Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Cuomo's $50 Million High Line Extension Is Still Happening, Hochul Confirms
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Sep 15, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Governor's Office
View all 4
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Sep 15, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Governor Kathy Hochul is moving ahead with a proposed expansion of the High Line that will soon bring the elevated park within a block of Moynihan Train Hall.
The envisioned plan will add a timber bridge to the park's east edge at 31st Street and 10th Avenue. It will extend half a block, before connecting to a second passage that funnels pedestrians north along Dyer Avenue and into an existing elevated plaza at Brookfield Properties’ Manhattan West development.
The extension was first floated by former Governor Andrew Cuomo as a link between the popular park and the new Moynihan Train Hall — part of his sprawling infrastructure and transit project that would ultimately remake West Midtown.
While the fate of much of that plan remains uncertain, Hochul indicated this week that her administration would move forward with the eastern High Line expansion. It is expected to be completed in spring of 2023. The announcement includes no mention of a northward extension of the High Line, which Cuomo initially proposed as a second phase of the expansion.
Cuomo's proposed extension of the High Line. Hochul has not discussed the second phase
Andrew Cuomo
The Empire State Development Corporation — the state's main development arm — will pay $20 million of the estimated $50 million price tag, a spokesperson for Hochul confirmed. The rest will be privately funded by Brookfield Properties and Friends of the High Line, with the Port Authority contributing the land.
Like much of Cuomo's developer-friendly plans for Midtown, the extension has attracted scrutiny. It will bring the High Line directly into the arms of Brookfield's new seven-million-square-foot mixed-use development, likely benefitting the developer substantially.
Read More: What Cuomo’s Resignation Could Mean For Mass Transit and Infrastructure
In a statement, Brookfield Properties Executive Vice President Sabrina Kanner praised the "vibrant gateway connecting Moynihan Train Hall directly to the entirety of the High Line and the new West Side."
The state has also been accused of prioritizing the posh park, while ignoring critical safety and quality-of-life issues on the pedestrian-hostile streets below. The Port Authority has long used the area for construction staging and parking.
Lowell Kern, the head of Manhattan's Community Board 4, which initially opposed the expansion, said he had received written assurance from the Empire State Development that planters and architecture lighting would be installed on street level.
"We don't want to have the High Line up there and this dark and forbidding space below," he said. "We want the street level to be just as inviting as the High Line."
Tagged
governor cuomo
midtown
brookfield properties
hudson yards
high line
real estate
Hochul
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Ever wish you could get paid to walk through a stranger’s house? ‘The Scout’ is for you.
A new film focuses on the strange career of a location scout in New York City.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Sep 26, 2026
There are 100s of places to visit during Open House New York. Here's 5 of our favorites.
See the entire lineup for the weekend when the city opens its doors.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
There are 100s of places to visit during Open House New York. Here's 5 of our favorites.
See the entire lineup for the weekend when the city opens its doors.
By
Hannah Frishberg
A massive MTA archive ended up in a Virginia warehouse. A Brooklyn man brought it home.
By
Hannah Frishberg
How a Harry Styles pop-up in the East Village led to a nearby bookstore owner's arrest
By
Sonia Rao
NYC’s creative workers are increasingly self-employed, report says
By
Hannah Frishberg
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .