Barry Diller to invest $130M in new park on Hudson River

Media mogul billionaire Barry Diller is investing $130 million to build a futuristic park on the Hudson River.

The park would be built on an undulating platform 186 feet from the shoreline near 14th Street, according to the New York Times. The park’s design features wooden nooks and three performance venues, the newspaper reported. The park, which would be called Pier 55, aims to replace the crumbling Pier 54.

The city, state and Hudson River Park Trust will kick in an additional $39.5 million for the project.

Diller, the former chairman of Paramount Pictures and Fox and the current boss of IAC/InterActiveCorp, promised to manage the proposed 2.4-acre park and cover its operating expenses for the next two decades. Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio support the plan and were scheduled to announce the new trust on Monday.

Diller, who is married to designer Diane Von Fürstenberg, has hired a slew of show business executives to work on the project. The list include film and television producer Scott Rudin, former Public Theater producer George Wolfe, director and producer Stephen Daldry and British theater executive Kate Horton, according to the newspaper. [NYT] — Claire Moses