For those of you who have n’t had a probability to call theHigh Lineyet , I ’m sorry to have to tell you that it ’s over . Already . At least according toa New York Times op - edby Jeremiah Moss , in which the author condemns the West Side raise park compactly :
The High Line has become a tourist - clogged catwalk and a catalyst for some of the most rapid gentrification in the urban center ’s chronicle . …
Not yet four years old , the High Line has already become another closure on the must - see inclination for out - of - towner , another chapter in the story of New York City ’s transformation into Disney World . agree to the park ’s Web site,3.7 million peoplevisited the High Line in 2011 , only one-half of them New Yorkers .
As an out - of - towner , therefore , my opinion should n’t count , but I do disagree with Moss ’s negative conclusion while concord with many of his points . It ’s true that hordes of holidaymaker come to New York ; they call in the Statue of Liberty , the museums , the theaters , the Empire State Building , and , finally , some make their room to the High Line . It wo n’t be a news flashing to anyone that Manhattan is a tourer town — in fact , despite all the money London spend to host the Olympics , the NYC tourism numbers racket were easily gamy during the same two weeks .
The High Line is also blamed for the gentrification of the neighborhood through which it wend :
While the park began as a pasturage - solution endeavor — albeit a well - heeled one — it quick became a tool for the Bloomberg administration ’s creation of a new , upscale , corporatized stretch along the West Side .
The polishing of NYC ’s granular edges has been going on for some time . area of the Lower East Side that were grimy and somewhat dangerous when I lived there in the eighty are now lined with upscale restaurants , shops , and apartments . ( In fact , a Low Line underground parkland has been proposedfor an fresh trolley terminal below Delancey and Essex . )
Blaming project like gamey Line for gentrification is kind of like fault the egg for the chicken . For Manhattan , that ship has been in full sail for decades — with a fresher gentrification battle run low on in Brooklyn and elsewhere . Maintaining diverseness in booming cities is a job , and I suppose the High Line could be used as a symbolic representation of that job .
The park was not uncomfortably crowded when we walk it . The experience reminded me — somewhat — of inflict the Christo / Jeanne - Claude installation in Central Park eight days ago . All were there to consider the same thing , which had to be walked through to be experienced . There was a notion of companionship , as corny as that may sound . The fact that many others were there was carry , and not unpleasant .
I found the High Line to be a pure compounding of my two abiding interest — fine art and horticulture . As a curated wildflower experience in the middle of a city , it present gardening through the lens of urban existence in an entirely novel design — and vice versa . That ’s a triumphant acquirement . And it ’s enough for me .
