The New Yorkers Travel the High Line! -With Richard Hayden

25:40That's the Chelsea grassland. Is that the Chelsea grassland? Yeah, I think that's, I call it the most iconic section of the highway. Oh, yeah. Because it's based kind of on what we call a tall grass North American prairie. So lots of flowering perennials, you know, this little sunflower that gets very tall, a lot of tall grasses. The Culver's root I was talking about grows in that section. It's so pretty. Yeah. It's really lush and really evocative. Yeah, but every inch of the Highline, though, is stunning. It's just such a pretty, beautiful space in New York City. Well, we have our challenges.

26:18I always say I'm the keeper of the list of what's wrong on the Highline. And I don't share that with everybody. But it's a big responsibility because we're always trying to make it the best we can. So we're working on certain sections. We're really excited that Pete Adolf has designed a brand new garden for the very north end of the High Line at 34th Street. Really? So there's the last section of the High Line, which we call the, well, it was called the Interim Walkway. I think we're calling it the Western Rail Yards now. Like the Pigeon area? North of the Pigeon. North of the Pigeon. As it curls around to the West Side Highway, all the way up to 34th Street across the street from Javits Center.

26:54Oh, wow. It's the very north end. Oh, yes. It's kind of self-seeded. We haven't remediated all the soil. So it's the original ballast rock of the railway. And soil has formed and things have sprouted up, but we haven't planted them. So now with construction and everything moving forward, I think they're going to build more buildings at the top there. And so obviously the High Line has to be incorporated somehow, correct? Yeah, High Line will remain. The Western Rail Yards will be developed. They're working on a revised plan. We weighed in on a couple of ideas that we didn't care much about the plans that had been suggested by.

27:37I think it's related. So there is a new area. And also the state is developing a lot up there as well, right between 33rd and 34th. So that whole section will get developed, but the High Line will remain, the views will remain, and we're advocating to keep it an experience that will still be wonderful for people. Is there room for growth on the south end too, or is it at its end? The south end is, yeah, the southern, so the High Line extended another almost mile south of what it does right now. It stops at Gansevoort Street, but it did extend another, I think almost mile down to Spring Street at one point, but that's been torn down.

28:18There's a little section that exists in some building. Somebody mentioned that to me the other week. Yeah, which I've never seen, but it'd be fun to ferret that out at some point. It would be kind of cool to see it. It'd be cool to do a Facebook post to show that little piece of our Instagram, I should say. Well, what's a typical day like for you, Richard? At the High Line. At the High Line, yeah. Well, so I'm up early in Central Park and then I get to work and often I will take a city bike to 30 to Moynihan and park the bike. And then I, I cut over on the Moynihan connector to the Highline and, and walk my way to work, check in with staff, see how things are doing, make notes.

28:57I like to say that what I really do for my work is I, I clear the way and inspire the team of people that take care of the Highline. So, you know, we're part of that is raising funds. The Highline is a New York City Park, but the operating budget is completely raised and the maintenance takes place by the Conservancy Friends of the High Line. So we're free to the public, but we're still raising an operating budget of almost$20 million every year. Yeah. I was going to ask you that because I know Central Park does their fundraising too. I think they raised like 75 million a year. you know? Yeah.

29:33So, I mean, that's. So I, I do, uh, I, I, I take walks with donors. We create programs for membership and things like that. Um, and then we've also been doing, uh, a lot of what I like to call, um, public outreach and programming. Um, this is the third year that we've done a horticulture celebration. Uh, two years ago, we celebrated New York city native plants and we put signs on the High Line. Last year, we celebrated Pete Adolf and his contributions to garden design, and he turned 80, came and did a public program for us in October. And then this year, you were there for our launch of Nature in the City, which is an amazing celebration of urban ecology.

30:17And I like to say that the High Line is more than just a pretty walk in the park. We are a biodiverse habitat for wildlife and also for people because biodiversity is, you know, people aren't separate from nature. We're part of nature and we need the ability to cool down. We need the ability to kind of slow down and focus on nature and that whole, you know, organic biome that nature creates has actually been proven to be really helpful and healthful. So in a sense, it's a garden, a park, and a beautiful work of art as well. Yeah, that's right. All created by you and your team. Right. We have a wonderful art program as well.

