I can’t think of a better a moment to celebrate the emergence of a new Westside park than now, in the spring, after the crummiest of years, and as we finally reemerge from our long, fitful sleep.

Hudson River Park’s Little Island — standing in place of what was once Pier 54 at the base of 13th Street — opens to the public tomorrow morning. And it’s awesome. I’ll get the particulars out of the way:

• hours are 6a to 1a
• timed tickets required from noon to 8a till Sept. 30 available here
• performances start on June 14
• capacity at all times limited to 800 for now
• food & drink (including beer and wine) available from trucks on the pier

As a Hudson River Park Trust board member, I am absolutely biased. But no doubt this is one of the most exciting arrivals to the Westside since Governor’s Island was gifted to the city two decades ago (I said this for Pier 26 too, of course). I know it’s not exactly our neck of the woods, but it is a 15-minute bike/30-minute walk upstream and an absolute destination for every visitor you will (start to) have for the next couple years. And like Pier 26, there are a dozen ways to use this park: hang out, see theater, entertain the kids, catch some views, lie on the lawns.

It’s also a killer spot for a breakfast meeting, as my friend Henley noted yesterday when we first saw the café tables on the open plaza. But it is most enchanting at night.

The thanks go to the Trust of course, specifically Tribecan Madelyn Wils, for having the vision to think outside the rectangle, and for bringing in Barry Diller, who gets the second biggest thanks for his thoughtful creativity and for footing the bill of $260 million (and whose non-profit created just for the pier will maintain and program it with arts performances for the next decade). Diller hired Thomas Heatherwick, the British architect who also brought us the Vessel at Hudson Yards (I know). And last but not least, as you will understand when you get to the park, a massive thanks goes to Tribeca’s own Signe Nielsen, whose firm Mathews Nielsen created the lush, flowering and clever landscape.

(The Trust also had to, for years, battle a lawsuit to fight the pier by the City Club and others, and to that crew I give no thanks at all.)

Diller named it Little Island, since it’s a hilly rectangle connected to the bulkhead by two long piers. It’s supported by concrete piles on top of which are the pods that serve as the base of the park, and give it depth for plantings. (Trees that size don’t often appear in brand new pier parks, and they are already providing shade.) When you are on the pier you don’t really sense the pods until you roll around a corner and catch a view of their massive bulk rising from below. But the view of the pier from afar is pure sculpture.

Since it was built as an arts destination, there are three performances spaces: the primary is the Amph, the gorgeous wood amphitheater on the western edge. (You can’t see it unless you walk to the far side of the park.) Then there’s a miniature stage for smaller performances in what they are calling The Glade on the southern edge (it will also host daily art programs at 11a for kids) and the plaza will also be programmed occasionally. There are already four artists-in-residence, and executive director Trish Santini promised that once the programming gets started, there will be impromptu performances like the ones we saw yesterday to provide “surprise and delight.”

The island has a capacity of 2000, but to keep things manageable and comfortable in the time of covid, they are limiting the crowd to 800. I take issue with this — the last thing any of us need right now is to be turned away at a public park — but we will see how that goes.

What else? There are three significant overlooks, one of which is a perch 60 feet over the river that gives a spectacular view of downtown. The eastern most overlook faces the Standard Hotel. And of course the most radical and fun feature: Diller licensed the entire park for liquor, so you can actually sit or stroll in the park, refreshment in hand.

That simple thing went a long way for me toward bringing back the joy of living in this city.

Oh, and don’t miss the bathrooms.