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Back HomeLittle Island Opens Bringing New Park, Live Entertainment to Manhattan’s West Side
If 2020 was the year of the park, with New Yorkers flocking to green spaces in record numbers, park-going in 2021 is next-level thanks to Little Island, aka the floating park, which opens to the public today. The 2.4-acre park far out-punches its tiny footprint, thanks to the uber-creative use of space and a robust programming calendar to match.
One of our most anticipated openings of 2021, Little Island is set on tulip-shaped platforms adjacent to 13th Street in the Hudson River. Its structure is meant to look like a floating leaf, and crossing the bridge from the mainland to the park transports you to an entirely different world, with winding paths, stunning landscaping, and plenty to explore, see, and do.
Read on for all the details on this cool new west side addition, which will make a splash on New Yorkers’ plans for summer fun. Find more destination parks in our Guide to Parks and Playgrounds.
Visiting the brand new green space is free, but anxious parkgoers should take note: To control capacity, you’ll need to book a timed-entry ticket for visits between noon and 10pm daily. The park is open seven days a week from 6am-1am, and tickets for morning or late-night visits are not necessary.
The whimsical structure for Little Island is the brainchild of Thomas Heatherwick of Heatherwick Studio, the same designer behind The Vessel at Hudson Yards. Each of the 132 tulips emerges from the river between the wood piles preserved from Pier 54, which remain in place to encourage marine biodiversity. Each platform was engineered to meet unique load requirements meant for building a park atop them. Signe Nielson of MNLA led the landscape design, utilizing more than 66,000 bulbs, 114 trees, more than 350 different species of plants meant to provide a natural canvas as the season’s change.
While there’s no playground at Little Island, there’s still plenty for little ones to do and see. A large “Main Lawn” is situated adjacent to The Play Ground—more a plaza than a play area—with an inviting slope simply made for kids to roll down. A trio of elevated outlooks mark three of the island’s four corners. While adults might be happy climbing the stairs or pushing a stroller up the ADA-accessible pathways, kids will likely thrill at clambering up a series of “boulder scrambles” built into the tiered landscaping.
One thing that’s evident upon visiting Little Island is the park is much more than a green space. A robust staff has been assembled, including four artists in residence, and more than 500 live events are planned for summer 2021 alone.
Families are likely to flock to The Glade, one of three dedicated performance venues on Little Island, where they can enjoy enriching live programming five days a week, including performances from the New Victory LabWorks, where BIPOC artists workshop programming for the stage. Other community organizations include Mommy Poppins favorites like the Children’s Museum of the Arts and The Museum of the Chinese in America.
© Jackson Lieblein, LLC 2015.
