[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.79,0:00:02.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My dream is to build the world's first
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.97,0:00:05.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,underground park in New York City.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.29,0:00:07.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, why would someone want\Nto build an underground park,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.84,0:00:11.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and why in New York City?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.04,0:00:12.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These three tough little buggers
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.56,0:00:15.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are, on the left, my grandmother, age five,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.78,0:00:17.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then her sister and brother,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.13,0:00:18.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ages 11 and nine.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.67,0:00:20.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This photo was taken just before they left
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.86,0:00:23.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Italy to immigrate to the United States,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.47,0:00:25.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just about a century ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.98,0:00:27.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And like many immigrants at the time,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.38,0:00:29.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they arrived on the Lower East Side
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.09,0:00:30.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in New York City
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.29,0:00:33.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they encountered a crazy melting pot.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.16,0:00:34.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What was amazing about their generation
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.57,0:00:37.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that they were not only building new lives
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.63,0:00:39.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in this new, unfamiliar area,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.75,0:00:42.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they were also literally building the city.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.35,0:00:44.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've always been fascinated by those decades
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.48,0:00:45.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and by that history,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.80,0:00:48.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I would often beg my grandmother
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.28,0:00:49.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to tell me as many stories as possible
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.95,0:00:51.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the old New York.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.96,0:00:54.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But she would often just shrug it off,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.13,0:00:56.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tell me to eat more meatballs, more pasta,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.38,0:00:58.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so I very rarely got
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.26,0:01:01.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,any of the history that I wanted to hear about.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.36,0:01:02.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The New York City that I encountered
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.62,0:01:04.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,felt pretty built up.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.51,0:01:06.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I always knew as a kid that I wanted
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.71,0:01:08.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make a difference, and to somehow
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.23,0:01:10.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,make the world more beautiful, more interesting
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.44,0:01:11.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and more just.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.46,0:01:13.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I just didn't really know how.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.26,0:01:14.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At first, I thought I wanted to go work abroad,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.95,0:01:17.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I took a job with UNICEF in Kenya.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.37,0:01:19.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it felt weird to me that I knew more about
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.48,0:01:23.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,local Kenyan politics than the\Npolitics of my own hometown.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.12,0:01:25.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I took a job with the City of New York,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.12,0:01:27.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but very quickly felt frustrated
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.27,0:01:30.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the slowness of government bureaucracy.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.31,0:01:32.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I even took a job at Google,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.01,0:01:35.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where very fast I drank the Kool-Aid
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.11,0:01:36.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and believed almost wholeheartedly
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.86,0:01:40.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that technology could solve all social problems.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.47,0:01:43.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I still didn't feel like I was\Nmaking the world a better place.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.96,0:01:45.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was in 2009 that my friend
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.82,0:01:47.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and now business partner James Ramsey
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.79,0:01:50.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,alerted me to the location of a pretty spectacular site,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.88,0:01:52.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is this.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.33,0:01:54.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the former trolley terminal
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.17,0:01:56.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was the depot for passengers
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.74,0:01:58.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,traveling over the Williamsburg Bridge
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.65,0:02:00.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Brooklyn to Manhattan,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.93,0:02:03.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it was open between 1908 and 1948,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.70,0:02:06.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just around the time when my grandparents were
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.14,0:02:07.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,living right in the area.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.99,0:02:09.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we learned also that the site
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.64,0:02:12.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was entirely abandoned in 1948.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.88,0:02:14.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fascinated by this discovery,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.80,0:02:17.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we begged the authorities to draw us into the space,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.93,0:02:19.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we finally got a tour,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.44,0:02:21.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is what we saw.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.59,0:02:23.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, this photo doesn't really do it justice.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.30,0:02:25.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's kind of hard to imagine the unbelievably magical
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.96,0:02:28.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,feeling that you have when you get in this space.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.12,0:02:31.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a football field of unused land
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.81,0:02:35.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,immediately below a very crowded area of the city,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.21,0:02:37.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it almost feels like you're Indiana Jones
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.34,0:02:39.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on an archaeological dig,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.06,0:02:40.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and all the details are all still there.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.83,0:02:42.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's really pretty remarkable.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.80,0:02:45.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, the site itself is located at the very heart
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.40,0:02:47.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the Lower East Side,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.27,0:02:48.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and today it still remains one of the most
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.77,0:02:50.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,crowded neighborhoods in the city.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.76,0:02:52.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,New York City has two thirds the green space
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.56,0:02:54.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,per resident as other big cities,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.60,0:02:57.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this neighborhood as one tenth the green space.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.78,0:02:59.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we immediately started thinking about how we
