NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced a proposal to extend the High Line in Manhattan to give pedestrians seamless access to the elevated pathway from the recently opened Moynihan Train Hall as part of the 2021 State of the State.
The extension project would begin this year and build an L-shaped connection from the 10th Avenue terminus of the High Line to Brookfield's Manhattan West public space.
"This will be the most ambitious redevelopment that New York City has seen in decades," Cuomo said. "This connection is part of a district-wide redevelopment of the West Side that will jumpstart the private market in a post-COVID world."
ACcording to the governor's proposal, the project will extend the existing High Line eastward at 10th Avenue and 30th Street along Dyer Avenue to the mid-block between 9th and 10th Avenues, at which point it will turn north and connect into the elevated public space.
The public space would then terminate on 9th Avenue directly across from the entrance to the Farley Building and the new Moynihan Train Hall.
As Midtown West continues its transformation into a burgeoning commercial and residential neighborhood in Manhattan, strategically extending the High Line in these locations would create new public space and also addresses community concerns about pedestrian access between Penn Station and Hudson Yards and surrounding areas, according to the governor.
This would be the first phase of two planned extensions of the High Line, which is New York's most popular elevated park and its extension will offer a safe passage for commuters, residents, and tourists the area through Midtown West, from the new Moynihan Train Hall all the way to Pier 76 in Hudson River Park.
The second phase will extend the northwestern end of the High Line, which currently terminates at 34th Street and 12th Avenue, northward past the Javits Center before turning west to cross the West Side Highway and end at Pier 76, the next great public pier in Hudson River Park.
"The central element of Brookfield's Manhattan West complex will be a 2-acre landscaped public plaza that will be surrounded by 240,000 square feet of curated restaurants and shops and enlivened year-round with public events, art installations and an ice rink programmed, in part, by the NHL," Brookfield Property Group Managing Partner Ben Brown said.
