Thursday, September 14, 2017
Billionaire Diller’s Plan for Elaborate Pier in the Hudson is Dead
Diller Island is dead.
After years of toe-to-toe battling with a small band of critics and a fellow billionaire, Barry Diller said Wednesday that he was pulling the plug on his family’s commitment to build and operate a $250 million performance center on an undulating pier 186 feet off the Hudson River shoreline.
It was a fizzling end to a grand scheme that aimed to create a bold new landmark along the Manhattan waterfront on par with the nearby High Line, which has become one of the top tourist draws in the city.
Some critics called the plan a monument to a billionaire’s ego, and it was quickly nicknamed “Diller Island.” . . .