Gentrification of the High Line/Surrounding Area

By Mehnaj Ahmed

“Attention High Line Tourists. West Chelsea is not Times

Square. It is not a tourist attraction. Do not sit on the

'stoops' of buildings or take pictures of and film buildings

or residents. Buildings are not tourist attractions: people

live there, and sitting on the steps and taking pictures is as

invasive, rude and inappropriate as a group of strangers

sitting on the steps of your home and taking pictures of it

and you from the yard.”

-Anonymous signs posted on the High Line, 2009-2012

“the process of renewal and rebuilding

accompanying the influx of middle-

class or affluent people into

deteriorating areas that often

displaces poorer residents”

(Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

What is Gentrification?

According to the New York Times, there was a 103% increase in propertyValues in Chelsea between 2003 and 2011.

Chelsea Market – Yelp Reviews

• “Amazing! So fun to walk around and eat everything. Good to eat

a lot and then walk it all off on the High Line. Or do what I did and

eat more at one of the pop-up weekend markets @ Meatpacking.”

• “I'll just sit in the hallway, check out the art installations and watch

the wealthy and well-paletted folk of New York City go about their

shopping errands - completely oblivious of how fortunate they are

to have a food heaven on earth located directly in their

backyards.”

• “Are some things overpriced?  Sure.  But some items are so

delicious and unique that I consider them worth it.”

The West Side Elevated Highway at Gansevoort St. Sadly, it was replaced witha street-level highway (technically called the Joe DiMaggio Highway, but nobody calls it that) after being dismantled in 1989.

Once upon a time, Chelsea Piers was actually functional. Shocking, I know.

…long-time patrons describe the shop as "Much better than

Whole Foods" and "one of the last bastions of decency in

Chelsea." But the neighborhood has continued to change

dramatically. The Meat Market is directly across the avenue from

the fast-climbing Chelsea Enclave, a condo marketed for its luxury

and exclusivity. Many of the stores along this stretch are closing--

an antiques shop just shuttered here and the former laundromat is

about to become a restaurant called Tipsy Parson.

Said one Chelsea native and Meat Market customer, "I feel like

we’ve been invaded by the outer-space people... I feel like

a stranger here. On 14th St. they’ve put flowerpots in the middle

of the street. This isn’t Paris!"

“Within a few years, the ecosystem disrupted by the

High Line will find a new equilibrium. The aquarium-like

high rises will be for the elite, along with a few exclusive

locales like the Standard Hotel. But the new locals will

rarely be found at street level, where chain stores and

tourist-friendly restaurants will cater to the crowds of

passers-by and passers-through. Gone entirely will be

regular New Yorkers, the people who used to call the

neighborhood home. But then the High Line was never

really about them.”

-Jeremiah Moss, in the New York Times

Sources, Interesting Links, Etc.

• http://urbantimes.co/2012/09/gentrifications-side-effects/

• http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/search?q=chelsea

• http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/opinion/in-the-shado

ws-of-the-high-

line.html

• http://therealdeal.com

/blog/2012/08/22/high-line-hyper-gentrification-will-eventu

ally-turn-off-new-yorkers

/