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City, Parks Dept. Sued For Flawed High Line Design, Broken Ankle
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 2, 2009
Modified Nov 2, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 2, 2009
Modified Nov 2, 2009
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Photos by Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates
The High Line only just opened to the public this past June, but already it's facing a $2 million lawsuit. We've been told by the NYC Park Advocates that "a basic design flaw that regularly causes pedestrians to trip has rendered the vast majority of the first section of the million High Line promenade a hazard."
The lawsuit was filed by 66-year old Paula Meinetz-Shapiro, who tripped on "raised, uneven, depressed, decorative concrete" in the park back in June, causing her to break her left ankle. She's seeking her payout from the City and the Parks Department, but not the designers of the park.
Falls aren't uncommon on the High Line, either — there's plenty of seemingly harmless design aspects that are just waiting to trip you up! These hazards include raised concrete slabs and camouflaged curbs. An employee of the High Line says, "People are tripping all the time. It's been a big issue." The problem has led to signs and rope blocking parts of the park off, but there's no word on if a more permanent fix will be put in place during Phase II of the park's construction.
Tagged
design
flaw
hazards
high line
High LIne park
lawsuit
NYC Park Advocates
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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