FHL E-Mail Newsletter
December 09, 2002
IN THIS ISSUE
Legal
News: FHL Wins Favorable Federal Ruling
On November 25, 2002, the Surface Transportation Board (STB), in Washington,
DC, issued a decision favorable to Friends of the High Line.
The STB denied a petition for a declaratory order requested by Chelsea
Property Owners (CPO), proponents of High Line demolition. In brief,
CPO had asked the STB to declare that New York City's 2012 Olympic bid,
which includes a proposal to build a stadium at the 30th Street Rail
Yards, would make it impossible to convert the High Line into a public,
elevated walkway through the federal "rail-banking" program.
FHL filed a brief in opposition to CPO's request, citing the many undecided
issues that currently surround both the Olympic bid and the High Line
reuse initiative. The STB decided in favor of FHL, denying the petition
for a declaratory order, stating, "there is no reason to institute
a declaratory order proceeding to resolve issues that may never arise."
Two other High Line-related cases are still pending before the STB.
Both await filings from the City of New York, which are due on December
17, 2002, before they can be decided. In addition, a decision is pending
on CPO's appeal of FHL's State Supreme Court victory last March. FHL
will report decisions in any of these cases via this email newsletter
.
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High
Line Design Competition Prepares to Launch
FHL will launch its eagerly anticipated design competition later this
month. The open, one-stage ideas competition will challenge entrants
to create compelling visions for a new, urban, public space on 1.45
miles of existing New York City infrastructure—the High Line.
Specifically, entrants will be encouraged to define a comprehensive
vision for the High Line; to identify design solutions to the challenge
of providing universal (A.D.A.- compliant) access to the structure's
elevated platform; and to provide a creative response to the High Line's
urban context—especially the structure's unique ability to interact
with existing and future construction. The contest will culminate in
a well-publicized exhibition at a high-profile Manhattan venue, accompanied
by a publication and a website.
Who can enter: The competition is open to architects, landscape architects,
planners, engineers, artists, community members, and all other interested
parties. Multi-disciplinary teams are encouraged to enter.
Registration fee: $100 for individual/team entries. Architecture schools
can pay a per-studio fee of $300 and enter up to 15 separate student
entries.
Deadlines: Registrations will be accepted between the competition's
launch, in mid-December 2002, and April 4, 2003. Deadline for submissions:
May 5, 2003.
Jurors: Architects Steven Holl, Bernard Tschumi, and Marilyn Jordan
Taylor; curator Lynne Cook, of Dia Center for the Arts; a FHL representative;
and four additional jurors, to be announced.
For more info: Following the official launch, the competition guidelines,
registration forms, and background research will be available at www.thehighline.org/competition.
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Save
the Date: January 29th Benefit Party at Diane von Furstenberg's
To help us launch the design competition with the excitement and festivity
it deserves, Diane von Furstenberg has generously offered to host a
party at her West Village studio, a few blocks south of the High Line's
Gansevoort Street terminus.
January 29th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
DVF Studio
389 West 12th Street
Tickets start at $75
To reserve, call (212) 631-9188, or email dahlia@thehighline.org
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Support
FHL in 2003 with a Year-End Tax-Deductible Donation
Friends of the High Line has had an extraordinarily successful 2002—but
none of it could have happened without the help of supporters like you.
Please consider giving a year-end tax-deductible gift and help make
2003 the year the High Line becomes an integral part of New York City's
plans for a magnificent future.
To make an online credit-card donation via the secure PayPal** online
transaction system, click the DONATE button below:
To donate via postal
mail, please mail checks to Friends of the High Line, Hudson Guild,
Room 225, 441 West 26th Street, New York, NY, 10001.
Just a few
of our 2002 accomplishments:
| • |
In October
we completed a comprehensive feasibility study that identified the
economic benefits that the City will receive through the creation
of a public open space on the High Line. Since then, we have been
reviewing the study with key decision-makers. |
| • |
In August we
filed with the federal Surface Transportation Board requesting they
reconsider a decade-old decision that opened the door to demolition
proposals. |
| • |
In August we
moved to new offices in the Hudson Guild, a vital community service
organization just steps from the High Line. |
| • |
In March we
won a major legal victory when a State Supreme Court justice found
the outgoing Giuliani administration's signing of a demolition proposal
was unlawful. |
| • |
In February,
"Reclaiming the High Line," our pioneering reuse study,
produced with the Design Trust for Public Space, was published by
AOL Time Warner and exhibited at the Municipal Arts Society. |
With your help,
2003 will be even more successful. We will continue our successful legal
strategy to ensure the High Line is preserved. And we will work with
the City, the State, and the community to integrate a beautifully designed
open space atop the High Line into future plans for the Far West Side.
Please support us if you can. All donations, large or small, are crucial
to the continued success of a project that will add beauty and energy
to the Far West Side for generations to come.
To make an
online credit-card donation via the secure PayPal** online transaction
system, click the DONATE button below:
DONATE!
CLICK BUTTON. |
|
DONATE!
CLICK BUTTON. |
To donate via a personal or business check, please mail check to Friends
of the High Line, Hudson Guild, Room 225, 441 West 26th Street, New York,
NY, 10001.
** PayPal is an account-based
system that lets anyone with an email address securely send and receive
online payments using their credit card or bank account.
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Friends of The
High Line is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation
and reuse of the High Line, an elevated rail structure on the West Side
of Manhattan. For more information please visit the FHL website at www.thehighline.org
or send e-mail to info@thehighline.org.
PLEASE NOTE NEW FHL OFFICE ADDRESS & CONTACT INFO
Friends of the High Line
Hudson Guild
441 West 26th Street, Room 225
New York, NY 10001
(212) 631-9188
(212) 631-9185 fax
info@thehighline.org
http://www.thehighline.org
If you would like to remove yourself from our e-mail list, please send
an e-mail to unsubscribe@thehighline.org
with the word REMOVE in the SUBJECT line.
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