channeling private money to public parks. Philanthropy doesn't have to be as grand, selective and secretive as recent donations suggest. I've written in the past about the idea of Neighborhood Parks Conservancies, which would allow people to give to the local, less glamorous parks they use every day. To prevent the rich park/poor park problem at a smaller scale, such conservancies could raise funds for sets of parks that are adjacent, but serve different populations, considering needs across the zone. The Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn already does this for Community District 1.

We also need to change the conversation around what is a sexy donation. It's not surprising, really, that Diller would rather pay for a gadget than for underwater repairs. But we know that small and medium parks, not-Manhattan parks, parks that are good for play can also be cool-looking, imaginative and even glamorous. Let's use narcissism for good. Any of the city's architecture nonprofits could, after consultation on what the city's real park priorities are, have a design competition for a particular park. If it is water that attracts dollars, there are plenty of other shores: Ridgewood Reservoir in Queens, reimagined as a wetlands shaped for exploration; Queensbridge Park remade to showcase its waterfront views, as with the anchorages further south on the East River; giving the residents of Greenpoint the park they were promised adjacent to Bushwick Inlet. Activists in the Bronx have been working to clean up and create access to the Bronx River for decades.

A couple of current projects point the way. The Design Trust for Public Space is currently working with the Parks Department and the Queens Museum on a community-based creative process for Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The New York Restoration Project's Haven Project, launched last fall, is looking at a series of underused open spaces in Mott Haven in the Bronx. The master plan that results from their work could easily have some spectacular moments, albeit spectacle aimed at getting the residents of Mott Haven outdoors and exercising, not watching performances. Or what about a new playground model -- an accessible, reasonably-priced, low-maintenance model –- that would be more challenging and use a more varied materials palette and could be deployed across the city? Some of these younger billionaires have children, and must understand the existential dullness of the off-the-shelf playground. What's sexier today than scalability? If meme-tecture teaches us anything, it is that ego-buffering publicity rests as much on visuals as it does on location. We, the public, should be the clients for cool design that serves our needs now and in the future. Don't try to give us a present that's just going to break.

yankeesfan1000

May 25, 2015 6:21 PM

This is in prep.

streetscaper

May 25, 2015 6:51 PM

Really? Awesome!!

chris08876

May 25, 2015 6:54 PM

I'm liking the trend of all these Pier redevelopments. Bringing some nice pedestrian density to those areas. While yes there are lots of people, there are at times that the coast line of the Hudson feels empty. Giving some ample opportunities to lounge and even shop (some other pier developments), can further make the area vibrant.

This, along with the very successful Hudson River Park, will make this a hot spot. Developers are taking notice too, further making the stretch of area prime for developments.

chris08876

Jun 5, 2015 8:21 PM

New Renderings, Details Revealed for Pier55 Floating Park

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs...55wideshot.png

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs...er55shadow.png

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs...Pier55path.png

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs...er55plants.png

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs...mpitheater.png

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs...er55aerial.png

http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs...er55layout.png

Quote:

Signe Nielsen, president of Mathews Nielsen, the landscape architecture firm working with designer Thomas Heatherwick to create the futuristic—and controversial—Pier55 park to perch above the Hudson River revealed new details about the design, along with updated renderings for the park, at a meeting yesterday. Everything is still very much and work-in-progress, and the new renderings were shown to address concerns from the community and provide an update on the materials being considered. The Hudson River Park Trust signed a 20-year lease deal with Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, the billionaire/fashion mogul power couple that is financing the park, and there are currently cranes in the river near the old Pier 54. There has also been federal funding for a 13th Street crosswalk lead to the park. So while approval from the Army Corps of Engineers and State Department regarding the environmental impact awaits, it's time to talk about the actual plants and materials that will make up the park.

Nielson discussed the all parts of the design, from its snaking paths to quickly changing plants, and noted that changes have already been made since the renderings were first revealed. The elevation will be lowered from 70 feet at its highest point to 62 feet, but there will multiple heights throughout, with the corners folding upwards to trap sound and create "micro-climates." She described "snakes and ladder" pathways and said they have been "navigating concerns that we as a team have had about congestion." Asked about crowds leaving the amphitheater after a show, she said there are multiple routes to leave sections of the park.

===============================
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/0...ating_park.php

sparkling

Jun 12, 2015 1:59 PM

Civic Group Sues to Halt Hudson River Park Backed by Barry Diller

CHARLES V. BAGLI
JUNE 11, 2015

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/...-master675.jpg

Quote:

Critics of the billionaire Barry Diller’s plans for 2.4-acre park on a platform over the Hudson River asked a court on Thursday to halt construction of the $130 million project until it undergoes a new environmental review and is approved by the State Legislature.

