Friends of the High Line

High Line operationsin 2023, fhl operated and maintained the park with a continuing focus on providing a world-class experience for all those who visit. the park, running from gansevoort street to west 34th street, expanded to include a new connection from the spur at 30th street to the moynihan train hall via the public space at brookfield properties' manhattan west development. Visitor counts continued to rebound following the covid-19 pandemic, reaching 6.1 million, which is a million more than 2022's total of 5.1 million visitors. A year-round operations staff of 48 grew by 17 seasonal staff for a total of 67 operations staff to accommodate the peak visitor season during the warm months of the year. (see cont on sch o)the horticulture team managed gardens throughout the park including planting (over 9000 plants), weeding, pruning, watering, and over 200 cubic yards of plant debris removal with our public partners' composting program (180 cubic yards).

High Line planning, construction and capital repairsin 2023, fhl completed construction on two major capital projects, advanced the planning and design for additional small and large-scale projects, and completed a range of capital improvements on the High line.fhl opened the High Line x moynihan connector project, a public-private partnership between fhl, empire state development corp., and brookfield properties, on june 22nd. the connector is made up of 2 bridges - the first is woodland bridge and is parallel to 30th st and features trees and plants, and the second is the timber bridge over dyer ave that features a warren-truss structure. (see cont on sch o)the project connects the High Line to the public spaces of manhattan west, and allows for access to moynihan train hall and penn station.in addition the connector, a major accessibility-focused project for the High Line also was completed: the reconstruction of a new staircase to the High Line at 28th st opened on december 17. the project initially included the reconstruction of 2 additional staircases at 20th and 26ths however, due to the need to enter into access agreements with the adjacent property owners, the remaining 2 staircases will start construction in late-summer 2024, and we anticipate that work will be completed by early 2025.construction on the 18th st plaza, a street-level space that will feature a new staircase to the High Line as well as seating, a large planting bed, and art billboard display, continued to advance. We anticipate that the project will open in 2 phases - the plaza, seating, and billboard by fall 2024, and the stair will be completed in early 2025.after years of advocating for the implementation of the sole source construction agreement, fhl executed this agreement on october 12. This agreement will allow fhl to directly administer public funding to support capital projects. the first rfp for the 10th avenue square reconstruction project was released january 22, 2024, and construction work is anticipated to start on july 22, 2024.lastly, planning and design work continued for a number of capital improvement projects throughout 2023. These projects included the replacement of gansevoort elevator hydraulic Line, rehabilitation of the 16th st stairs, installation of new chain-link fence at 34th st m&o campus, installation of fiber cabling from 19th st operations office to hlhq, new signage throughout High Line park and hlhq, restoration of sundeck feature on High Line, reconstruction of walls at 14th st passage, and replacement of sound bench at the grove with peel-up bench.

Programming, art & educationin 2023, fhl exhibited the work of 23 artists in the park, including 6 video exhibitions, 2 performance commissions, 6 sculpture commissions, 1 mural, 1 billboard, and the presentation of the third monumental High Line plinth commission. In addition, the art department announced 54 proposals for the fifth and sixth High Line plinth commissions, including inviting 12 global curators to nominate 48 artists for the next plinth commissions. High Line art also inaugurated it's first "art off Line" project in collaboration with fhl's education department and public middle school in the neighborhood, quest to learn. (see cont on sch o)planning and looking forward was the theme for the High Line network in 2023. In addition to laying the groundwork for the community-centric 2024 symposium in detroit, the network held the inaugural policy lab in san francisco, ca. the success of this program led to a commitment to continue organizing policy labs to best serve the network. the High Line network contracted an education consultant to assess the curriculum and its implementation, and develop recommendations for a full community first toolkit launch in 2024.fhl's youth development & education programs continue to be a core part of fhl programming. Through its teen employment program, fhl provided employment consisting of training, mentorship, and professional learning experiences for 45 teenagers who either live or go to school in the surrounding neighborhood. Fhl teens are staff at the High Line and were responsible for planning our annual teen night celebration. Additionally, they supported our local city councilperson in participatory budgeting and the people's money efforts.fhl schools program worked in 4 local schools, and one school in the bronx, to offer engaging and innovative classes in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts, activism, and mathematics (steaam). Curriculum was created in collaboration with partner classroom teachers and our teaching artists to maintain educational rigor and, whenever possible, to offer science, art, or elective High school credits to students to support them on their path to graduation. School partnerships provided over 150 direct service hours to students and employed 5 teaching artists and 4 teen teaching assistants, who maintained their own professional practice in a variety of disciplines.in the summer of 2023, fhl hosted a series of 6 family workshops on the park for free and open to the public featuring hands-on activities centering on the themes of native plants, horticulture, and arts. They are designed and staffed by teaching artists and High Line teen staff, serving as professional learning opportunities for the youth.the High Line community engagement department continued to work across the organization to build on the High Line's civic roots and unique role as a neighborhood anchor by fostering new and existing connections with our communities, particularly those historically underserved and underrepresented, to help us more effectively meet their needs, live up to our organizational values, and become a more people-centered and equitable public space. Programmatic initiatives included continuing the High Line neighbors council, an advisory group of 18 community members who met monthly, provided insight and feedback regarding High Line priorities, and launched the third iteration of the neighbor to neighbor fund participatory grantmaking initiative. the public space alliance peer-to-peer network program continued to provide technical assistance support to 15 sites, strengthening and fostering connections among small parks and adaptive reuse projects across the five boroughs of new york city. Public programming organized by the community engagement department included 10 wellness classes targeting the needs of older adults, 2 arriba latin dance night events, a storytelling event commemorating pride, and more.fhl also worked with 150 volunteers who worked a total of 4,758 hours as docents, greeters, horticultural assistants and ambassadors.

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