High Line Assessment District Dropped

Proposed by the group Friends of the High Line, the tax assessment plan was aimed at raising money for upkeep and maintenance of the park. But local landowners vocally opposed the plan.

"The group had proposed a "High Line Improvement District" that would, like similar cordons around Union Square or Times Square, fund park maintenance through a surtax on property values in the area. The proposal entailed a fee on residential buildings, though, where the more common approach taxes only commercial properties with higher cashflow. Hammond suggested that residents, despite the cachet of the High Line, stopped short of considering themselves bound to it."