Island Mentality

• mentality

  • n.心态；智力；精神力；头脑作用

• island

  • n.岛屿； adj.岛的 ； vt.孤立，使成岛状

• bury

  • vt.埋葬；隐藏 ( 单三 buries)

• penal 美 [ˈpiːnl]

  • adj.刑事的；刑罚的
  • penal colony （罪犯的）流放地

• former 美 [ˈfɔːrmər]

  • adj.从前的，前者的，前任的
  • n.模型，样板；起形成作用的人

• manmade 美 [ˈmænˈmeɪd]

  • n.人工制品；合成品
  • adj.人造的（等于man-made）

• rest on

  • 停留在；依靠；被搁在；信赖；基于

• footpath

  • n.人行道；小路；小径

• eye-catching

  • adj. 引人注目的；耀眼的；显著的

• whimsical 美 [ˈwɪmzɪkl]

  • adj. 古怪的；异想天开的；反复无常的

• delight

  • n. 高兴
  • vi. 高兴
  • vt. 使高兴

• obsolete 美 [ˌɑːbsəˈliːt]

  • adj. 废弃的；老式的
  • n. 废词；陈腐的人
  • vt. 淘汰；废弃

• freight

  • n. 货运；运费；船货
  • v. 运送；装货；使充满

• convert to

  • 转换至

• Like its neighbour the High Line, an obsolete freight track converted to public space which (in the before times) drew 8m visitors a year, it will be much visited.

• Brit

  • n.英国人

• a Brit with a talent for eye-catching public designs

• characteristically

  • adv. 典型地；表示特性地

• enliven

  • vt. 使活泼；使生动；使有生气，使活跃
  • enliven=liven up 使更有生气

• mancap

  • adj.狂妄的；鲁莽的
  • n.鲁莽的人

• brainchild 美 [ˈbreɪntʃaɪld]

  • n. 脑力劳动的产物

• mogul 美 [,mo'ɡʌl]

  • n. 大亨，有权势的人，显要人物；莫卧儿人；雪丘，滑道隆起点；重型蒸汽机车

• keen to do

  • 热衷于…… ；渴望于……

• intervene

  • vi. 干涉；调停；插入

• afloat 美 [əˈfloʊt]

  • adj. 漂浮的，不沉的；在船（或艇）上的；经济上周转得开的，不欠债的；能维持下去的；在传播的，当前的；海上的；浸水的
  • adv. 飘浮著；在船（或艇）上地；摆脱债务；在流传中，当前；浸满水；在海上

• folly

  • n. 愚蠢；荒唐事；讽刺剧

• dictate

  • vt. 命令；口述；使听写
  • vi. 口述；听写
  • n. 命令；指示

• delay

  • v. 延期；（使）耽搁；推迟
  • n. 延迟的时间；延期；延时；延迟器

• catalyst

  • n. [物化] 催化剂；刺激因素

• recovery

  • n. 恢复，复原；痊愈；重获

• redevelopment

  • n. 重新开发，重建；改建；重点恢复

• leased

  • v. 出租；租用；租借（lease 的过去式和过去分词）

• pier

  • n. 码头，直码头；桥墩；窗间壁

• lift restrictions

  • 解除限制

• The island opened just as the city begins to lift restrictions.

• tulip 美 [ˈtuːlɪp]

  • n. 郁金香

• as of

  • 自……起；到…时候为止；从....开始

• garnish

  • v. 装饰（尤指食物）；（为合法扣押属于债务人或被告的钱财）传讯（第三方）
  • n. （为增加色香味而添加的）配菜，装饰品

Island mentality

New York’s newest island reflects the city’s spirit

Mix a hurricane, a billionaire backer, a British designer and plenty of lawsuits. Garnish with tulips

Depending on tide levels, New York City is made up of 40-odd islands. Some are famous, like Ellis Island, where 12m immigrants officially entered America. Hart Island is where the city buries its poor. Rikers Island is a penal colony. But mostly, as former mayor, Michael Bloomberg once noted, “New York City’s smaller islands are our secret treasures.” Governor’s Island is a car-free park. City Island is a fishing village. As of May 21st, New York has a new, manmade, one: Little Island.

Little Island rests on 132 concrete “tulips” of different heights, which create rolling hills and winding footpaths over 2.4 acres (1 hectare). Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, a Brit with a talent for eye-catching public designs, the island is a whimsical delight. Like its neighbour the High Line, an obsolete freight track converted to public space which (in the before times) drew 8m visitors a year, it will be much visited.

It is also characteristically New York, a city enlivened by madcap projects. This one was the brainchild of Barry Diller, a billionaire media mogul. Mr Diller was asked to help rebuild a pier destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. He was keen to do something more architecturally ambitious. The project faced several legal challenges: its creator almost gave up on what had become known as Diller’s folly. Then Andrew Cuomo, New York’s governor, intervened to keep it afloat.

Mr Diller’s and his wife Diane von Furstenberg’s foundation spent $260m on Little Island. It will continue to maintain the island for the next 20 years. He says he understands people who say, “Why should somebody with money dictate what public places are like?” But, he says, that misses the point. Having the resources means he can “braze it through” while public officials delay.

The island opened just as the city begins to lift restrictions. Dan Doctoroff, Mr Bloomberg’s deputy mayor, who steered the city’s tilt toward the west side, sees Little Island as a catalyst for New York’s recovery. It is also part of the west side’s rebirth, which includes the High Line (Mr Diller and his wife were early champions of that too) and Hudson Yards, a huge redevelopment project. Google has leased some of the pier next door. To the south a garage for rubbish lorries is being converted to a sports field and a sandy beach. “The key,” Mr Doctoroff says, is to “create conditions where people want to do extraordinary things.”

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline "Island mentality" (May 29th 2021**)