The Hamilton in NYC program went on a tour of the High Line with Class of 1960 alumnus John Allen and his wife Beth, long-time residents of the Chelsea neighborhood where the High Line is located. The High Line is a greenway park on the west side of Manhattan. It opened in 2009 having been converted from a 1.5-mile-long cargo-rail spur, and runs between Gansevoort and W 34th streets, roughly in parallel to 10th Ave. It is now purported to be the most popular tourist attraction in Manhattan.
The tour began in the Meatpacking District near the Whitney Museum, and ended in Hell’s Kitchen at Hudson Yards, the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States. It was great to connect with an alumnus of John's long and dedicated service to the college, and to learn about this intriguing example of innovative urban greenspace development, one of many topics explored in the NYC program "The Natural History and Urban Ecology of Manhattan." The event was best summed up by Joseph Harnett: "It was a beautiful day with great company!"
That evening, the program visited the Future City Lab of the Museum of the City of New York, and attended a panel hosted by the MCNY titled "Feeding the Apple: New York's Future Food Supply," which featured Dan Barber, chef and author of The New York Times bestseller "The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food," and Julia Moskin, New York Times journalist.