Opponents contend that the project was a result of a “secretive process designed to reach a preordained outcome that lacked the transparency required by state law and was not designed to elicit meaningful public scrutiny,” according to a lawsuit filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan by the City Club of New York, a civic organization, against the Hudson River Trust and a Diller entity.

Continue Reading

Hypothalamus

Jun 12, 2015 2:26 PM

^^ ...the hell is wrong with people? Chris, do you see any environmental issue with what's being put forth? Do the NIMBYs have any ground?

sbarn

Jun 12, 2015 2:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hypothalamus (Post 7060413)

^^ ...the hell is wrong with people?

Seriously! It's a park!! :koko:

Busy Bee

Jun 12, 2015 5:47 PM

Maddening.

chris08876

Jun 13, 2015 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hypothalamus (Post 7060413)

^^ ...the hell is wrong with people? Chris, do you see any environmental issue with what's being put forth? Do the NIMBYs have any ground?

This will get thrown out of court. Only the EPA and DEP could decide if its environmentally damaging, which its not. Pier restorations have been occurring for many years now, and this is simply a fabrication of them not knowing and being left out of the design process.

In terms of mitigating any environmental hazards, they will decide (DEP), on what remediation action needs to take place. But that won't stop the project if they decide something needs to be done, which is unlikely as that region has been cleaned up. Decades ago. Even if they had to remove some material, it will just mean a delay.

A site that will need some work environmental wise is the Williamsburg Warehouse site (where that large fire occurred). But like anything else, once its cleaned up, it will be buildable.

It should only need one environmental study and approval for construction. Anymore, and its just blowing smoke.

Hypothalamus

Jun 13, 2015 2:02 AM

Thanks. This is one of my favorite park projects at the moment. This should be great for the city! :cheers:

chris08876

Sep 8, 2015 9:11 PM

Larger Rendering (Crain's):

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pb...R/0/Pier55.jpg
Credit: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...fantasy-island

photoLith

Sep 13, 2015 1:26 PM

I really hope this gets built and the stupid too much time having yuppie NIMBYs can shove it.

chris08876

Apr 8, 2016 3:14 PM

Judge Gives the Go Ahead to Barry Diller’s Pier 55 Floating Park

http://www.6sqft.com/wp-content/uplo...1/Pier55-6.jpg

Quote:

Billionaire media mogul (and husband to Diane von Furstenberg) Barry Diller just had a big victory in his road to constructing Pier 55, a $130 million, futuristic floating park off 14th Street. As reported by the Post, the Manhattan Supreme Court dismissed a case against the development that claimed it could have a negative environmental impact, wiping out local species such as the American eel and shortnose sturgeon.

Justice Joan Lobis, who noted she enjoys biking along the Hudson, said the project did go through the appropriate environmental review process, which found that it “would not cause significant adverse impacts on the aquatic habitat.” Though the plaintiffs, the civic group known as the City Club of New York, have vowed to appeal the decision, construction is currently set to begin later this year.

============================
6sqft

mrnyc

Apr 8, 2016 6:19 PM

this will be so great -- build barry build!

chris08876

Apr 27, 2016 8:41 PM

With final regulatory approval, construction of Meatpacking District park is expected to begin this summer

Quote:

The site of the future 2.7-acre Hudson River park funded by Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg has cleared its final regulatory hurdle, the Hudson River Park Trust announced Wednesday.

Construction of Pier55, as the park-on-a-pier will be known, is now expected to begin this summer, the trust said.

The park will include grassy hills, an open-air stage and a separate area that can be used for large events, all constructed on pilings in the Hudson River. Plans for the park were first announced in 2014, and since then have received several approvals and beaten back a lawsuit. On Wednesday, the trust said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave the final thumbs-up needed to begin building.

"We are excited to be in a position to start construction,” Madelyn Wils, chief executive of the trust, said in a statement.

The project is being built through a partnership between the trust and a nonprofit created by Diller and von Furstenburg, who have contributed $113 million to fund most of the park’s construction.

========================
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...TATE/160429880

chris08876

Apr 30, 2016 5:09 PM

• Video Link

chris08876

Jun 26, 2016 1:21 PM

Hidden History: Pier 55 | History

• Video Link

chris08876

Jul 2, 2016 12:53 PM

Panel of judges bar further work on the 2.7-acre park Pier55 until an appeal is heard this fall

Quote:

An appellate court on Thursday halted construction on Pier55, a proposed 2.7-acre park that will stand on piles in the Hudson River. Crews had just begun work on the $130 million green space, which is largely funded by media mogul Barry Diller and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg.

The opponents, led by the City Club of New York, filed suit in state Supreme Court in June 2015, arguing that the Hudson River Park Trust, the entity that manages and operates the park, did not go through the proper channels to launch the project and didn't adequately study the potential environmental impacts of Pier55. While a Manhattan judge tossed out that suit in April, the club appealed. A state appellate court issued a preliminary injunction and ordered work to stop until the case is heard in September and a ruling is handed down.

