In testament to how New York empowers a handful of cranks to hold up projects in the public interest, work on the Pier 55 park remains at a standstill.
The $200 million project’s backers this week filed an appeal against a court ruling that halted construction in March.
That they have to is beyond ridiculous. After all, the long-planned 2.4-acre park plus performance space will be a beautiful addition to the Hudson River Park, and it’s mainly privately funded, thanks to Diane von Furstenberg and hubby Barry Diller.
But a small, disgruntled group operating as The City Club of New York has waged a scorched-earth legal war against Pier 55. Most of City Club’s claims have been tossed, but in March it got federal Judge Lorna Schofield to impose a fresh hold over a supposedly insufficient environmental review.
Yet the plan won OKs from multiple agencies, including the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Army Corps of Engineers.
The community board, Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo have all voiced support. After all, the park is a clear win, turning abandoned industrial space to walkways over the water, grass fields and groves.
Oh, and The Hudson River Park Trust, the project’s sponsor, is also removing plans to use concrete fill that had particularly raised the judge’s objections.
City Club has already delayed the project for over a year. It’s time for the courts to put an end to the madness.