History 
 
 A revitalized piece of New York City’s past 
 
 1934 
 
 As part of the West Side Improvement Project, the High Line opens to trains. It runs from 34th Street to St John's Park Terminal, at Spring Street. It is designed to go through the center of blocks, rather than over the avenue, carrying goods to and from Manhattan's largest industrial district. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1980s 
 
 Following decades-long growth in the interstate trucking industry, the last train runs on the High Line in 1980, pulling three carloads of frozen turkeys. A group of property owners lobbies for demolition while Peter Obletz, a Chelsea resident, activist, and railroad enthusiast, challenges demolition efforts in court. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1999 
 
 Friends of the High Line is founded by Joshua David and Robert Hammond, residents of the High Line neighborhood, to advocate for the High Line's preservation and reuse as public open space. 
 
 
 
 
 
 2002-2003 
 
 The planning framework for the High Line's preservation and reuse begins. A study done by Friends of the High Line finds that the High Line project is economically rational, and leads to an open ideas competition, Designing the High Line. 
 
 
 
 
 
 March–September 2004 
 
 Friends of the High Line and the City of New York conduct a process to select a design team for the High Line. The selected team is James Corner Field Operations, a landscape architecture firm, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Piet Oudolf, planting designer. 
 
 
 
 
 
 2005–2006 
 
 The City accepts ownership of the High Line which is donated by CSX Transportation, Inc. in November 2005; Groundbreaking is celebrated in April 2006. 
 
 
 
 
 
 June 9, 2009 
 
 Section 1 (Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street) opens to the public. 
 
 
 
 
 
 June 8, 2011 
 
 Section 2 (West 20th Street to West 30th Street) opens to the public. 
 
 
 
 
 
 April–September 2012 
 
 The New York City Planning Commission approves a zoning text amendment for High Line at the Rail Yards. Groundbreaking is celebrated on the High Line at the Rail Yards September 20, 2012. 
 
 
 
 
 
 September 21, 2014 
 
 The third and northernmost section on the park, the High Line at the Rail Yards, opens to the public. Friends of the High Line celebrates 15 years of successful advocacy to preserve the entire structure. ||||| The Timeline 
 
 1908-1948 
 
 In 1908, the one-acre Williamsburg Bridge trolley terminal opens on Delancey Street, transporting passengers from the Lower East Side to Brooklyn. After just four decades of use, the trolley terminal is closed to the public, and would never again have any official transit use, despite its adjacency to the J/M/A subway line. 
 
 1948-2000s 
 
 The Lower East Side remains a remarkably diverse neighborhood, due to a mix of public housing and former tenements, and home to immigrants, small businesses, and artists. Delancey Street is widened for high volume car traffic, and becomes one of the least safe streets for pedestrians and local residents. 
 
 2009 
 
 James Ramsey, owner of Lower East Side design firm Raad Studio, is introduced to the forgotten Williamsburg trolley terminal and he hatches a plan to install solar technology in the site, enabling plants and trees to grow. Dan Barasch is separately exploring a project to install underground art in the New York City subway system. The two friends chat one night over too much wine, and agree to explore the idea of an “underground park” in earnest. 
 
 2011 
 
 James Ramsey and Dan Barasch release the concept of the Lowline to the public in a highly visible New York Magazine feature. New Yorkers and the world at large are fascinated by the idea that an underground park is possible. 
 
 February 2012 
 
 The team launches a Kickstarter campaign that raises over $155,000 from 3,300 supporters from all over the world— creating a new record for the largest number of supporters for an urban design project on the platform. A community is born. 
 
 Summer 2012 
 
 The Lowline commissions two planning studies, one from HR&A Advisors and one from Arup, to assess the viability of building a public park in the former trolley terminal. Both studies provide solid evidence that the idea can be transformed into reality. 
 
 September 2012 
 
 Team Lowline installs a functioning full-scale model of the solar technology and accompanying green park in an abandoned warehouse directly above the actual site. The exhibit was attended by over 11,000 visitors in just two weeks, serving as proof of concept for the ambitious project. 
 
 April 2013 
 
 The Lowline conducts its first in-school program with local high school students, designed to engage young people in the process of imagining an underground park and to help design its future uses. This leads to additional youth engagement and design projects with local schools and organizations. 
 
 Summer 2013 
 
 Nine elected officials send a joint letter to the City showing their support for the Lowline project and encouraging the City to help it progress. 
 
 Fall 2013 
 
 The Lowline conducts a semester long Young Designers Program with Henry Street Settlement / Boys & Girls Republic, Educational Alliance / SPARC Program and University Settlement / Beacon Program. 
 
 Spring 2014 
 
 The Lowline has a month long exhibit of the Young Designers work at the Mark Miller Gallery. 
 
