9/3/2014
By Ivan Pereira
The final section for the High Line will open at the end of the month, giving visitors nearly 30 blocks of elevated green space, the park’s organizers announced Thursday.
An opening ceremony will take place on Sept. 21 at the northern most section near 30th Street followed by a week of events for the public. Joshua David, Friends of the High Line co-founder and president, said the events would serve as a thank you to the elected officials, New Yorkers and other people who made the 15-year-old project a reality.
“The opening of the High Line at the Rail Yards will be a momentous occasion for all of us … who gave their time, energy, and funding over the years to save the High Line from demolition, and re-imagine the very notion of what a public space could be,” he wrote in a letter to supporters.
The third section, which is called High Line at the Rail Yards, spans from 30th Street and 10th Avenue, west to the curve near 12th Avenue, and extends north to 34th Street. It overlooks the Hudson Rail Yards site, which is being developed into residential and commercial towers and a park.
The park includes newly planted trees, grass and flowers and several seating areas for visitors to take in the view of the west side 30 feet in the air. With the completion of the third section, the High Line will stretch from 34th Street to Gansevoort Street.
More than four million people have visited the High Line annually since its opening in 2009, its organizers said.
