Manhattan, NY – An elevated railway line which once carried freight over the tough streets of New York’s Meatpacking District reopened Monday as the city’s newest and trendiest park.
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Snaking on trestles through the fashionable lower Manhattan neighborhood, the High Line Park combines views of the Hudson River, wild vegetation, and echoes of New York’s industrial history.
The park follows a rail line dating to the 1930s and seemed fated for the wrecking ball, like other relics of the city’s grittier past, after the final freight train rumbled over in 1980.
“Rather than destroying this valuable piece of our history, we have recycled it into an innovative and exciting park that will provide more outdoor space for our citizens and create jobs and economic benefits for our City,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced at the opening ceremony, his office said.
“Ten years ago, detractors thought the High Line was an eyesore. Thankfully, there were a handful of people who looked at the High Line and saw also an extraordinary gift to our city?s future. Today, we will unwrap that gift,” he added.
A first section was due to open to the public on Tuesday, with a second section, stretching 10 city blocks, set to be completed some time next year.
A similar project has been built in Paris, but the High Line Park is the first of its kind in the United States, the mayor’s office said.
Inspiration for the 152-million-dollar project came during the years when the line was abandoned and fans noticed wild, self-seeding vegetation conquer the disused tracks.
Those tracks remain, as do the original Art-Deco railings, all blending into new pathways, seats angled toward the sunset, and naturalistic style planting.
The park is already a hotspot for the city’s trendy elite. Designer Diane von Furstenberg is one of the A-list backers of the project and last week several Hollywood actors attended a champagne preview.
someone was wondering where the city should start cutting expenses from, they suggested it should be from the day-care, child care vouchers, isn’t this article a perfect example of where we should start cutting – 152 million dollars???? just a thought. also how about all those dumb looking waterfalls that resemble a leakage in a watermain coming out of the brooklyn bridge rather than niagra falls????
for this the city has money!!!!!
#1 and #2 , Myself, being involved in Real Estate in the city, I can tell you that this is in the plans since 2005, the city will earn 10X its money back from all the high priced condominiums in Chelsea, surrounding this park……
I hope they removed the third rail.
here go the complainers be happy you guys are getting something .
They anyway wont ask you how to spend the money
I can’t wait to walk it, sure it costs money, but so does upkeep in Central Park. Parks and trees make this city more liveable, reduce pollution, give niches for wildlife to thrive, and are places for us to enjoy close by instead of having to drive or travel to enjoy.
Who in his right mind would criticize this?
an already weakened and old elevated trestle risks being further damaged by growing roots… this is a disaster waiting to happen that will cost more $$$ in the long run. better that they just removed it entirely in the first place, and then built a park
this is a wonderful,beautiful idea .bravo to the designers and achitects.
dear askupeh when did u become so shy why all of a sudden are you perhaps a bit under the weather and nuch burabim ur modeh de viest gurnisht is it only here and now or will this hold the next time somthing Yiddish comes up as well or is it that when it comes to Torah bisteh a mavin mer foon yeden afilu the gedolim.
The tracks are fine until someone trips on them and sues the city for 20 million dollars.
The 152 million dollars could have feed an incredible amount of hungry people in NYC for a long time, but I guess King Bloombergs ego needed to be feed again. Just imagine what organizations like Masbia could have done with that amount of $$.
This is part of a bigger problem. Rezoning industrial zones for residential use. All these middle class manufacturing jobs do not exist and the tax base now comes from wealthy citizens while driving out the middle class.. The rift between middle and wealthy will continue because the manufacturing jobs that left to overseas are not coming back. This has already impacted middle America but it’s only a matter of time before the big cities will face this widening chasm and crime will increase and qualtiy of life will decrease.