High Line To Extend Into Midtown To Moynihan Hall, Gov Says

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The popular High Line elevated park may continue its march up the West Side of Manhattan through a new extension to Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

The proposed extension would create a new elevated pathway from the High Line's existing 30th Street terminus near 10th Avenue, eastward toward to the new train hall on Eighth Avenue and 33rd Street.

The L-shaped extension will connect to a public plaza at Manhattan West, a luxury high-rise development near Hudson Yards. That plaza, in turn, will connect to the train hall in the Farley Post Office building.

The High Line's first phase opened in 2009, converting an abandoned elevated railroad track between Gansevoort and 20th streets into a pedestrianized park. Subsequent phases have brought the High Line further uptown, where it now ends near Hudson Yards.

Meanwhile, Cuomo also proposed a second extension further west that would connect the High Line to Pier 76, which Cuomo plans to convert into a park once the NYPD vacates its tow pound there.

The extension to Moynihan would cost about $60 million, according to the New York Times.

Cuomo's office said the extension could help ease street traffic and improve pedestrian access to Penn Station and Hudson Yards.

Related: See Inside Moynihan Train Hall, Penn Station's Grand Addition

Neighborhood responds

Popular with tourists, the High Line ushered in a wave of luxury development in Chelsea. State Sen. Brad Hoylman, whose district covers the West Side of Manhattan, said in a tweet Monday that the extension should be "created at the community level" with "involvement from neighborhood stakeholders."

Lowell Kern, chair of Community Board 4, said Monday that the board "has been briefed about the proposed plan for the expansion of the High Line and we are very excited for this development."

The extension will be built in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Brookfield Property Group, which owns Manhattan West, and Friends of the High Line.

"This will be the most ambitious redevelopment that New York City has seen in decades," Cuomo said in a statement.

"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."

Related coverage of Pier 76:

• 'Amazing': Cuomo Celebrates Hell's Kitchen Tow Pound Departure
• What Does The Future Hold For Hell's Kitchen's Pier 76?