See Cuomo’s proposal to extend the High Line to the new Moynihan Train Hall

The High Line will be extended from its current 10th Avenue terminus to the entrance of the newly opened Moynihan Train Hall, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce during his 2021 State of the State address on Monday. As the New York Times first reported, a new L-shaped elevated walkway will link the existing public park at 30th Street to a pedestrian plaza at Manhattan West, a six-building mixed-use development from Brookfield Property Group that stretches from 9th and 10th Avenues and 31st to 33rd Streets.

The governor’s proposal–created in partnership with Brookfield, the Empire State Development, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Friends of the High Line–calls for the High Line to be extended eastward at 10th Avenue and 30th Street along Dyer Avenue to mid-block between 9th and 10th Avenues and then turn north to connect to the Manhattan West public space, according to a press release. The extended elevated park would end on 9th Avenue, across from the entrance to the new Moynihan Train Hall.

“This will be the most ambitious redevelopment that New York City has seen in decades,” Cuomo said in a press release. “When the private sector economy lags, state governments build infrastructure and spur development. The beautiful Moynihan Train Hall is open, the renovation of Penn Station and this High Line extension project begin this year. This connection is part of a district-wide redevelopment of the West Side that will jumpstart the private market in a post-COVID world.”

Moynihan Train Hall, Photo © Max Touhey

The Moynihan Train Hall opened earlier this month at the landmarked James A. Farley Post Office Building on Eighth Avenue. The $1.6 billion project expands Penn Station by providing new waiting areas for the Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak, as well as new commercial and retail space.

The High Line extension aims to create more public space but also “addresses community concerns about pedestrian access” on Manhattan’s west side, especially the traffic-heavy area between Penn Station and Hudson Yards. According to the New York Times, the project, which has no start or end date yet, could cost $60 million in private and public funds.

Video courtesy of Brookfield Property Group

The Manhattan West development measures eight acres and contains six million square feet of Class-A office space, 844 residences across The Eugene and The Pendry Manhattan West hotel, 200,000 square feet of retail, a new Whole Foods, a food hall, and a multi-concept restaurant from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group.

James Corner Field Operations, the team behind the High Line, is designing the two-acre landscaped public plaza in the center of Manhattan West that will connect the High Line and the newly opened transit hub. The NHL, which is moving its headquarters to the development’s One Manhattan West tower, will run a program on the plaza’s ice rink, along with public art and events by Arts Brookfield.

“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,” Ben Brown, Managing Partner, Brookfield Property Group, said.

“The High Line extension, which will link the new Moynihan Train Hall to the Manhattan West plaza and the rest of the High Line, will be a major addition to the entire area, making it easier and more enjoyable for pedestrians to access and navigate Manhattan West and the neighborhood as a whole.”

Rendering of Pier 76 proposal; Courtesy of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office

Cuomo is also proposing a second extension of the High Line that will extend the High Line from 34th Street and 12th Avenue past the Javits Center and cross the West End Highway, ending at Pier 76 at Hudson River Park, currently a tow pound run by the NYPD. In his 2020 State of the State address, Cuomo unveiled plans to redevelop the site, which will be vacated by the end of the month, as a public park

Also in his last year’s State of the State address, Cuomo announced a proposal to revamp Penn Station and expand it southward to create the Empire Station District. The plan, first introduced by the governor in 2016, would create a new terminal south of the existing site and add eight new tracks, increasing train capacity by 40 percent at the station.

[Via New York Times]

RELATED: 

• New looks at Manhattan West and Empire Station developments show the future Midtown West
• See inside the new light-filled Moynihan Train Hall

Renderings courtesy of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office