Oh wow! Billionaire John Paulson, whose Fifth Avenue apartment overlooks Central Park, has donated $100 million to The Central Park Conservancy.
The Conservancy provides 80% of the yearly $45.8 million park budget and hence runs it. Now, if one of the billionaires perched in one of the Richard Meier glass towers were to right a check for one tenth of that amount, the Hudson River Park would make its $10 million yearly maintenance budget.
We asked Friends of Hudson River Park how much they have contributed since their start in 1999 – “approximately $30,” according to head AJ Pietratone. Developer Douglas Durst has been Chair of Friends since 2011. He is now working on a parallel funding effort a Neighborhood Improvement District that has as its objective, accessing the real estate along the five miles of the park to provide the funds needed to keep the park looking spiffy.
