admin's blog

In addition to all the shoveling the High Line staff did to keep the park open this weekend, our temporary Maintenance & Operations facility has been moved down to the southern entrance of the High Line, at street level. In order to get ready for the joining of Section 1 to Section 2 (still under construction) the M&O trailers (where our gardeners, maintenance workers, and Rangers house equipment and offices) were moved 10 blocks south, just west of the Gansevoort Stairway.

M&O container being lifted off of the 20th Street location and moved to ground level
at Gansevoort & Washington Streets. Photo by Jenny Staley.

The trailers and containers were crane-lifted off the High Line and loaded onto flatbed trucks that transported everything to their new southern location, where they will rest until construction for the new Whitney Museum begins at Gansevoort and Washington Street, adjacent to the High Line.

Container being set down into its new location just west of the Gansevoort Entrance.
Photo by Jenny Staley.

If you haven't already caught glimpses of the High Line dressed in white, check out this snow-strewn photo that our Maintenance & Operations staff took this weekend.

The Diller - von Furstenberg Sundeck under a white blanket.

In order to clear the snow, the crew used various tools and equipment including: a Bobcat mini-tracker with spinning broom, power brooms, push brooms, snow-blowers, shovels, and eco-friendly ice melt. Brooms (and power brooms) are the best way to remove snow safely and efficiently from the concrete planking and pathways.

We are proud to announce that the High Line has been bestowed with an award from the U.S. section of the International Association of Art Critics: First Prize for "Best Show in a Public Space."  I have the honor of accepting this award at a reception at the Guggenheim Museum, alongside esteemed colleagues. A complete list of awardees is here (PDF).  Thank you AICA USA!

The Manhattan Borough President's office is currently accepting applications for community board membership! Community boards are charged with representing community interests on crucial issues of development, land use, zoning, and city service delivery. Serving on a board is an incredible opportunity to make changes in your community, advise your elected officials on the issues you care about, and be at the forefront of sound community-based planning decisions.

The pathway system's substructure at 28th Street, ready to be planked.

Even on frigid days like last Friday, with icy winds whipping off the Hudson, our construction team is busy at work building the landscape on Section 2 (20th Street to 30th Street). For weeks now, the team has been laying the substructure for the High Line's planking system. It's a painstaking process which involves endless measuring and leveling with a series of tiny shims to make sure the path lies completely flat despite the imperfect surface of the underlying concrete.

Friends of the High Line staff have known neighborhood resident Tommy Flamer for a long time. Before Section 1 opened, Tommy was a fixture at all of our Rail Yards hearings, community meetings, and public programs. We would often spot him walking underneath the High Line, looking up.  Always curious and ready to chat, his excitement and friendly demeanor led to quick friendships with many of us on staff. Since the park opened, Tommy sightings on the High Line have been commonplace.

When I finally got to sit down with Tommy on a brisk December evening to ask him some questions, I found an untapped treasure chest of historical information on the High Line and the surrounding neighborhood. Tommy has lived in Chelsea since 1968, and has lived in his current home on 18th Street since 1979. As a young man he worked as a stock boy at the now defunct Valley Drugs, a pharmacy on 14th Street and 7th Avenue, and then as an elevator operator in London Terrace and at the Leo House.