31:00I love it. Richard, do you have any plants or flowers or trees with an interesting backstory? Maybe something that was difficult that turned out easy or just something? I'll tell you a story about in the flyover, the area where you have the tree canopy walk. and it was chosen to be the Canopy Walk because on the original self-seated landscape, there were trees growing there because it's kind of a canyon between two existing buildings. So the big leaf magnolia is there and there's some other trees. But before I started, they had planted a pawpaw tree. Oh, I heard about this. Yeah, and pawpaws are this really unique native tree that kind of looked subtropical because they have big leaves and they have a fruit that's kind of like, it's a very custardy kind of like a people know what a Chermoya is like.

31:57It's like that. And so it was a cool plant. And I think the original gardener that planted it years, years before me just wanted to be able to talk about that. So we put in a few more because you don't want to have just one of anything because if it wants to feel natural. And so now we've got a grove of like four pawpaws that are growing. And I actually got to eat my first pawpaw ever last year. Really? And we have some growing this year. We've got like, shouldn't say this, but we've got like eight or 10 fruit. And they're really interesting because the flowers are fly pollinated. So there are these little tiny burgundy flowers you can barely see that do not smell very good because they need the flies to find them.

32:39Right. But once they're pollinated, they make this beautiful custardy fruit. When the other, you know, the other week when I was there in the morning and one of the gardeners was leading us around and they were telling us about this berry that's the birds get drunk on or something. Is that correct? Yeah. The service berry probably, or sometimes called June berry. We have a lot of those on the park. They're amelanchiers and they're a native tree and they're beautiful spring blossoms, very ephemeral, very early spring blooms, which is great for our early pollinators. And then they have these berries that form and turn kind of blueberry black.

33:18Well, we're a little past them in early June. They're delicious. Honestly, they're delicious. They don't ship very well, which is why you don't probably see them in the store. But my staff has made muffins and pies. Oh, wow. We've really enjoyed them. I had no idea. And the birds, once they ferment a little bit, the birds will come in and the pigeons especially. Yeah. Yeah. They really like them. That's pretty funny. The gardener, she told us, I think that, you know, the birds get drunk and they fall off the tree or something, which was. That can also happen. We have some crab apples and the crab apples stay up.

33:53And sometimes in the fall, those will ferment. And so the birds will come and eat them. And yeah, it's not uncommon. That's an interesting story. The birds get a little drunk. That's pretty funny. And I also know that you have, you know, artists, different artists on the High Line, throughout the High Line. and they, you know, they change during the years sometimes. Right. Do you, how does that work? Do you collaborate with them on their artwork? How does this? So we have actually. Yeah. It's funny. I just had a really nice bottle of champagne show up on my desk. I said, thank you from. Oh, that's pretty cool.

34:25From the Freeze folks, because we participated with that artist and helping them do a project that was associated with the Highline. So yeah, we have sculptures on the Highline. And there's, I think, six or eight that change every year. And then we have the big plinth art piece, which right now is the dinosaur, which is actually, I think, a 15-foot tall pigeon. Yep. Which is hard to miss. We just had our big pigeon fest a year ago. I think you made that, or a year ago, a week ago or so. Yeah, it was fun. Yeah, that was really fun. The pigeon costume contest or whatever it was, it was a blast. Yeah.

35:04There's always something going on in the hot. I like those new candles along the north end of the High Line. Yes, like between 26th and 29th. And then do people have to wait years, or does it take a lot of time to be accepted to have your artwork on the High Line? We have a really robust and excellent art team that curates and selects the art. And then for our big plinth piece, which changes every 18 months, That's the big sculpture above 30th and 10th Avenue. That has a committee involved that chooses, and then there's a charrette of 12 different options, and people get to vote on that. And so, yeah, there's a very robust team.

35:52And the thing that people don't often understand is that we actually help produce the art once it's chosen. So it's a fabrication coordination that we have a production team that helps with that. Helps to find a location on the High Line and helps to get it fabricated. That's interesting. And you know what? I just thought of this too. What about movie sets coming to the High Line? I mean, I see often, you know, I saw that show from HBO. I forget what it was called that I used to love. Westworld. Yeah. Westworld. I think a few times I saw it on the High Line. I've seen movies. There's a specific building on the High Line, the Zaha Hadid building, which is at, I think, 27th Street.

36:32One of my favorite, actually. Yeah, it's really sci-fi looking, very future forward. And that serves as a background to a lot of sci-fi and different kinds of TV shows and movies. Yep. And also I see actually where the Chelsea Market is of the Highline space on the Chelsea Market. I see a lot of movies and things, HBO shows like we talked about there. And, you know, we also serve as a venue for various events. Like we've done, you know, big fashion shows and things like that on the Highline. And it's one of the ways that we also help to kind of offset costs is that we'll do, you know, rentals for big events and things like that.

