Council bails out High Line charity - again

From DNA Info:

The High Line is set to get a whopping $5 million in extra cash from the city — more than almost any other park — even as it reported pulling in $85 million in private funds and established a lucrative concessions deal, city records show.

The High Line cash, appropriated by the City Council as part of the 2013 budget's capital expenditures, will be paid to the Friends of the High Line for use building the estimated $90 million construction on its third section.

The move has some park advocates questioning why the city is set to spend on the High Line such a large part of its $105 million, 2013 appropriations for 142 park projects — when the taxpayer money could go to other city parks that have greater infrastructure needs and fewer wealthy donors.

Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates, called the difference in city allotments to park space discouraging — pointing to several other parks that could use city cash for improvements, including Ferry Point Park in the Bronx and Highbridge Park in Washington Heights.

"When you consider the dramatic needs of other parks that need a tremendous amount of help, the disparity is unbelievable," he said.

"The High Line and Brooklyn Bridge Park, they’re exciting new additions to the parks system," Croft said. "But clearly that money could be used to take care of longstanding needs in other, poorer communities. But it’s not a priority."

Let's recall that Friends of the High Line was supposed to raise the money for their tourist playground-in-the-sky PRIVATELY. But they failed, so Christine Quinn saw to it that they got bailed out. Again. Meanwhile, parks in Queens look like crap or won't get built because "we have no money."