High Line | The New York Observer

High Line Keeps Going

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:56:00 -0400

The full, 1.5-mile vision for the High Line Park inched one step closer to completion today, with the first concrete indication that the city will acquire the northern third of the elevated rail line.

At a City Planning Commission meeting this afternoon, chair Amanda Burden said the commission is preparing the paperwork for the city to purchase the stretch--between 30th and 34th Streets and the spur over Tenth Avenue--all of which is currently owned by...

The High Line Gets The Whitney

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:18:02 -0400

The Whitney Museum has signed a contract with the New York City Economic Development Corporation to buy space for a new museum near the High Line entrance. At $18 million, the price tag was about half the property's appraised value.The Whitney has been trying for years to expand beyond its Marcel Breuer-designed building on the Upper East Side, and had been thwarted by uptown neighbors before reaching an agreement for this space three years...

Your Open House: Nobody Needs the High Line, But...

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:56:15 -0400

Pouring rain: bad for walking in the park, but apparently good for apartment hunting. Broker William Landhauser said that he had seen noticeably more people than usual at his Sunday open house, a Chelsea condo built by Douglaston Development just a few blocks from the High Line.

The condo, at 555 West 23rd Street, falls solidly within the business improvement district being considered to support the unexpectedly expensive park. Under the proposed...

High Life for the High Line; Ed Norton Fetes Park at Sweaty Gala

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:55:07 -0400

“Oh, here’s Donna Karan! We gotta let her in!” hissed a frantic publicist atop the newly opened High Line Park, even as Parks Department officials were turning away a steady stream of latecomers to the park’s opening bash, held atop its 16th Street section on Monday, June 15.

As guests overflowed, Friends of the High Line co-founder Joshua David descended from the elevated railway, flanked by police officers. “We’re at capacity,” he...

West Side Rail Yards Forum: High Line To Be Incorporated; 4.4 M. Feet of Residential; Fewer Retail Shops

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:50:35 -0400

Manhattan's Community Board 4 held a forum Wednesday night about the Related Companies' plans for developing the West Side Rail Yards--a site adjacent to the new High Line Park, which opened to the public on Monday to rave reviews.

Some quick background: Related, which the M.T.A. selected to develop the site (but hasn't yet signed a contract), wants to create a mix of residential and commercial space, as well as parks, a school and a cultural center, on a...

Who Will Be Seated at the High Line's $100,000 Dinner Tables on Monday?

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:25:55 -0400

On the evening of Monday, June 15, at 6 p.m., the High Line in Chelsea will host a big opening party to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the structure and the 10th anniversary of the the city's efforts to revive it. It will honor benefactors like actor Edward Norton; IAC chairman Barry Diller and his wife, designer Diane von Furstenberg; and hedge fund director Philip Falcone and wife Lisa Maria.

Earlier this month, Mr. Diller...

Activists Pressure Pols on Northern Turn of the High Line; It's in Related's Rail Yards

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:32:18 -0400

While the bushes are blooming on the soon-to-be-opened southern section of the High Line, a battle is blossoming at City Hall over the fate of the line’s northern section. The battle spawned a rally earlier this week, as activists on behalf of the park continue to demand public supervision of the line's northern spur.

On Tuesday morning, about 70 supporters of the High Line Park donned bright red “Save the...

Save the Spur: The Movie

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:21:42 -0500

Here’s another shot at Related Companies from Friends of the High Line, which made a short YouTube video advocating preservation of the High Line’s “spur” running through part of the West Side rail yards along 30th Street and across 10th Avenue, which Related has said it may want to demolish.

The meeting in the video was a community board forum on Monday night, where Related presented a small zoning change for the eastern...

Robert Hammond To Jerry Speyer: 'I've Seen This Movie Before'

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:51:36 -0400

Tishman Speyer, the newly-chosen developers of the West Side rail yards, would like to eliminate the northernmost spur of the High Line.

Friends of the High Line president and co-founder Robert Hammond doesn't believe it's going to happen—after all, he's already overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the conversion of the elevated railway into a new city park.

When he first went to Mayor Bloomberg, he said, "The Mayor said, 'Don't show us pretty pictures....

Halycon May Sell Off Recent High Line Buy as Gallery Condos

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:41:57 -0500

Halcyon Asset Management recently picked up a set of two properties next to the High Line for $48 million, 511 West 25th Street and 521-541 West 25th Street, according to city records.

So is the firm, as are so many landowners in the neighborhood, planning to shed the former industrial buildings-turned art galleries for new high-end apartments on the site?

Not quite, says Halcyon COO Thomas Hirschfeld.

“We...

Developers Want Easier Access to High Line Air Rights; But Should City Fix Something That Doesn’t Look Broken?

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 19:14:07 -0500

The allure of the High Line seems to be inspiring nearby landowners to grip their air rights tight, causing what some developers see as a shortage of development rights that could slow construction in the area surrounding the viaduct-turned-parkland.

The Real Estate Board of New York, responding to the concerns of multiple developers who were unable to find air rights to buy, has asked the city to consider changes to zoning regulations...

Larry Gluck Picks Up Building by High Line for $161 M.

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:30:46 -0500

Laurence Gluck apparently has an eye for the High Line. Mr. Gluck’s Stellar Management just paid $161 million for the large warehouse-like building at 450 West 16th Street, which borders the rail viaduct-turned parkland, according to city records.

The building, at eight stories and 286,000 square feet, according to PropertyShark, is home to Milk Studios, which offers space for artists.

As for the building’s future, no word yet from...

What Does the High Line Mean to You?

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:44:16 -0500

“I’m a little biased, but I think it’s great,” said Chelsea resident Brandon Sorlie of the High Line, the West Side “park in the sky” which has captured the philanthropic imagination of the city’s social and fashionable types.

Mr. Sorlie’s boyfriend, Rick Little, is the operations director for Friends of the High Line, the rail-bed’s indefatigable troupe of fundraisers, so Mr. Sorlie is no stranger to events like Friday’s Design Auction Preview Party at...

And He’s Building a Stairway to High Line

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:53:28 -0400

When developer André Balazs opens his swanky new 344-room Standard hotel on West 13th Street next year, his guests will enjoy some striking views.

They can peer out to the west and watch luxury cruise liners float down the Hudson River.

They can gaze down below at the lush foliage and scenic overlooks of the city’s elevated High Line Park, also slated to open in 2008.

And,...

Save The High Line?

Wed, 09 May 2007 13:45:47 -0400

State and city officials said Tuesday night that they would try to save the three northernmost blocks of the High Line when they choose private developers for the western rail yards, but they made no promises.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the six blocks worth of rail yards in the West 30s, will be asking bidders to submit two plans: one in...