The hedge fund billionaire, whose Pershing Square offices sit above the Range Rover dealership on 11th Avenue, funded a major new NYCHA playground and open-space renovation after years of walking past Harborview Terrace on his way to work in Hell’s Kitchen.
Bill Ackman races to the top of the jungle gym alongside Community Board Chair Leslie Boghosian Murphy and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal. Photo: Phil O’Brien
You don’t often find a hedge fund billionaire scrambling up a children’s jungle gym in the middle of a workday. But on Tuesday morning at Harborview Terrace Houses, Bill Ackman was among the first to test out the new Knicks-colored pyramid playground that his foundation helped pay for — enthusiastically scrambling onto the orange ropes after a ribbon-cutting with residents, NYCHA officials and local electeds.
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Publisher & Editor Phil O’Brien is an entrepreneur and journalist. As an international photojournalist, he photographed Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Princess Diana and many others. He built a successful international sports photography agency, EMPICS, that was Getty Images’ major competitor in Europe when it sold. He founded a children’s charity in the UK that has helped young people through sport for over 15 years. Phil has lived in New York since 2012. He founded W42ST in 2014.