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.60,0:03:01.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could take this site and turn it into something
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.67,0:03:03.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that could be used for the public,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.06,0:03:05.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also could potentially even be green.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.81,0:03:07.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our plan, in a nutshell,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.14,0:03:09.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is to draw natural sunlight underground
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.84,0:03:12.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,using a simple system that\Nharvests sunlight above the street,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.94,0:03:15.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,directs it below the city sidewalks,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.38,0:03:17.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and would allow plants and trees to grow
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.31,0:03:19.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the light that's directed underneath.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.100,0:03:21.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With this approach, you could take a site
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.73,0:03:23.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that looks like this today
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.94,0:03:25.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and transform it into something
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.71,0:03:27.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that looks like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.67,0:03:31.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 2011, we first released some of these images,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.70,0:03:33.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what was funny was,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.09,0:03:35.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a lot of people said to us, "Oh, it kind of looks
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.42,0:03:37.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like the High Line underground."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.35,0:03:41.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so what our nickname ended up becoming,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.67,0:03:43.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what ended up sticking,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.47,0:03:46.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was the Low Line, so the Low Line was born.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.32,0:03:47.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What was also clear was that people really wanted
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.100,0:03:49.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to know a lot more about how the technology
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.69,0:03:51.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would look and feel,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.26,0:03:53.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that there was really much more interest in this
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.39,0:03:55.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than we had ever thought possible.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.49,0:03:57.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, like a crazy person, I decided to quit my job
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.73,0:03:59.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and focus entirely on this project.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.92,0:04:01.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here is us with our team
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.74,0:04:04.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,putting together a technology demonstration
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.15,0:04:06.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a warehouse.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.17,0:04:09.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's the underbelly of this solar canopy
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.27,0:04:11.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which we built to show the technology.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.60,0:04:14.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see the six solar collectors at the center there.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.48,0:04:17.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And here's the full exhibit all put together
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.09,0:04:18.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in this warehouse.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.54,0:04:20.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see the solar canopy overhead,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.32,0:04:21.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the light streaming in,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.73,0:04:24.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this entirely live green space below.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.36,0:04:25.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in the course of just a few weeks,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.78,0:04:29.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tens of thousands of people came to see our exhibit,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.35,0:04:30.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and since that time, we've grown
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.81,0:04:33.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our numbers of supporters both locally
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.11,0:04:35.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and among design enthusiasts all over the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.82,0:04:37.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's a rendering of the neighborhood
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.88,0:04:40.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just immediately above the Line's site,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.25,0:04:42.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a rendering of how it will look
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.38,0:04:44.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after major redevelopment that is coming
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.67,0:04:46.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over the course of the next 10 years.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.67,0:04:48.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Notice how crowded the neighborhood still feels
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.79,0:04:50.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how there's really a lack of green space.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.71,0:04:53.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what we're proposing is really something that will
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.43,0:04:57.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,add one football field of green space
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.18,0:05:00.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,underneath this neighborhood, but more importantly
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.05,0:05:02.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will introduce a really community-driven focus
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.76,0:05:04.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a rapidly gentrifying area.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.94,0:05:06.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And right now, we're focusing very closely
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.69,0:05:09.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on how we engage with the City of New York
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.11,0:05:12.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on really transforming the overall ecosystem
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.55,0:05:14.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in an integrated way.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.63,0:05:16.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's our rendering of how we would actually
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.24,0:05:18.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,invite people into the space itself.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.38,0:05:20.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So here you see this iconic entrance
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.68,0:05:22.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in which we would literally peel up the street
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.86,0:05:25.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and reveal the historical layers of the city,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.87,0:05:28.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and invite people into this warm underground space.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.78,0:05:31.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the middle of winter, when it's\Nabsolutely freezing outside,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.03,0:05:32.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the last place you'd want to go would be
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.12,0:05:34.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an outdoor space or outdoor park.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.63,0:05:36.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Low Line would really be a four-season space
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.56,0:05:39.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a respite for the city.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.04,0:05:41.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I like to think that the Low Line actually brings
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.36,0:05:43.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my own family's story full circle.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.98,0:05:45.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If my grandparents and my parents were really
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.92,0:05:49.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,focused on building the city up and out,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.20,0:05:51.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think my generation is focused on reclaiming
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.28,0:05:53.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the spaces that we already have,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.19,0:05:55.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rediscovering our shared history,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.15,0:05:57.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and reimagining how we can make our communities
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.72,0:06:00.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more interesting, more beautiful and more just.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.74,0:06:02.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thanks.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.71,0:06:04.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)