The High LineUrban Planning: City

HallErisa GjinajArts in NYC 10.23.12

Timeline

The High Line project was first initiated through public support.

After much debate, it gained city support on behalf of Friends of the High Line (David & Hammond). City support – a City Council resolution advocating for the High Line’s reuse in March 2002.

October 2002: Studies are used to economically rationalize the project. The intake of new tax revenue through the use of such public space is shown to outweigh the cost of production.

City policy is constructed to preserve the High Line. The City files with the federal Surface Transportation Board for railbanking.

Two years later, the State of New York, CSX Transportation, Inc., the City of New York, and the Surface Transportation Board jointly file to railbank the High Line.

June 2005: The Surface Transportation Board issues a Certificate of Interim Trail Use for the High Line, enabling construction.

November 2005: The City takes ownership of the High Line from CSX Transportation, Inc. (as donated by the company).

April 2006: The first phase of construction on Section 1 of the High Line begins. The moment is celebrated with the lifting of a rail track.

Timeline (Cont’d)

Government

During the Giuliani Administration (1994-2001), the High Line was destined for demolition.

In 2002, the Bloomberg Administration backed the project, requesting authorization from the United States Surface Transportation Board to create a rail banked trail on the site.

As a result, the area had spurred residential and commercial development, benefiting the city both economically and culturally.

Funding

Section 1 & 2: $152.3 million

Design & Construction (opened area): $86.2 million

Government Funding:

City - $112.2 million

Federal Government – $20.3 million

State - $400,000

Remaining costs are covered by public and private organizations.

Future September 20, 2012

Mayor Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, and Friends of the High Line Co-Founders Joshua David and Robert Hammond marked the start of construction on the third and final section of the High Line.

It is to be located between West 30th and West 34th Streets (north and south), and 10th and 12th Avenues (east and west). This extends a half mile beyond the current northern end of the High Line.

The extension is estimated to be $90 million and will occur in 3 phases (the first is projected to be open in 2014). It is to be funded by public and private means.

The High Line is property of the City of New York and under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks & Recreation.

Sources http://www.thehighline.org/about/high-line-

history

http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2012b%2Fpr275-12.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1

http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2012/09/20/groundbreaking-at-the-rail-yards

http://www.nycedc.com/project/high-line