The High Line is open

Although there may still be more to do, New York has opened the first section of its elevated rails-to-trails project, the High Line, in the meatpacking district. Designed by James Corner Field Operations and Piet Oudolf, this project creates some stylish linear open space well above the streets of lower Manhattan.

Everyone is talking. Here is what they are saying:

• Newsday includes a timeline of the High Line's history
• Bloomberg highlights the district's gruesome past, "High Line’s Secret Garden Grows Where Cows Took Last Journey"
• WNYC's blog has High Line Unveiled
  
• The NY Post offers up a High Line slideshow
• The NY Daily News offers up a High Line Slideshow
• Curbed says the training wheels are off, last week they reported on the access policy
• The NY Times covers all of the bases with the headline, Renovated High Line Now Open for Strolling, an interactive 360 panaorama at On the High Line: A Garden in the Sky, and a slideshow called A Public Space, Elevated

The celebrities are out in full support of this project. Sundance Channel made videos with Ethan Hawke and Kevin Bacon.

Metro quotes Rutgers alum Mario Batali:

“As soon as they started working on it, it became a place for very expensive real estate,” said chef Mario Batali, whose Del Posto restaurant nearby hosted several fundraisers for the High Line. He called the park “stunning,” adding, “The problem is going to be crowd control.”

NYC.gov has detailed spontaneous quotes:

"Rather than destroying this valuable piece of our history, we have recycled it into an innovative and exciting park that will provide more outdoor space for our citizens and create jobs and economic benefits for our City," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Ten years ago, detractors thought the High Line was an eyesore. Thankfully, there were a handful of people who looked at the High Line and saw also an extraordinary gift to our city's future. Today, we will unwrap that gift."