Rail Yards Hearing a Great Success!

railyards1Thanks to everyone who turned up this morning in support of  the High Line at the City Council hearing on the Eastern Rail Yards rezoning. The committee room and another, larger overflow room were both filled to capacity with High Line supporters wearing  “Save the High Line” T-shirts. (To everyone who came, you sure do look sexy in red!) Thanks also to those who took their time to testify to the Committee– so many passionate and well-spoken New Yorkers certainly made a big impression.

At the end of the meeting, the Council’s Committee on Zoning and Franchises voted to approve the text amendments. This was what we had expected from the meeting– still no definitive decision has been made on the High Line at the rail yards. The process of securing the High Line’s full preservation will be a long one.  High Line supporters will need to be both patient and tenacious to help ensure that all parties involved take steps to ensure the High Line’s full preservation at the rail yards.

We’ll report back soon with more info on what the next steps are.

In the meantime, if you haven’t yet gotten your High Line fix, tune in to Charlie Rose tonight to see Ricardo Scofidio and Elizabeth Diller, part of the High Line design team, talk about their latest projects.

Freshkills Park Blog and Tours

Fresh Kills Park

[Aerial rendering of Freshkills Park, via flickr.]

Freshkills Park, our other favorite future New York City Park designed by Field Operations, recently launched a blog. Updated by members of the team developing the park at the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the Freshkills Park Blog is a great source for photos, updates, and lots of fascinating information about the largest park to be developed in New York City in more than 100 years.

Check out the blog for more information about free public tours of Freshkills Park, which begin this Saturday, April 4th, and continue every other week through the fall. (If you’re looking for something to do after checking out the site, the blog also offers daytrip suggestions [PDF] for the area.)

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