 March 2015 
 
 The Lowline holds the “Shaping the Lowline” exhibit, where work from the newest class of Young Designers is displayed and the community is invited to provide greater input. 
 
 October 2015- February 26, 2017 
 
 The Lowline Lab, a free community gathering space that displays cutting-edge solar technology, serves as a laboratory for lighting and horticulture experiments, and features multiple cultural and community events. Over 100,000 people from across New York City and around the world visited. 
 
 July 2016 
 
 The Lowline secures a conditional site designation from the City of New York. After negotiations are finalized, a capital campaign to support construction will be launched. 
 
 2021 
 
 The Lowline is projected to be opened for all to enjoy. ||||| Deputy Mayor Glen and NYCEDC Announce First City Approval of Lowline Project 
 
 Lowline Rendering 
 
 World’s First Underground Park Would Keep NYC at Forefront of Urban Innovation 
 
 
 
 Major Cultural Attraction Would Provide Green Space, Educational Programming to Community, Help Support Local Small Businesses 
 
 Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen and NYCEDC President Maria Torres-Springer today announced that NYCEDC has selected the Lowline, to bring the world’s first underground park to the Lower East Side. This conditional designation serves as the first major step in making this project a reality, resulting in a community-oriented public and cultural space that will serve as both a resource for local residents and an attraction for visitors from around the world. 
 
 The Lowline aims to use cutting edge solar technology to transform the abandoned former Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal (located under Delancey Street) into the world’s first underground park — a spectacular, one-acre underground public space. By delivering sunlight underground and activating photosynthesis to create lush year-round gardens, the Lowline will use new science and design to help New Yorkers — and city dwellers all over the world — to re-imagine public place-making and community building. 
 
 Not only will the Lowline provide the Lower East Side with desperately needed green space and offer a vital cultural resource for the city, it will set an international model for the adaptive reuse and cultivation of abandoned underground spaces. The Lowline is a unique opportunity to shape the future of the City through innovation, deep community engagement, education, and youth development. 
 
 
 
 “New York City never stops innovating—that’s what makes us the greatest city in the world,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen. “The Lowline represents an incredible fusion of technology and public space. For eighty years, this underground space has sat idle. Now we’re putting it to use for the people of the Lower East Side and for all New Yorkers to enjoy. We can’t wait to see this experiment unfold.” 
 
 “New York City is the place where visionary ideas get turned into tangible realities,” said NYCEDC President Maria Torres-Springer. “Today we move one step closer to making the Lowline a reality, which will serve as a cultural and educational hub for this vibrant community and pioneer cutting-edge technology." 
 
 “We couldn't be more thrilled for this opportunity to turn a magical dream into reality," said Dan Barasch, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Lowline. “The transformation of an old, forgotten trolley terminal into a dynamic cultural space designed for a 21st century city is truly a New York story. We know with input from the community and the city, we can make the Lowline a unique, inspiring space that everyone can enjoy." 
 
 "Every designer dreams of doing civic work that contributes to society and to the profession," said James Ramsey, Lowline Co-Founder and Creator. "Over the last 8 years, we just stuck to what we thought was a great idea that could make our city and our community better. We're thrilled to move ahead on designing and building a space that people will enjoy for generations to come." 
 
 "Chances to add new parks and public spaces in Manhattan's neighborhoods are rare and priceless," said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. "I'm excited by the prospect of transforming the Lowline into a first-of-its-kind public space, and will work with the administration, Community Board 3, Lower East Siders, parks advocates and the design community to make the most of this opportunity." 
 
 “With this conditional designation, the promise of the Lowline is one step closer to becoming a reality,” said Council Member Margaret S. Chin. “From the beginning, the Lowline has been about transforming an abandoned space by literally shining the light of day to create a lush and verdant center of science, technological innovation and learning. Years before its projected opening, the Lowline has already offered opportunities for hundreds of students to redefine what’s possible in our great City. I thank Deputy Mayor Glen and President Torres-Springer for their commitment to work with the Lower East Side community to make the Lowline both a local and global resource for people of all ages.” 
 
 "The Lowline has the potential to bring together our need for open space, with a New York love for creativity and innovation," said State Senator Daniel Squadron. "As community engagement continues, today's news brings us one step closer to making a new park a reality. I thank NYCEDC, my colleagues, the community board, and the Lowline team for their continued collaboration." 
 
 "For over a century, the Lower East Side has been at the crossroads of innovation and community engagement," said Community Board 3, Manhattan Chairperson Jamie Rogers. "In its June 2012 resolution, Community Board 3, Manhattan, supported converting the Williamsburg trolley terminal space into the Lowline park, a 21st Century amenity that serves our community. This conditional approval is an important milestone for furthering community engagement with the Lower East Side’s residents and businesses who want to ensure that what is created truly benefits those who live and work here.” 
 
