New York City’s floating island project will go forward

Plans from a New York City billionaire to build a floating $250million island on the Hudson River are back on the table.

Businessman Barry Diller said in a statement that he received ‘countless’ messages of support after he announced in September that he would no longer pursue the Pier 55 project, which would function as parkland and a performance space, the Hollywood Reporter reports.

‘I’m going to make one last attempt to revive the 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, who is worth an estimated $3billion and is married to fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, said in the statement released on Wednesday.

Media mogul Barry Diller’s plans for a $250million floating island parkland and performance space in New York City are going forward after they were halted in September

Tghe project (pictured at center) was originally budgeted at $35million. It was designed by English designer Thomas Heatherwick

Tghe project (pictured at center) was originally budgeted at $35million. It was designed by English designer Thomas Heatherwick

Diller said in a statement: 'I'm going to make one last attempt to revive the 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 said in a statement: ‘I’m going to make one last attempt to revive the 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’

The statement was issued through Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office. Cuomo helped lobby successfully for the project in the face of opposition, the New York Daily News reports.

English designer Thomas Heatherwick devised the plan for the island, which originally had a relatively more modest budget of $35million back in 2014.

But the budget ballooned to an estimated $250million, and interest groups lodged legal challenges against the project. 

Diller told supporters in a mid-September email that the project was going to be scrapped.

The plan that has been significantly funded by billionaire Diller (pictured at left with his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg) has been given the go ahead after persuasion by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (pictured at right with Senator Chuck Schumer)

One group against the project, the City Club of New York, said the project was concerning due to its potential impact on aquatic life. 

There had also been complaints over the way in which the project had been planned without broader public input.

‘The way they’ve operated is like moving plants around their personal backyard,’ Richard Emery, a civil rights attorney representing the City Club of New York, had previously said.

Pictured is a view of the proposed park's amphitheater

Pictured is a view of the proposed park’s amphitheater

Real estate developer Douglas Durst helped fund the lawsuits. It now appears that Durst has changed his tune.

‘My goal has always been the completion of the Park and the protection of the Hudson River,’ Durst told the Daily News. ‘Today’s agreement is a major step in that direction.’

Emery also called the decision a ‘great victory for park users and all New Yorkers’.

Diller will proceed to renew his agreements with the Hudson River Park Trust and New York state and federal agencies.

Diller’s fortune comes from his work as a media mogul; he has previously served as the CEO of both Paramount and FOX. The 75-year-old has been married to von Furstenberg since 2001.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk