Friends of the High Line

Friends of the High Line works to build and maintain an extraordinary public park on the High Line. We seek to preserve the entire historic structure, transforming an essential piece of New York’s industrial past. We provide over 70 percent of the High Line’s annual operating budget and are responsible for maintenance of the park, pursuant to a license agreement with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Through stewardship, innovative design and programming, and excellence in operations, we cultivate a vibrant community around the High Line.

Friends of the High Line is the non-profit, private partner to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Friends of the High Line works with the City to make sure the High Line is maintained as a great public place for all New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy. In addition to overseeing the maintenance, operations, and public programming for the High Line, Friends of the High Line is currently working to raise the essential private funding to help complete the High Line's construction and create an endowment for its future operations.

Friends of the High Line was founded in 1999 by two neighborhood residents, Joshua David and Robert Hammond. The 501(c)(3) non-profit advocated for the High Line's preservation when the structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line successfully worked with the mayoral administration of Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council to reverse a City policy favoring demolition to one ensuring the High Line's preservation through the federal Railbanking program. Friends of the High Line also spearheaded the design process for the High Line's transformation to a public park, partnering with the City of New York on an international design competition that eventually selected the team of James Corner Field Operations (landscape architecture) and Diller Scofidio + Renfro (architecture).

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