 Last fall, NYCEDC in collaboration with the Metropolitan Transit Authority put out a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) for development plans involving the long-term lease and activation of the vacant Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal, currently owned by the City and leased to the MTA. The trolley terminal is approximately 60,000 square feet and runs underneath Delancey Street between Clinton Street and Norfolk Street. Based on their response to that RFEI, NYCEDC has designated the Lowline team for the use of the space, and requires them to meet a number of conditions in order to move forward with the project. Specifically, the Lowline is required to: 
 
 Implement a robust community engagement plan, including 5-10 public design charrettes and quarterly Community Engagement Committee meetings. 
 
 Reach a fundraising target of $10 million in the next twelve months. 
 
 Complete schematic design documents and present them for approval in the next twelve months. 
 
 The Lowline is focused on meeting three important needs for the Lower East Side: more high quality community amenities, a major community-centered cultural venue that bolsters the neighborhood’s established and emerging cultural organizations, and a unique public space that exposes both residents and visitors to new technology. The Lowline will serve as a showcase for the power of green technology, the creative repurposing of the city’s subterranean infrastructure, and the bold imagination of New Yorkers to lead the way toward more resilient, sustainable and livable cities. 
 
 While New York City abounds with world-class urban parks and leading botanical institutions, the Lowline will be a truly singular public space – a historic preservation project fused with a futuristic underground garden at the heart of the dense Lower East Side of Manhattan. It will also be another high-profile initiative that solidifies New York City’s reputation and brand as a hub for technology and innovative urban design. 
 
 As a high profile destination, the Lowline also offers a valuable opportunity to bring more visitors at all times of day to support the neighborhood’s diverse array of independent shops and restaurants. Visitors to the neighborhood are essential to the health of small businesses in the Lower East Side, accounting for 75 percent of retail spending in the community. 
 
 In October 2015, the Lowline team opened the Lowline Lab, a live experiment to showcase and test its solar technology and subterranean horticulture, and also to test the cultural value of a year-round public space. Since its opening, it has attracted nearly 70,000 visitors and has hosted youth education visits for nearly 2,000 kids across New York City. It will remain open through March 2017, and is free and open to the public on weekends. 
 
 For more information on the Lowline, visit http://thelowline.org/. 
 
 Today’s announcement builds on NYCEDC’s historic commitment to bringing new investment to the Lower East Side community. NYCEDC and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development have also partnered with Delancey Street Associates, LLC to transform a number of sites that have sat largely vacant for more than four decades into Essex Crossing - a 1.65-million-square-foot development anchored by 500 units of permanently affordable housing for low, moderate, and middle-income New Yorkers and senior citizens. The project also includes 15,000 square feet of open space, a new and expanded Essex Street Market, senior housing and community facilities, a rooftop urban farm, 250,000 square feet of office space, and a diverse mix of retail space. 
 
 
 
 About NYCEDC 
 
 New York City Economic Development Corporation is the City's primary vehicle for promoting economic growth in each of the five boroughs. NYCEDC's mission is to stimulate growth through expansion and redevelopment programs that encourage investment, generate prosperity and strengthen the City's competitive position. NYCEDC serves as an advocate to the business community by building relationships with companies that allow them to take advantage of New York City's many opportunities. Find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, or visit our blog to learn more about NYCEDC projects and initiatives.
– In 2009, right around the time the first section of the much-lauded High Line project opened to the public, offering New Yorkers access to an unused section of elevated railroad tracks in Manhattan that had been transformed into a green space, a couple of guys chatted one night over "too much wine" and plotted quite the opposite—an underground park. The Lowline, as it has come to be called, is the brainchild of James Ramsey, owner of the Lower East Side design firm Raad Studio, and Dan Barasch, who had been exploring installing underground art in the New York City subway system. What started off as a super-idealistic vision of the world's first subterranean park replete with filtered natural sunlight has now been given a green light by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The park's open date is projected to be in 2021. The project technically goes back to 1908, when a 1-acre Williamsburg Bridge trolley terminal opened on Delancey Street to help transport residents of the Lower East Side to Brooklyn. By 1948 it was closed to the public and never used again, even though it's right next to the city's J/M/A subway line. At the heart of the redesign is the use of very forward-thinking solar tech that uses a "remote skylight," where sunlight is collected and passed through a glass shield, reflected and gathered to a focal point, and directed down through fiber-optic cables to a reflective surface that redistributes the collected light—just enough to enable photosynthesis. To be built in what Mother Nature Network describes as an already "tree-deprived Lower East Side," the project enjoyed two successful Kickstarter campaigns with thousands of supporters worldwide. "We're channeling sunlight the way they did in ancient Egyptian tombs, but in a supermodern way," Ramsey told New York in 2011. In fact, when the sun is shining, the entire park will be solar powered, not just the greenery. (Check out the "sidescraper" proposal for New York's Central Park.)