When you search up the High Line park, images of cheerful tourists and vibrant nature immediately fills your view. During my first time there, I couldn’t believe how the plants and artworks were masterfully placed over the historical railway. However, looking deeper into the city around me, I felt that this idealistic portrayal of the High Line to the internet doesn’t reflect upon what it really seems in real life.
The image I have chosen from my trip to the High Line centers upon a few twigs and branches in front of skyscrapers and apartment buildings. The color scheme is dull and lifeless. The clouds are dark and uninviting. The leaves are withering and barely hanging on. All in all, the somber scene makes it seem like the city is in mourning for some loss, a loss of the culture and its people that once inhabited the district before the High Line. Gentrification has allowed for the creation of awe-inspiring skyscrapers and high-end buildings, and for the repercussions of displacing the people out of affordable housing because of the ever-increasing rent. What must have been a quiet and simple neighborhood has turned into a bustling and restless city, and this contrast is also displayed in this image. Directly in the middle of this image lies a seemingly never-ending road, filled with taxi cabs and traffic lights. To the left of the street lie modernized buildings and to the right lie commonplace apartment buildings. In this fight between these two sides, the former is winning, as there are a few newly built buildings peeking out from behind the apartments. The gentrification of this area feels so powerful and unstoppable, hence the dreary and despondent atmosphere.
As I looked around me, at the construction sites and skyscrapers, I couldn’t help but wonder if building the High Line was worth it, for both its previous and current inhabitants. Although beautiful and mesmerizing, behind the High Line holds the grim consequence of gentrification.
Image from the High Line
This is such a relatable post Nancy. I felt exactly the same way when we visited the High Line and I was really disturbed by how my perception of the park changed the more I read and saw how gentrification affected the surrounding area. Your picture captures these feelings perfectly with a cloudy and gloomy sky accompanying an army of modern buildings towards the frail looking leaves. The leaves seem to symbolize the remaining unchanged buildings in West Chelsea whose future is in jeopardy by the ominous approach of gentrification. I also really like how the focus of the picture are the leaves which are supposed to be the “focus” of the park.
I agree with you, Nancy. I was also initially misled by the High Line, but upon our trip, I was able to learn about the truth of it. The High Line has caused one of the more affordable parts of Manhattan into its own concrete jungle. Your photo clearly illustrates the mood created when one is on the High Line. Rather than feel the excitement of a new park, people will not be able to enjoy the view as much due to construction. The extreme contrast of the park against the city portrays the gentrification. Your title seems quite fitting as it begs the question about whether the new park was good for the city or if inevitably caused more harm.