The Entourage

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Take a stroll along the High Line and have a look around. Some exciting things are happening in a neighborhood where ten years ago, the name “The Meatpacking District” was a literal description rather than a trendy moniker. The Friends of the High Line have effectively performed an angioplasty on the far west side and enabled urban renewal on an unprecedented scale, even for Manhattan standards.

The projects run the gamut from small- to largescale and are designed by both small- and largename architects. Like an exhibition in a gallery, one is literally surrounded by great art. As New Yorkers, it is inevitable that we take our built environment for granted: at street level, the urban scale and speed of life that surrounds us is difficult to comprehend, let alone enjoy. However, the High Line allows all of us to be tourists. We can walk at our own pace, and for once as New Yorkers we permit ourselves to gawk, stare, and appreciate.

-- Michael Chiodo

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