New York, April 10, 2006 – Kevin Bacon, Edward Norton, Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller were hanging out at a trendy spot in the Meatpacking district on Monday. So what else is new? Shockingly, preservationists triumphed over rabid condo-ization, and the High Line, the abandoned elevated rail track, will apparently become a park. The celebs were gathered along with politicians for the “groundbreaking” – actually a rail-lifting, wherein the railroad ties are being removed. Will the commemorative green hardhats become the hot fashion statement for Spring?

The park, expected to be open in 2008, will run through the west Chelsea gallery district from Gansevoort to 20th Streets, and hopefully there won’t be a velvet rope to get in.

Friends of the High Line