New section of High Line to open in June

Visitors to the High Line-- an elevated stretch of abandoned Manhattan rail track turned into a lush public space with views of high-rises and the Hudson -- have another month to wait before a new section opens and snakes north to the Westside Railyard.

By summer, the chain-link fence that separates the open stretch from the newest section will come down. Visitors will be able to walk from the southernmost tip near the Meatpacking District north through Chelsea at 30th Street.

"This is definitely the most unique park in the city. It gives you a new view of the skyline," said Barry Levites, 25, of Islip who was visiting the High Line Monday with a friend. "I'll definitely come back for more."

The new installment includes a thicket, a raised walkway running through an area of canopy-like trees, a wildflower field and a cut-out walkway covered in metal grating and revealing the train tracks and vehicle traffic below, according to the park's engineers and architects.

The cutout will acquaint patrons with the railroad's history, said Elizabeth Devendorf, project manager of the High Line and an associate with the engineering firm Buro Happold.

"There's an engaging of the steel of the High Line structure itself," Devendorf said. "There's a little more interaction between the visitor and the existing structure in section two than section one."

Upon completion -- work has yet to begin on section three -- the High Line will wind a mile and a half through the city's West Side.

"You'll have this continuous experience of traversing the park," said Matthew Johnson, project designer of the High Line and a senior associate with architectural firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro. "The High Line is about taking your time, contemplating and meandering. So far, we've only had a teaser with section one, and just when you sort of get in the mood, it's already over."

The High Line, a public space financed primarily by private funds raised by a nonprofit, sits atop railroad tracks built in the 1930s above street level. The park's first section, which opened in 2009, features wild-looking foliage growing around the tracks as it did when trains stopped running there in 1980.