New York mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has presented the 2010 Doris C. Freedman Award to the Friends of the High Line, for the latter's work in preserving a piece of New York's industrial history and transforming it into an innovative public space and heritage attraction.

The High Line is a public park built on an elevated freight rail structure on Manhattan's West Side. Originally built in the 1930s to remove dangerous freight trains from Manhattan's streets, the High Line delivered milk, meat, produce, and raw and manufactured goods into the upper-floor loading docks of factories and warehouses.

Bloomberg said; "It's an honor to present the Doris C. Freedman Award to Friends of the High Line for its invaluable work in bringing the City's historic High Line back to life. By transforming an old rail line into an innovative new park with inventive art installations and public programmes, Friends of the High Line helped create an iconic attraction that has captured the history of the neighborhood - and given all New Yorkers and our visitors an elevated oasis to enjoy for generations to come."

Founded in 1999 by two neighborhood residents, Friends of the High Line was formed as a non-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation of the entire historic structure and the landscape of wild flowers, trees, and shrubs that had taken over the rail line during its years of disuse. The first section of the High Line (Gansevoort Street to 20th Street) opened in the summer of 2009.

The Doris C. Freedman Award was established in 1982 by then mayor Edward I. Koch to recognise an individual or organization for a contribution to the people of the City of New York that greatly enriches the public environment.

Image: Gryffindor