Posted on 04/10/2006 4:59:28 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand
A team of New York-based architects led by Field Operations and Diller, Scofidio & Renfro has been selected to design a master plan that would transform an abandoned section of elevated freight track into a public park that would weave its way north from the meatpacking district to Hell's Kitchen, two stories above the city.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Bloomy promises (in that lifeless drone of his) that it'll be "the eighth wonder of the world, like the hanging gardens of Babylon."
As if New York needs to be more like Babylon (even if he has bought the fancy invisible clothes the designers offered him).
As the "Rails to trails" folks have found out, the upkeep of rail tressles in not an inexpensive matter. Maintaining an elevated rail yard as a garden will add nicely to my tax bill.
We already tried this in Chicago. It's called "Millenium Park" and has an overrun of $150 million and rising. NY does not need this.
I am NOT an expert on this, but what about this argument: the high line was built around 1930. It's now 75 years old, and still standing. Obviously, it was built to last.
Given that, wouldn't it be a good guess that these tracks would be difficult (expensive) to tear down? And wouldn't it be a further reasonable guess that a structure which has stood intact for 75 years might be inherently strong enough to require minimal upkeep? After all, parts of the Appian Way and the Roman Aqueducts are still standing, despite intervening centuries with NO maintenance.
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