37:09But Diane von Furstenberg's shop is right there. That's right. I would assume she is. Well, she, and she was a very early and a very, very, very dedicated supporter for the High Line. In fact, our, our headquarters building is named the Diller von Furstenberg building. Oh, really? So they made some very significant gifts to get us started in the early days because her, her flagship is right on 14th Street. Right. That's really impressive. Yeah. And kind of her because, you know, she, you know, is part of the Highline and Little Island, I guess. Right. You know, her and her husband as well. Very neighbor focused and we're really happy to have their support.

37:43Yeah. The Highline, what an amazing space. Is there any, have you had any issues with weather? You know, as, as, you know, your team is out, you know, beautifying the park, you know, doing what they do. And then here comes the weather and it's just running for the hills. Well, so, you know, obviously we leave the gardens up all winter. Right. And then in March is when we really do what we call the big cutback. And so all the perennials and grasses are cut back to about five or six inches tall. And all of that material is gathered and, you know, taken off site often to Governor's Island to a community composting facility.

38:24And they turn that into compost and we bring the finished compost back. and that's our, we're a completely organic garden. So our only inputs are really compost and compost derived fertilizers. And we don't actually use a lot of fertilizer in the grassland. They don't want to be too fertile. So when it comes to weather, our work in March can be, you know, it's, it, you know, it's brutal on the highline if the wind is blowing and it's very cold and we have almost 200 plus volunteers that help with that cutback. So it's a real community effort. Wow. The other thing that we deal with a lot is the wind.

38:58And, you know, when I first started, I was looking at all these birch trees and oak trees that are, you know, 30 foot tall on the high line growing in 18 inches of soil. And it kept me up at night. Because, you know, I'd forgotten, but, you know, New York gets its share of hurricanes and those kind of winds. And I was, every time the wind would blow, I would just be so worried. And then. I'd never thought about that. Well, I was hiking up in the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut shortly after I started at the High Line and there had been a windstorm and these giant trees had blown over and they were only growing in 18 inches of soil because there was so much glacial rock.

39:37And so I kind of relaxed at that point because I realized mother nature had already figured out how to have an entire garden growing in 18 inches of soil because, you know, all the roots kind of intertwine and, and they just kind of make it work with the flexibility. And, and so the, the weather can be bad, but it's amazing how, you know, resilient most everything on the Highline is. That's interesting how you piece those two together. I would have never thought about that. That's fascinating. Now your brain works with that. Yeah. Interesting. Well, what about today too? We have a hundred degree weather.

40:09So now we have summer weather where it's, you know, it's this record a hundred degree heat that has to affect the, you know, the, the trees and the plants and the flowers and everything on the High Line. It sure does. And I'll tell you, one of the things I was doing this morning was, um, we have a, we've, last year, we kind of converted our irrigation system to a really smart computerized system that actually has these little moisture sensors in the soil in various beds. And so this morning I was online looking at the moisture content for some of the beds, seeing what was low, seeing what might need a little bit more water.

40:44so we're able to like be really smart about the irrigation we're applying and that everything is operable from, you know, from your smartphone. Right. And that comes in very handy because it helps us to ensure kind of an even, with only 18 inches of soil, it's really easy to dry out, especially in this kind of heat. So we're able to really kind of target the irrigation and set up a minimal schedule that then we can supplement as needed. You know, this might be a silly question, but what about the water that, um, during the summertime when it run, you know, for the kids to play in? Oh yeah. Yeah.

41:20We have a wonderful little, um, water feature. It's kind of a sheeting water feature between 14th and 15th, which gives you just this surface of just like a, uh, half an inch of water, which is great. If you're, uh, if you've been walking all day in New York city and you have your sandals on, you can wear your shoes, you can come and take your shoes off. I walk through all the time with my shoes on. I do too. Yeah. And it's just, and it, and that water feature, you know, people are like, is this okay? And I'm, it's, it's like a swimming pool. Right. Right. It's treated. It's, it's disinfected.

