High Line /
Hudson Yards
Rivers, Rail, and Reuse
Hudson Yards is often described as the worst place in Manhattan, and I’m not here to dispute that.
With that said, on this tour we will get into the context of the neighborhood and how HY, along with the High Line, is just the latest in a long series of rail-related projects that have defined this part of Manhattan Island!
High Line Infrastructour Highlights
Chelsea’s 10th and 11th Avenues, earned the nickname Death Avenue because of the mix of freight trains, cars, bicycles, and people who all came into conflict, with the injuries and fatalities seen as just the cost of doing business.
As seen above, cowboys were tasked with clearing the way for the surface-level freight trains that would deliver goods after passing through the 30th St Depot
The High Line emerged as a solution to the madness - elevating the freight rail above street-grade level to speed deliveries and avoid collisions. As a part of the broader West Side Improvement Project, Robert Moses and other NYC leaders sought to create infrastructure to separate rail from people, including Riverside Park, through the 1930s.
With the advent of trucking, the High Line was obsolete within about 30 years of opening, and it sat vacant for decades before its magnificent renaissance as a linear park revitalized the area.
This area is home to the largest rail infrastructure project in the nation today - - the Gateway Program. This crucial project will bring the Northeast Corridor, which serves a region home to around 20% of the nation’s GDP and around the same amount of its population, into the 21st Century by building two new tunnels beneath the Hudson, and refurbishing the 1908 North River Tunnels
