by Annik LaFarge
on November 16, 2010
My new friend Scott Mlyn, a photographer and writer, introduced me to the Hipstamatic photo app for the iPhone and I downloaded it last week — a full 3 days before the New York Times gave it the nod as one of the “Top Ten Must-Have Apps.”
So here we have Hipstamtic High Line: a shot taken last evening (Scott says dusk is the best time to shoot using this app) of men planting trees on our section of the High Line. Yesterday morning it was a giant sandbox — there was a full bed of sand covering the whole section — but gradually, throughout the day, the men brought in a nice, loamy, topsoil. And now they’re there with shovels planting, tamping, hoeing. It’s too bad they have to wear those hard hats (the rat building is too close for comfort, apparently) but it’s good reminder that the ever-evolving High Line sits in the middle of the ever-evolving City.
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by Annik LaFarge
on November 11, 2010
I don’t know a single New Yorker who’s not amazed by the trees that grow all over the city, popping up through the sidewalks, poking their branches against the windows of brownstones. (Side note: I’ve always loved those wonderful grates made by the Neenah Foundry. I have a friend named Neenah who was named after the company. If you visit their
website you can browse all the different “collections” they have for tree grates.)
All this came to mind after I looked out the window this morning and beheld trees on the High Line. From here they look like Douglas Fir, but it’s hard to tell. (Nice thing about the High Line: no deer!). The construction guys — or maybe they’re from the nursery, it’s hard to know because they all wear hard hats — are getting ready for planting. Finally, amid all the cement and rebar, the plants are arriving. It’s great to see, particularly now that The Condo is eight storeys high and climbing. We’ve lost our view of the Con Ed building’s cupula, and the water towers across the street, on the London Towers complex, are just about to disappear too.
But we have trees! And that puts me in a fine mood.
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by Annik LaFarge
on October 17, 2010
There’s not a tremendous amount of work being done on our section of the emerging High Line, but it’s clearly a nice spot for a coffee break.
There are several things that interest me about this scene: the activity of the condo guys vs. the relaxing High Line guys who are, after all, sitting in a park. Yeah, it’s not complete yet, but the High Line crew choose to take their coffee in their workspace, whereas the condo guys never do. Maybe because the Rat is watching. And because they’re not building an awesomely cool park, they’re building yet another nameless condo.
This is also a classic New York scene: new apartment building goes up with an old (landmark) building behind it (London Towers) and another modern one (I don’t think it has a name) just across the way. When the renovation of my building (the Spears, a former furniture factory) was completed there was an empty lot where that red brick condo with the balconies now stands. Our neighbors, when they moved in ten years ago, had a nice, clear view to the north across 23rd Street, and lovely evening light from the west. Soon we’ll all be hemmed in by the Rat Condo to the east, and our view of London Towers will be completely gone. But at least we’ll have the High Line in-between, a small strip of green amidst the concrete towers. Think of all the coffee that will be enjoyed there in years to come.
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by Annik LaFarge
on October 15, 2010
The other day I looked out the window and gasped at the progress that has been made, seemingly overnight. The crew has already begun work on the fifth floor of the condo next door. Ann joined me at the window, glanced out, and replied: “yeah, it’s kind of like a club sandwich — nothing to it, really.”
Meanwhile (I feel compelled to say this…) all is quiet on the High Line. But hope springs eternal.
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by Annik LaFarge
on October 14, 2010
What a difference a day makes. We go from orange cement mixer to green, and the crew appears in a combination of yellow and orange anoraks. The men continue to build and pour cement, and the condo rises. I think we have a couple of weeks before it reaches above the low, gray buildings on Tenth Avenue.
On the High Line deck (in the photo with the green mixer) you can see little bundles which I think are wrapped-up, upside-down benches. We shall see. The spruce trees are lovely, and all the greenery must be happy for the rain we’ve had over the past few days. It’s quiet on the High Line, noisy on the condo.
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by Annik LaFarge
on October 4, 2010
A quiet Sunday evening. No workers, no rat, no pounding and banging, clanging and tooting. Just a glow on the London Towers. All is well.
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