Hudson Yards wall plan gets stopped in tracks
BY GABE HERMAN
It looks like part of Hudson Yards
won’t be walled off after all.
After an outcry earlier this week
from Manhattan offi cials over reports
that Hudson Yards was considering
building a wall in its next phase of development,
which would potentially
block public access to its green space,
Hudson Yards said on Wednesday that
there will be no wall.
Phase Two of Hudson Yards, dubbed
the Western Yard and between 11th Avenue
and the West Side Highway, from
30th to 33rd Streets, has not started
construction yet. It’s set to include
six residential buildings, a mixed-use
building, a school, and have 50 percent
reserved for open space.
On Jan. 10, The New York Times reported,
Related Companies, developer
of Hudson Yards, was considering an
idea for a deck to rise as it reaches the
High Line Park on its western edge, instead
of original plans for the deck to
slope down.
The rising deck would have allowed
for a parking garage underneath and
created a 20-foot-high wall next to the
High Line, spanning 700 feet along the
park and potentially obstructing access
from the High Line and street into
Hudson Yards green space.
The idea received immediate and
The proposed wall would have been along the western edge of the
Western Yard, according to the NY Times, and next to the High Line
which borders the section to the west and south.
harsh condemnation from several offi
cials, including City Council Speaker
Corey Johnson, State Senator Brad
Hoylman, Manhattan Borough President
Gale Brewer and Robert Hammond,
co-founder and executive director
of the High Line.
Now, days later, Hudson Yards has
said that there will be no wall.
RELATED-OXFORD
“We have always shared the vision
that the Western Yard should include
a great public open space,” Hudson
Yards wrote as part of a series of tweets
on Wednesday morning. “We don’t yet
have a fi nal design but have always understood
clearly that our open space
needs to work well with the High Line
and the Hudson River.
“Unfortunately, there currently appears
to be a lot of misinformation in
the public domain, which is disheartening.
Our plan has always been to build
an open space,” the statement continued,
“and we are working to manage
the technical challenges to achieve this.
There has never been a wall along the
High Line and there will never be a
wall.”
The Hudson Yards statement was
met with relief from offi cials.
“This is good to hear,” tweeted
Speaker Johnson. “The Western Yards
must never be walled off from the High
Line. Looking forward to working with
my neighbors and my colleagues in government
to develop a plan that prioritizes
public access to the Highline.”
State Senator Brad Hoylman was also
glad about the news of no wall. “The
High Line is—and always should be—a
public space for all New Yorkers to enjoy,”
Hoylman said in a statement. “I’m
pleased to see Related backing down
from their plan to build a 20-foot high
concrete wall that would have cut off
the High Line from new open space.
“Too many billionaires want New
York City to be their private playground,”
Hoylman continued. “But
when New Yorkers stand together, we
can ensure there’s a place for all of us
in this city.”
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