Open less than two months, the High Line already has its hand out.
Facing crowds that are much larger than expected and with the recession putting a crimp in fund-raising, the High Line’s founders are proposing a business improvement district that would tax nearby property owners.
“We want to make sure we can keep maintaining the High Line to this level that has worked so well,” said Friends of the High Line co-founder Robert Hammond. “We’ve been talking about it for a while, but now it’s becoming more of a necessity.”
Hammond said that weekend crowds have averaged 20,000 visitors a day, while weekdays typically draw between 6,000 and 10,000 visitors — about four times as many as predicted before the park’s opening on June 9.
With the added crowds have come higher maintenance costs, Hammond said.
Friends of the High Line, a not-for-profit group, oversaw the design and construction of the $152 million, city-owned park. The group also has a license with the city to maintain and operate it.
Hammond estimated that operating costs will be roughly $3.5 million to $4.5 million a year. The city kicks in about $1 million, leaving the not-for-profit to raise the rest.
A business improvement district would raise about $1 million a year, leaving Friends of the High Line to come up with the balance from donations and fund-raisers.
The annual fee for the owner of a 1,000-square-foot apartment would range from $30 to $90, depending on where they live.
“When we were planning the park, we didn’t know we’d be in the middle of a recession when it opened,” Hammond said, adding that the group has raised enough money to be able to keep up with the costs for the next year.
At a community meeting on the proposal last night, at least half a dozen residents panned the idea of hitting them with an extra tax to pay for the park.
“I think it’s the epitome of chutzpah,” said Pat Lipsky, a resident of London Terrace on West 23rd Street. “You build this beautiful park and then you come and ask us to pay for it.”
Maya Hess, a resident of West 21st Street, said she’s opposed to the fee on principle. “It’s not the $30 a year I would have to pay, but I don’t believe it should be done this way,” she said.
The district would stretch from Gansevoort Street north to 30th Street, and from 10th Avenue west.
Hammond said that a formal application wouldn’t be submitted to the city until the end of the year. But he added that if there is strong community opposition, it’s unlikely the plan would be pursued.
Mayor Bloomberg said it’s up to the business owners around the High Line to determine if they want to impose the extra taxes.
“It’s got to come from the merchants in the community. It’s got to go through Rob Walsh (at Small Business Services). It’s got to go through the City Council. It’s not like somebody walks in and starts raising taxes on them,” the mayor said.
The upside, he added, is that the High Line “has turned out to be a very big success.”