futuristic hudson river park wins approval

Plans are now in place to remake Pier 55 along the Hudson River, thanks to the largest-ever private donation to a public New York City park.

Media mogul Barry Diller and his fashion designer wife Diane von Furstenberg won Hudson River Park Trust approval for the plan, after pledging to commit $113 million toward the $130 million cost of the project.

Construction is expected to be completed by 2019, and will completely transform what is now a deteriorating Pier 54 across from the West Village.

According to architects’ renderings, the park will be bult 186 feet off the shoreline and will float above the water on 300 mushroom-shaped columns. Plans now call for gardens, paths similar to the High Line and a 700-seat amphitheater, which will be programmed with the help of Oscar-winning producer Scott Rudin and playwright George C. Wolfe.