Charitable Peachy: Friends of the High Line
The High Line is a New York City park built on a 1.45-mile-long elevated 1930s freight rail structure on Manhattan's West Side. It is managed by the non-profit organization Friends of the High Line under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. The first section, from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, opened in June, 2009. The second section, from 20th Street to 30th Street, will open in 2010.
The High Line is a free public park, open 7am - 10pm daily. Access points in Section 1 are located at Gansevoort Street, 14th Street, 16th Street, 18th Street, and 20th Street. An elevator and bathrooms are located at 16th Street.
Before the High Line was built, trains on New York City streets caused so many fatalities that 10th Avenue was called "Death Avenue." In the mid- 1800's, the City Council passed a measure requiring men on horseback to precede each train, waving pedestrians aside with a red flag. These men were known as "West Side Cowboys." The High Line was originally built in 1934 as part of a massive infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted train traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district. The High Line brought freight trains, carrying mostly food and agricultural goods, to the upper stories of factories and warehouses. Train traffic on the High Line began to decrease in the 1950s due to the rise of interstate trucking. Though the High Line used to extend to Spring Street, part of it was demolished in the 1960s, and another part was demolished in the 1990s. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980.
Friends of the High Line was founded in 1999 by two neighborhood residents, Joshua David and Robert Hammond, when the High Line was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line successfully worked with the administration of Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Council to reverse a City policy favoring demolition. The High Line is preserved through a Federal mechanism called railbanking in which preserves out-of-use transportation corridors and allows them to be used as trails.
The High Line's design team, James Corner Field Operations, architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro and planting designer Piet Oudolf, was selected following design competitions. The design is inspired by the landscape that grew on the High Line during the 25 years after the trains stopped running. The High Line landscape is made up of grasses, perennials, trees and bushes, similar to the High Line's original landscape. Plant species were chosen for their hardiness, sustainability, and textural and color variation, with a focus on native species. The steel Art-deco railings were restored, concrete pathways, lighting and seating were installed, and many of the original rail tracks were incorporated into the landscape.
The High Line from Gansevoort Street to 30th Street is owned by the City of New York and has been secured for dedicated use as a public park. However, the future of the section running around the perimeter of the West Side Rail Yards between 30th and 34th Streets - about one-third of the entire High Line - is still uncertain. At this site, part of structure might be demolished depending on a planning process between the Metropolitan Transit Authority (who owns the site), the City, and a private developer. Friends of the High Line is advocating for the full preservation of the High Line at the rail yards.
Friends of the High Line is a non-profit membership organization working in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. They are responsible for maintaining and operating the park, as well as planning public programs. They are responsible for raising approximately 70% of the High Line's annual operating costs. Funds are still needed to complete construction, pay for maintenance and operations, and for their public programming and advocacy work.
