The Friends of the High Line Park is studying the formation of a business improvement district for the elevated park whose first section between Gansevoort and 20th Streets opened this week.
Peter Mullan, a member of the civic organization, told a meeting last night of the Waterfront and Parks Committee of Community Board 4 that no signs, no dogs and no bicycles are allowed at the park and that his organization is proceeding "extremely cautiously" about access.
Michael Brady, the administrator for the park for the city's Parks Department, said that the present park can accommodate only 623 people at a time and has five access points and is open from 7 A.M. to 10 P.M.
The Friends of the Park will hold a benefit Monday night to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the railway and the 10th anniversary of efforts to preserve it. The party will honor some major patrons of the park such as Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, who both have offices near the structure and recently contributed a total of $10 million to it, and Philip and Lisa Marie Falcone, who also gave it $10 million.
The park has been designed by James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio Renfro, with plantings by Piet Oudolf.
The first two segments of the park are projected to cost $152 million and Friends of the High Line has raised $44 million, Mayor Bloomberg declared at the opening ceremony. The city has committed $112.2 million to the project, and The Friends will be responsible for 70 percent of the cost of maintaining the High Line. New York State has contributed more than $23 million.
Work is expected to begin shortly on the second phase of the elevated park, which runs north to the "Hudson Yards," the western half of which was the subject of a public forum Wednesday night held by Community Board 4.
Anna Levin the chair of the Hudson Yards Advisory Committee said that the community's priority at the project was permanent affordable housing, the creation of parking and cultural facilities and the preservation of the High Line, which wraps around most of the site.
Tishman Speyer Properties was chosen from five development teams that submitted plans to develop the large site, but it withdrew and the city then awarded it to the Related Companies.
According to a report in today's on-line edition of the New York Observer by Joe Pompeo and Elliot Brown Vishaan Chakrabarti, Related's executive vice president of design & planning, reiterated the goals stated by Ms. Levin "as well as the creation of a public school and promoting sustainability," adding that the school "would be a 120,000-square-foot, 750-seat facility for grades K-8."
Mr. Chakrabarti was also reported to have said that Related's plans called for the creation of 2.2 million square feet of office space and 4.4 million square feet of residential space, two 800-car garages beneath the parks and buildings, and that the High Line would be "integrated into the new design."
The 26-acre site recently entered the city's Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) and various community board committees have begun studying various aspects of the proposal.
Peter Mullan, a member of the civic organization, told a meeting last night of the Waterfront and Parks Committee of Community Board 4 that no signs, no dogs and no bicycles are allowed at the park and that his organization is proceeding "extremely cautiously" about access.
Michael Brady, the administrator for the park for the city's Parks Department, said that the present park can accommodate only 623 people at a time and has five access points and is open from 7 A.M. to 10 P.M.
The Friends of the Park will hold a benefit Monday night to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the railway and the 10th anniversary of efforts to preserve it. The party will honor some major patrons of the park such as Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, who both have offices near the structure and recently contributed a total of $10 million to it, and Philip and Lisa Marie Falcone, who also gave it $10 million.
The park has been designed by James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio Renfro, with plantings by Piet Oudolf.
The first two segments of the park are projected to cost $152 million and Friends of the High Line has raised $44 million, Mayor Bloomberg declared at the opening ceremony. The city has committed $112.2 million to the project, and The Friends will be responsible for 70 percent of the cost of maintaining the High Line. New York State has contributed more than $23 million.
Work is expected to begin shortly on the second phase of the elevated park, which runs north to the "Hudson Yards," the western half of which was the subject of a public forum Wednesday night held by Community Board 4.
Anna Levin the chair of the Hudson Yards Advisory Committee said that the community's priority at the project was permanent affordable housing, the creation of parking and cultural facilities and the preservation of the High Line, which wraps around most of the site.
Tishman Speyer Properties was chosen from five development teams that submitted plans to develop the large site, but it withdrew and the city then awarded it to the Related Companies.
According to a report in today's on-line edition of the New York Observer by Joe Pompeo and Elliot Brown Vishaan Chakrabarti, Related's executive vice president of design & planning, reiterated the goals stated by Ms. Levin "as well as the creation of a public school and promoting sustainability," adding that the school "would be a 120,000-square-foot, 750-seat facility for grades K-8."
Mr. Chakrabarti was also reported to have said that Related's plans called for the creation of 2.2 million square feet of office space and 4.4 million square feet of residential space, two 800-car garages beneath the parks and buildings, and that the High Line would be "integrated into the new design."
The 26-acre site recently entered the city's Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) and various community board committees have begun studying various aspects of the proposal.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
6sqft delivers the latest on real estate, architecture, and design, straight from New York City.
