Australians in Chelsea Market

Roam if you want to, Roam around the world. - B52's

On the road again, Goin' places that I've never been. Seein' things that I may never see again. - Willie Nelson

The following Letter from New York is by the mysterious LFNY Follower, Jaded NYer

Two months ago I started working for a company located inside the Chelsea Market. The Chelsea Market, which is in the trendy Meatpacking District of the West Village, started out as the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) in the 1890's. Today the building contains offices and a wide variety of stores and takes up an entire city block from 9th to 10th avenue between15th and16th street.

During the past two months I have discovered something interesting about the area. I am surrounded by Australians.

Not only do I work with two of them, one in particular who looks exactly like a young Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones, (I told him to get a paternity test, he might be rich and not know it), and the other, a middle aged gentleman who is smart, funny, and disorganized. Whenever I run into Australians, I find they all seem to have the same sense of humor, which personally I find to be a mixture of sarcasm and common sense. Good match if you ask me.

Without fail, whenever I am standing outside during a break (I believe the Australian word is "smoko"), I’m approached by an Australian looking for the High Line.

At first I wondered, why do Australians like to get high? Is it because they come from down under? However after investigating, I discovered what the High Line actually is.

The High Line is a new park built on an old elevated 1930's freight rail structure. The structure was created to remove freight trains from street level traffic due to the many accidents that occurred on the streets of Manhattan from 1851 through 1929. These elevated trains delivered goods to upper floor loading docks of businesses in the area. The last train ran in 1980 with three cars loaded full of frozen turkeys.

The High Line entrance is located at 15th Street and 10th avenue. Currently it is divided into three sections, the first of which runs from Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street.

The second section is still under construction and will stretch on to West 30th Street. A third section is planned for the future, so that the park will comprise the entire length of the structure from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street.

Currently there are "No Dogs Allowed on the High Line", and several people expressed to me that they would like it to stay that way. I promised to mention that in this article.

What I found was indeed a rare treat. Assorted trees, plants, and flowers, landscaped within the existing infrastructure, between the old rail beds and tracks, along with the original restored outer railing that make for a unique promenade. A genuine take on the old and new.

Spectacular views of the Hudson River and surrounding skyline.

Ah, I thought to myself, these Australians were on to something. Here was a place to get away from it all, to relax and unwind in a peaceful oasis right above our city streets.

It looks like the High Line has found it’s new purpose. What used to be a means for transporting goods has now becomes a means for transporting our minds.

Jaded NYer
New York
May 2010