Little Island project says construction resumed; still slated to open next May

Little Island representatives told Manhattan Community Board 2 on a virtual joint meeting of the Arts & Institutions and Parks & Waterfront committees that construction work resumed after a temporary shutdown and the project remains "slated to open next May." Trish, a Little Island presenter, said crews returned to the site on April 20 with daily health screening and new site protocols.

Board members heard that the project has installed an initial set of plantings and that community programming has moved online while in-person events are postponed. The project’s education team is producing short “webisodes” and Little Island plans to try to preserve positions in its youth-worker program.

The update matters because Little Island (Pier 55) is a high-profile new public green space on the Hudson River waterfront and neighbors have followed its construction closely. The presentation described measures intended to keep construction and staff activity moving while protecting worker health and outlined educational and outreach work that will precede the park opening.

Trish said the site had received its first 12 trees and that crews used a crane for installation, and she showed photographs and a short video giving a view from the future Southwest Overlook. She described the landscape approach as dense and intentionally varied by season. Trish also said the project had planned a short shutdown before the governor’s announcement and then began a work suspension consistent with contractor recommendations; crews returned on April 20 under a new set of protocols that include a nurse on site for morning temperature checks, additional sanitation stations, required masks, social distancing measures and limits on crew size.

On community programs, Little Island’s director of education and engagement, Michael Wiggins, described a set of short art-making webisodes created by teaching artists and distributed to local schools and community partners. Wiggins said the videos are roughly 10 minutes and use common household materials; examples included a rain stick project and instructions for making clay. The team is also trying to maintain its youth-worker program and hopes to bring “at least two people back into that program in the fall,” Trish said.

Board members asked about plantings, design changes and construction pacing. Trish said the landscape architect intends “a botanical garden” feel and that the planting palette emphasizes natives and species suitable for a marine environment; she offered to share Signe Nielsen’s plant list with the board. When asked about design changes, Trish said the project is far enough along that major design shifts were not feasible without disrupting the construction schedule; she cited a past change from traditional theater seats to bench seating in the amphitheater to make that space feel more public and informal.

The Little Island team described a steady stream of construction milestones — additional tree deliveries were expected in the coming days — and encouraged neighbors to view progress from nearby vantage points while in-person programming remains paused.

Board members expressed appreciation for the update and for Little Island’s outreach; the presentation closed with thanks and a handoff to the Whitney Museum presenters.