Diller Island not dead yet: Groups fire off appeal and new permit application

A federal judge halted the project in March

Barry Diller and a rendering of Pier 55 (Credit: Pier 55 Inc via Curbed)
Barry Diller and a rendering of Pier 55 (Credit: Pier 55 Inc via Curbed)

The Army Corps of Engineers and the Hudson River Park Trust have fired off an appeal to a decision that torpedoed the $200 million development planned for Pier 55.

In March, federal Judge Lorna Schofield ruled that the Corps of Engineers failed to consider the impact of the 2.4-acre pier on protected fish and wildlife. She ordered work to stop on the island project, which is being bankrolled by IAC/InterActiveCorp Chairman Barry Diller.

In addition to the appeal, the Hudson River Park Trust also filed a revised permit application in April in hopes that it would remedy the judge’s objections, the New York Times reported.

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The March decision was a major victory for the City Club of New York, a civic group that filed a series of lawsuits to halt the development. In an interview with the Villager last week, Douglas Durst admitted to secretly funding the lawsuit.

An attorney for the group called the appeal and new permit application “desperation measures on the part of the trust and Mr. Diller.”

Diller said the project is “completely in the public’s interest.” [NYT] — Kathryn Brenzel