"The project is significantly imperiled at this point, and we are very happy about that," said Richard Emery, an attorney at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady, who represents the plaintiffs. "We think this is a project borne of secrecy and deception, and should not be part of the city landscape without a very different approach to getting public and government approvals."

In April, the trust announced that it had reached its final milestone when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed off on the project.On Thursday, the trust reacted to the court's ruling.

"This time-wasting and out-of-touch lawsuit is an insult not just to the local community board, which overwhelmingly supports this project, but to the New Yorkers from across the city who will enjoy this park for years to come,” a spokesman for the Trust said in a statement, later adding, "It has become dishearteningly clear that this case has nothing to do with environmental impacts, and not once have the plaintiffs produced an expert who can say the project will cause environmental harm."

The City Club has two other pending lawsuits against the project in state and federal court.

“By continuing its misguided crusade, the City Club is obstructing the will of the local community and undermining a much-needed effort to create new public parks in New York City," said a spokesman for Pier55 Inc., a nonprofit that will help operate the park.

=============================
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...unded-by-barry

chris08876

Jul 19, 2016 9:58 PM

^^^^^^^^

Follow up to the info above. Its back on track for now. :)

=======================

Barry Diller’s Pier 55 gets green light – again

Quote:

A New York appeals court modified a temporary order Monday to stop work at Barry Diller’s Pier 55, allowing construction of the floating park to proceed for now.

The City Club of New York sued to block the project last year. A state judge dismissed the suit in April, but the civic organization appealed and on June 30 won a preliminary injunction halting construction work. The latest court order allows some construction work to proceed until a hearing in the case, which is scheduled for September.

Barry Diller and his wife Diane von Furstenberg jointly donated $113 million to the project, a 2.3-acre public park on a platform over the Hudson River. The Hudson River Park Trust is overseeing construction, and also contributed $39.5 million.

The City Club of New York opposes the project in its current form, arguing it should first undergo an environmental review.

“Now that both state and federal courts have denied its demand for an injunction, the City Club should take this cue to finally end its absurd crusade against the wishes of the community,” a spokesperson for the project said in a statement.

=======================
TRD

chris08876

Aug 26, 2016 11:02 PM

Summer Construction Complete at Barry Diller-Funded Island Park

Quote:

The planned summer construction for the Barry Diller-funded island park on the Hudson River is complete, a spokesman for the project said.

Diller is putting forward $130 million for a new pier off Hudson River Park just below 14th Street, known as Pier55. Over the past few weeks, Hunter Robert Construction Group drove in the first nine piles that will support the new pier between the dilapidated pilings of the former Piers 54 and 56.

The nine piles mark the initial work of the first phase of construction and had to be driven in this summer in order to meet the pier's construction timeline of completion in 2019.

The construction almost didn't happen, however, thanks to three lawsuits pending against the project in various state courts.

The lawsuits were brought by a civic organization, the City Club of New York, and a local environmentalist, Rob Buchanan, who believe the review of the environmental impacts of the construction was not thorough enough and take issue with the fact that the Hudson River Park Trust may charge money for some performances in Pier55's eventual 700-person amphitheater.

The amphitheater will host arts performances amid 2.7 acres of walking paths, open lawns, seating areas and undulating hills designed by Thomas Heatherwick and landscape architect Signe Nielsen.

http://www.yimbynews.com/wp-content/.../08/Pier55.jpg

https://assets.dnainfo.com/photo/201...extralarge.jpg
========================
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/201...rs-island-park

mrnyc

Sep 6, 2016 12:49 AM

^ i looked at that today. it looks like the concrete platforms sticking out of the bikeway and also those pilings were done.

not sure how they plan to work around all the old wooden sunken pier pilings. that will be tricky.

mrnyc

Sep 6, 2016 1:19 AM

durst is behind the holdup here:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer...ting-park.html

mrnyc

Sep 6, 2016 10:59 AM

editorial today:

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/p...icle-1.2776443

mrnyc

Sep 9, 2016 4:15 PM

via the daily news -- this project got the court ok to move forward:

Hudson River floating park proposed by Barry Diller gets OK to move forward

Barry Diller’s futuristic floating island in the Hudson got a green light from a state appeals court Thursday.

A panel of judges from the Manhattan Appellate Division said it was not “arbitrary and capricious” when the Hudson River Park Trust determined there would be no negative environmental effects when it signed a 20-year lease with Diller's Pier 55 Inc. to build and manage the pier as a park and entertainment venue.

The City Club wanted a full Environmental Impact Statement done for the project, which will be located over the shoreline on platform already under construction near W. 14 St. Diller, a media mogul, and his wife, designer Diana von Furstenberg, are funding the bulk of the cost with a $113 million grant from their foundation.

