Now Diane Von Furstenberg Is Only One Degree Removed From Kevin Bacon

Hate to say it, but the High Line makes Yankee Stadium seem like a bargain:

An abandoned elevated railroad that slices through the West Side of downtown Manhattan is on track to becoming the 1.5-mile-long park that activists, public officials and even some celebrities have envisioned for years.

Monday’s groundbreaking on the park, which is expected to open in 2008, drew a crowd that included fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, actors Kevin Bacon and Edward Norton, plus Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York’s senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer.

Standing as high as 30 feet, and 60 feet wide in some places, the High Line parallels the Hudson River before it cuts over and juts through Chelsea, ending on Gansevoort Street in the trendy Meatpacking District.

The railroad was built in 1934 for freight trains carrying dairy products, produce and meats to refrigerated warehouses and factories. The goal was to eliminate trains from the growing street-level hum, where the mix of rail traffic, cars and pedestrians led to so many accidents that 10th Avenue was known as “Death Avenue.”

The increase of interstate trucking cut down on rail freight, and the railway was last used in 1980. But much of the structure remains, beginning at 34th Street and zigzagging south. For years its fate was a subject of debate, with property owners underneath arguing the rusty spur was nothing more than a blight.

And just so you know, Diane von Furstenberg supported this project long, long before she invested into the neighborhood:

“The one thing we should all take out today is that dreams come true,” von Furstenberg said. She and her husband, the media mogul Barry Diller, have long championed the High Line. The couple donated $5 million to the project, which is estimated to cost $170 million.

Organizers have about $130 million on hand, including about $100 million in public money. They hope to raise the final $40 million in private donations.

See also: “Furstenberg has designs on Meat Market building,” The Villager, April 28-May 4, 2004.