41:53Does the water go back to the plants? No, no. It's completely a closed system. Oh, I got that. So it's just like a water fountain and it, it, the water sheets across and then seeps back into a tank where it gets treated and then, and then sent back up. This might be a silly question, but you know, you have millions, How many million people walk the Highland every year? Well, last year was six and a half million. In 2019, it was eight and a half million. Wow. Yeah. So it's growing and growing and growing. So do you think about the people from all different areas of all over the world, different areas of the world in regards to maybe what you may plant or, yeah, what you may plant or how does that work?

42:37We've done some studies to see just who, who our visitors are. Right. And, and I'd love to be able to trot those specific statistics out, but I'm not going to remember them right now. But it's about a third. It's about a third is, is, is New York tri-state area. A third is U.S. and then another third is international. yeah i think um sounds about right it's like my tour business yeah and um and we want to be really making sure first of all that we're a park that's for new york city and all five boroughs so we really try to make sure and like the event that you came to for our launch of the nature in the city event we invited non-profits from around the five boroughs that are working in urban ecology so that we can kind of take what we're doing on the high line and include a lot of maybe smaller organizations or, and get people together to, so they can see some of the solutions that everybody's using.

43:33Right. Because I think a lot of times everybody's out there doing the work, but they're not really having a chance to engage with other organizations doing like minded work and finding out shared solutions and things like that. So that's the first thing I think, you know, when you say, what are you doing to kind of support your visitors? And then, you You know, secondly, obviously we get a lot of tourists, a lot of foreign speaking folks. The good news now, I think, is that a lot of folks have a smartphone that can translate. Exactly. Yeah. Because trying to have a language that fits everybody on all of our signage just, you know, obviously becomes kind of impossible.

44:10Right. So we're excited to be able to present that kind of information, you know, with the, you know, like you saw at the 14th Street passage between just south of 14th Street. I think it's 160 linear feet of educational panels that are incredibly, um, artfully illustrated, right? We have a great illustrator this year. Uh, so it's really fun and there's stuff for families. We have, um, we have a, um, scavenger hunt that's available for kids. If they stop in at one of the greeter carts, which are at Gantz of Ort street. I'm glad you brought that up for kids. Like, yeah. So what else do you have?

44:49Do you have anything else for kids? Well, we do have an education department that does family programming. And so there will be family days on the High Line and then they'll have different activities that they engage with. And this year will be activities that are around the biodiversity and the urban ecology. So say there's a tourist of, you know, um, from any, anywhere in the world, be it the United States or around the world, you know, I never, I hadn't thought about this, that they can, cause a lot of my, um, listeners from around the world ask me, what is there for children to do in New York city?

45:24And that's a great option to send them to the Highline and they can. yeah absolutely and if they're looking for even specific project or programs they can visit the highline.org forward slash events right and they'll see what's coming up and see if it aligns their visit aligns with you know one of the specific um programs that the education folks are putting on that's awesome that's something i would i love to tell people now because i hadn't really thought of that and i think that's a great option you know something in new york city the high line. And then, you know, the scavenger hunt is a drop in anytime.

45:59Yeah. I think the, the breeder carts are out Wednesday to Sunday. Oh, I love that. That's, that's a, that's a, I didn't think about that. That's a great idea. Great idea. Richard, is it true that you once said if a plant isn't beautiful when it's dead, it's not worth having? Well, I have to actually attribute that quote to our garden designer, Pete Adol. Oh, is that who said it? Yeah. And he said, a plant isn't worth growing unless it looks good dead. And then the New York Times picked it up. Oh, really? But later I asked Pete about that quote and he said, oh yeah, it's my translation. My English isn't so good.

46:35And what he meant is it's not worth growing unless it looks good when it's decaying. So it may not be dead. It's just, it's the end of the season. It's getting cold. And so it's turning brown and senescing, as we say in the horticulture world, but it's going to come back the next year. Interesting. Very interesting. Richard, do you secretly name any of the plants?

47:02Yes. Oh, you do? I'm not giving you any names though. Oh, that's fair. Secrets. Yeah. I like that. Yeah. No, we have a, there's, um, well, okay. So it's sensuous. There's, there's, we have very few onesies on the Highline, right? There, because it's a naturalistic garden, you always have multiple, so it feels natural, but there's only one river birch on the entire Highline. And And it kind of snuck in with the gray birches down in the Gansport woodland. And so we have the river birch. We kind of have a special name for that I'm not sharing. That's fair. That's hilarious. How do you keep people from touching or damaging things without fencing them off?