Thursday, the appellate judges said the City Club does not have the authority or standing to question whether the Hudson River Park Trust should have requested bids from other developers before signing up with Pier 55. Its contract gives Pier 55 the right to keep the lucrative licensing royalties from any performances in the space.

Court allows Diller Island Pier 55 project to begin construction

The decision was hailed by Gov. Cuomo, who said, “I look forward to seeing construction move forward, and realizing both the economic and recreational benefits this vital park will bring."

Madelyn Wils, president and CEO of the Hudson River Park Trust, said "this was a ridiculous lawsuit from the start."

A rep for Pier 55 said "We are grateful for the court's decision and are pleased to be back on our fall construction schedule, which will make Pier55 a reality for all New Yorkers."

Richard Emery, the lawyer for the City Club, said his clients will appeal because if the ruling stands, "it means the legislatively mandated protections for the Hudson River have been substantially degraded" and the "park" has essentially been "privatized."

Construction on the "floating" pier started last month when contractors — with the court's permission — drove the first nine piles that will hold up the 2.7 acre platform with its undulating hills and an amphitheater that could rise as much as six stories.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2783986

chris08876

Sep 10, 2016 6:58 PM

I think this is an exciting project. Essentially the parks along the Hudson River like Riverside Park or Hudson River Park have been huge successes.

At one time, all of this was inhabited by piers. Granted a lot of jobs!!!, but... times have changed.

http://www.boweryboogie.com/content/...treet-soho.jpg

Lots and lots of piers...

http://cdn01.boweryboogie.com/conten...town-1950s.jpg

http://cdn01.boweryboogie.com/conten...ttan-1951a.jpg
Credit for all pics: http://www.boweryboogie.com/2014/01/...-1940s-photos/

mrnyc

Sep 12, 2016 1:26 AM

^ yep -- and now they are actually putting one back!

antinimby

Sep 12, 2016 4:53 AM

And just putting one back now requires countless lawsuits, environmental studies and public meetings.

chris08876

Dec 1, 2016 12:02 AM

More BS... :sly: For a nice project, a pier that is a park, this has a shitload of issues. Jeez!

===========================

Nonprofit waging battle against Pier55 ordered to disclose its funding

Quote:

A small nonprofit that launched a multipronged and pricey legal battle against Barry Diller's 2.7-acre Pier55 project along the Hudson River has not filed required financial-disclosure tax forms since 2003.

The City Club of New York has filed three lawsuits against the pier-to-park project that would connect to Hudson River Park near West 14th Street. And Diller, a media mogul who is ponying up most of the development's $200 million cost, has publicly accused real estate titan Douglas Durst of secretly funding the legal campaign.

Earlier this month, following questions from Crain's, New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued the nonprofit a violation, and ordered it to file financial-disclosure documents that could offer clues to the inner workings of the organization.

"We were not aware until very recently of the state requirement and are cooperating with the state to get our filings up to date as quickly as possible," City Club President Michael Gruen said in a statement.

Diller and the Hudson River Park Trust announced plans for the park two years ago. Shortly afterward, City Club filed three separate lawsuits to try to stop it. The organization lost one of the suits in October; the other cases are pending against the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Army Corps of Engineers.

City Club is small enough to be exempt from filing a Form 990—which would also list the organization's members—but even small nonprofits are required to fill out a less comprehensive disclosure form, something the group has not done with the state since 2003. While City Club was dormant for many years, it has become active recently, coming out against Bloomberg-era plans to rezone midtown east in 2013 and later suing over a plan to redevelop a swath of auto shops in Willets Point, Queens.

A spokesman for City Club said that it plans to file disclosure forms for the most recent fiscal year tomorrow, and will work back through prior years. While that form could offer clues to how the nonprofit has managed so many legal disputes, it is unlikely any connection to Durst will surface beyond Diller's accusations.

============================
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...o-disclose-its

gramsjdg

Dec 1, 2016 2:11 AM

Durst.

Does anything else really need to be said?

For the man who ruined what was to be the symbol of NYC's resilience in the name of the almighty dollar (leaving the spire on WTC-1 an unfinished skeleton):hell:, should we expect anything less?

chris08876

Dec 1, 2016 2:26 AM

True. The almighty dollar instead of integrity. Well, I have faith this project will move forward. It's just for something not even that big, a lot of loops it has to go through. There are high rises that have less issues than this. But it can't top 1WTC or the WTC site to begin with in terms of the issues that it had and delays.

In the end, all of these delays just increase costs. If anything, this pier is a little example of why nice things often take giant fights. Lets not even get started on transportation... :runaway:

mrnyc

Dec 16, 2016 6:08 AM

there is active construction on this site

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psldwrrau8.jpg

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...pskbxe0sx4.jpg

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psc4whwbqa.jpg

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psabqt9ynu.jpg

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...pssbcvacfx.jpg

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