Neighborhood

 

Last night brought the opening of an art exhibition inspired, in part, by the High Line.

Today's Guest post is by FHL Co-Founder Robert Hammond on one of his favorite places to eat in the neighborhood:

"A few weeks ago I walked into Tom Colicchio's restaurantCraftsteak to show some friends Stephen Hannock's amazing painting Chelsea Winter with Elevated Park; New York High Line.  Stephen painted the High Line in 2006, right before construction began, using a rooftop perspective and collaged images from Friends of the High Line. It's really something to see up close if you haven't, and a good excuse to swing by this great restaurant.

I had been meaning to make it to Tom's  recently launched Halfsteak – a  more casual  restaurant in the  front dining room of Craftsteak that opened a few months ago. We ended up having dinner there and it did not cost much more than good take-out food. The burger is $11.50 and it comes with delicious fries. You can also order any items off of the main dining room menu if you have your heart set on any of their seasonal side dishes or steaks.

The restaurant is a stone's throw from our 14th and 16th Street entrances to the High Line and is a perfect place to watch the sun set across the Hudson River, so after a walk on the High Line this summer, stop in for a 'Half Pint' and a 'Halfsteak'.

 

Today, a new accolade! For the first time, an article about the High Line made it to the "most-emailed" list on the New York Times web site.

The article, called "The High Line: A Railway Out of Manhattan", captures the special atmosphere up on the line – "almost a small town in the air... It even inspires crusty New Yorkers to behave as if they were strolling down Main Street."

As a park visitor explained in the article: "Here people tend to be more friendly...Those same people, you might see them someplace else and, you know," she broke off, raising her eyebrows, "they're kind of stressed."

 

A recent article in the Gotham Gazette documents the perks of a good park, far beyond its immediate function as a facility for recreation and rest. According to "The Central Park Effect", Central Park attracts more than 25 million visitors a year, about one fifth of whom come from outside the city. Spending by these visitors directly and indirectly accounted for $395 million in economic activity. This activity, as well as increases in property values near the park, generated $656 million in revenues for the city in 2007.

In its first week, the High Line attracted more than 70,000 visitors. According to the New York Times, City officials have predicted that development sparked by the High Line as a public park will bring $4 billion in private investment and $900 million in revenues to the city over the next 30 years.

Despite the clouds, the High Line has welcomed thousands of visitors so far today, during the first weekend that Section 1 has been open.

 

Today's blog post was guest written by one of our new Greeters, Claudia Berger.
Today I was on the High Line for its first morning in operation. I was very impressed by how determined people were to see it– not even the rain could stop them. Visitors braved the rain, but none of them felt it wasn't worth it. The morning attracted not only die-hard fans of the High Line, but some curious opponents. However, even in the rain, they could not help but enjoy it. One visitor told me she was determined to hate the High Line, but spent her time up there in awe. She loved it, rain and all.

The Standard Hotel (you may have heard of it) will serve as the welcome center to this year's Meatpacking District Design Week. From May 14th - May 17th the Meatpacking District Initiative will host various events and exhibits throughout the neighborhood, including a viewing of the architectural model for the planned Whitney Museum of American Art on Gansevoort Street--future home of the High Line Maintenance + Operations headquarters.

Our neighbor the Standard Hotel landed a nice New York Times review by Nicolai Ouroussoff yesterday. Ouroussoff points to the Standard's architects, Polshek Partnership,  as an example of a trend toward more "serious" firms looking for "the right balance between innovation and restraint."

As if we needed another reason to save the High Line at the Rail Yards.