47:38So, you know, the gosh, that's the third rail of the High Line, right? Yeah. We had to put up some bed protection to keep people from walking in the beds too much. And I'll be honest with you. one of the definitions of having a public garden is knowing that there's going to be some steps off the, off the path, right? It just comes with the territory. So the fact that we get visitation, we're, we're the most visited public garden in the country by, by multiples. And so the fact that we don't have more damage is really kind of amazing, you know, honestly. Interesting. and what's your favorite view from the High Line and what do you see when you're there?

48:22Good question. I think we talked a little bit earlier maybe about the view of the Chelsea grasslands from the 20th Street stairs and that stairway is getting replaced and so right now it goes up like eight steps and it goes across the railing and then back down so you get this elevated view and that's probably my favorite view on the High Line. You can also right almost from that section, you can also see the Empire State Building. Oh, yes. So it's one of the few, few views of the Empire State Building that's still left on the High Line. You know, it's interesting you said that because when I take people on the High Line, that's one of my favorite things to do is also point out how you can see the High Line in certain places.

49:00I mean, the Empire State Building on the High Line in certain places. Well, and in that same view, you get the High Line Hotel, which is the old seminary building that's right there on on 10th Avenue between 20 and 21. So you get that beautiful red brick and then you get the Empire State Building behind it. In one word, what does nature mean to you, Richard?

49:28Nature is simple and it's a thing that we're all a part of. I like to say that even that dandelion growing in the crack of the sidewalk is nature. And there could be, you know, some little native bee that's finding that dandelion just in the nick of time to get a little drink of nectar and continue on its day. So nature is something that we need and we need to connect with and everybody can do it. I love how nature is interconnected into New York City. You know, it's beautifully done with the Highline. Yeah, absolutely. And there's a lot of great groups that are working on bringing more nature and supporting the nature that's in the city.

50:07nicely said my friend so richard before we let you go we here at the new yorkers podcast want to know what it means to you richard hayden to be a new yorker oh wow um gosh you know to be a new yorker is to be in community um some people you know i've heard friends of mine who've never really spent much time in new york will say oh it's such a cold place and it's so off-putting But those of us that live here just understand how amazing it is to be part of the community that's New York City. It's, you know, walking a couple blocks to the south and seeing a great Broadway show or seeing a great art exhibit or a great, you know, festival over in Brooklyn or something.

50:53There's just so much going on. To get in the middle of that, it's like to slurp up the oyster to take a bite of the biggest apple in the world. you know it's just an incredible experience to have that and to have just this smorgasbord of activities and wonderful things to do and it can be as simple as you know hanging out with all my friends while we're dog walking in the morning and just starting your day catching up with people it's it's everywhere and we're all having this shared experience in you know the most exciting city in in the country if not the world beautifully said and i think the listeners will really appreciate and envision what you're saying.

51:35Dude, that's really nice. I loved it. Really nice. I won't get into the fear of missing out that I feel. Does everybody have that that lives in New York? Oh, yeah. Oh, I didn't get a chance to see that. You know, there's that whole like FOMO thing. Yeah. Richard, thank you for joining us today for this week's episode of the New Yorkers podcast. Why don't you let everyone know where they can find you and the Highline on social media. Yeah. So good question. Um, well they can find the Highline at Highline NYC on Instagram, Facebook, and, um, TikTok. Um, and, uh, also we're on LinkedIn and then, um, and of course the website, thehighline.org, thehighline.org.

52:23Um, and then I am, um, at naturegardener on Instagram. and also on LinkedIn and on Blue Sky. So I'm not on Facebook anymore. Nice. Yeah. I think I have to look for you on Blue Sky if I'm not following you. Please like and subscribe to the New Yorkers podcast. And you can follow the New Yorkers on social media at the New Yorkers podcast. You can leave a rating or a comment to let us know how you are enjoying the show. We read through all your comments and DMs. So please, we would love to hear from you. Thank you, Jennifer Southwood, Bev Boyle, and Lori Foster for your kind words on the last episode.

53:06If you want to be featured at the end of an episode, leave a rating on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify. And thank you, Emma Ward, Steve LaRose, and Helen Bradford for your comments on Facebook. Have a lovely day, everyone, and we'll see you next time. It's been great to be with you, Kelly. Thanks for having me. Richard, it's been a pleasure, truly, and I will see you on the Highline soon. You got it. Thank you, New York 100, for sponsoring this episode. To learn more about them, visit ny100.org. This is the last stop on this train. Everyone, please leave the train. Thank you for riding with MTA New York City Transit.