LINE
HIGH
THE
OF
FRIENDS
DRAFT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE TO HOST RAIL YARDS WEEKENDS PRESENTED BY UNIQLO AS PART OF
THE 10TH ANNUAL OPENHOUSENEWYORK WEEKEND
Thanks to UNIQLO, There Will Be Twice as Many Opportunities This October to
Walk the Third and Final Section of the High Line before Construction Gets Underway
New York, NY ( September 6, 2012 ) – Friends of the High Line will open the gates to the High Line’s final
section for visitors to explore the site during Rail Yards Weekends, a series of free and low-cost self-guided tours
presented by Japanese clothing retailer UNIQLO between 12:00 and 4:00 PM on Saturday, October 6; Sunday,
October 7; Saturday, October 13; and Sunday, October 14. Currently closed to visitors, the High Line’s final
section extends one-half mile beyond the High Line park’s northern terminus, and wraps around a storage yard for
Long Island Rail Road trains travelling to and from Penn Station.
With construction beginning on the rail yards section as early as this fall, the Rail Yards Weekends could be the
final opportunity to see the site before it is transformed into an extension of the High Line park. Visitors are invited
to walk along the High Line’s original rail tracks, which are still overgrown with wildflowers and grasses that took
root when the freight trains stopped running in the 1980s. This stretch of the elevated railway offers unparalleled
views of the Hudson River and Midtown skyline, and a glimpse at the self-seeded landscape that inspired the
design of the High Line park.
Rail Yards Weekends are part of openhousenewyork, (OHNY) Weekend, the annual citywide architectural and
design event in October that showcases hundreds of New York City’s most architecturally and culturally significant
spaces, many that are typically closed to the public. Friends of the High Line has participated since the first OHNY
Weekend in 2003 by organizing walking tours that gave an insider’s look at the High Line before the first section
opened as a public park in 2009. In recent years, walking tours have taken place at the rail yards over the course
of one weekend.
This year, UNIQLO has helped to extend this popular walking tour to two weekends and twice as many
opportunities to explore the High Line at the rail yards. In the second year of their partnership, UNIQLO continues
to support the ongoing maintenance and operations of the High Line. To celebrate the partnership and the one
year anniversary of the 5th Ave Global Flagship Store opening, UNIQLO will also be providing visitors with a piece
of Heattech, the innovative heat generating innerwear, at the end of their visit.
The self-guided walking tours during Rail Yards Weekends are open to visitors 18 years of age or older. Visitors
interested in taking one of the self-guided tours are advised to mark their calendars; rail yards walking tours have
been wildly popular in past years, and reservations have been filled in as little as one hour. Reservations for the
first weekend cost $5, and will be available through www.ohny.org beginning on the morning of Thursday,
September 27. Self-guided tours during the second weekend are free, but reservations are required, and can be
made through www.thehighline.org beginning at 12:00 noon on Thursday, September 27.
WHAT: Rail Yards Weekends
WHEN:
Saturday, October 6 | Sunday, October 7 | Saturday, October 13 | Sunday, October 14
12:00 – 4:00 PM
WHERE:
High Line at the Rail Yards
Between West 30th and West 34th Streets **
** The walking tour entry point will be provided to guests upon making a reservation.
ABOUT UNIQLO
UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co. (FR), a leading global Japanese retail holding company that designs,
manufactures and sells clothing under five brands: Comptoir des Cotonniers, g.u., Princesse tam.tam, Theory,
Helmut Lang and UNIQLO. With global sales of 820 billion yen for the 2011 fiscal year ending August 31, 2011,
FR is the world’s fourth largest apparel retail company and UNIQLO is Japan’s leading specialty retailer.
Today UNIQLO has more than 1,100 stores in 13 markets worldwide, namely in Japan, the U.S., U.K. France,
Russia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Korea. UNIQLO continues
to open large-scale stores in some of the world's most important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts
to solidify its status as a truly global brand. UNIQLO operates an integrated business model under which it
designs, manufactures, markets and sells high-quality, casual apparel in line with its ‘Made for All’ philosophy.
With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world,
FR is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For
more information about UNIQLO and other FR group companies, please visit
www.uniqlo.com or www.fastretailing.com
ABOUT OPENHOUSENEWYORK
Founded in 2001, openhousenewyork (OHNY) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring,
engaging and educating the public about New York City's architecture, design and cultural heritage. Through its
year-round programs including the Annual OHNY Weekend, OHNY provides broad audiences rare access and
insight into the extraordinary architecture that defines New York City, while introducing you to the people who work
to make the city a vibrant and sustainable place to live, work and visit. 2012-2013 marks the 10th Anniversary of
OHNY. For more information, visit ohny.org and follow us on Facebook (/openhousenewyork) and Twitter
(@OHNY).
ABOUT THE HIGH LINE AND FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE
The High Line is an elevated freight rail line transformed into a public park on Manhattan’s West Side. It is owned
by the City of New York, and maintained and operated by Friends of the High Line. Founded in 1999 by two
community residents named Joshua David and Robert Hammond, Friends of the High Line fought for the High
Line’s preservation and transformation at a time when the historic structure was under the threat of demolition. It is
now the non-profit conservancy working with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to make sure
the High Line is maintained as an extraordinary public space for all visitors to enjoy. In addition to overseeing
maintenance, operations, and public programming for the park, Friends of the High Line works to raise the
essential private funds to support more than 90 percent of the park’s annual operating budget, and to advocate for
the transformation of the High Line at the rail yards, the third and final section of the historic structure, which runs
between West 30th and West 34th Streets.
Visit www.thehighline.org to learn more information about Rail Yards Weekends and other High Line Public
Programs. Stay connected with the High Line by signing up for the High Line Email Newsletter, liking the High Line
on Facebook, and following @highlinenyc on Twitter.
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For further information please contact:
Melissa DiSalvo, UNIQLO USA
[email protected]
(212) 359-8314 / (917) 622-6724
Linda G. Miller, openhousenewyork
[email protected]
(212) 725-7656 / (917) 710-4252
Kate Lindquist, Friends of the High Line
[email protected]
(212) 206-9922 / (646) 259-2837