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Friends of the High Line
Robert Hammond and Joshua David founded Friends of the High Line in 1999 to save a disused elevated freight rail spur on Manhattan's West Side from demolition.
Friends of the High Line
Robert Hammond and Joshua David founded Friends of the High Line in 1999 to save a disused elevated freight rail spur on Manhattan's West Side from demolition. The effort turned a piece of derelict industrial infrastructure into a public park, which is now maintained and operated by the nonprofit. The organization's board has drawn consistent support from influential figures in New York business and philanthropy, including Barry Diller, Diane von Furstenberg, and Jon Stryker. The nonprofit's primary asset is the High Line park itself, a mixed-use corridor that runs from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street. Beyond park operations, the organization has accumulated a portfolio of related real property that includes the Diller-von Furstenberg Building at 820 Washington Street, the 18th Street Plaza, and the Robert and Anne Dickey House at 67 Greenwich Street. The High Line Art Collection and installations such as the Plinth sculptures form an additional cultural asset layer. Adjacent to these hard assets, the High Line Endowment Fund constitutes a separate financial pool managed for long-term capital preservation. Board-level financial and strategic leadership comes from a cross-section of New York's professional and philanthropic elite. Alan van Capelle serves as President and Executive Director, managing day-to-day operations. Anne Dickey heads the investment committee. Other board members include Karen Ackman, whose husband Bill Ackman of Pershing Square has also been a significant donor, Amanda Burden of Bloomberg Associates, Trey Muldrow of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and Jeffrey Harris of Quantum Innovation Fund. The organization also runs the High Line Network, a professional group for leaders of infrastructure reuse projects across North America. The platform's structure is unusual even among conservancies: it controls income-producing commercial real estate alongside a dedicated endowment, but it must channel the returns into a single, physically constrained city asset. This model creates a narrow, hyper-local investment mandate — portfolio decisions ultimately serve the maintenance and programming of a single 1.45-mile park — that separates it from broader civic foundations or multi-site land trusts.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1999
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Alan van Capelle
Executive Director and President
Philip Aarons
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Anne Dickey
Trustee and Head of the Investment Committee
Joshua David
Co-Founder
Robert Hammond
Co-Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions at Friends of the High Line?
Investment decisions are governed by the board's investment committee. Anne Dickey, a trustee, chairs that committee. The committee is responsible for overseeing the High Line Endowment Fund and the organization's broader portfolio of assets, which includes commercial and mixed-use real estate alongside the park itself.
What is the relationship between the High Line Endowment Fund and the park's operating budget?
The organization fundraises nearly 100% of the park's annual operating budget from private sources. The endowment, estimated at roughly $76 million, acts as a long-term financial backstop. Investment returns from the endowment and from real estate holdings, such as the Diller-von Furstenberg Building, help to smooth out funding volatility and support ongoing operations.
Does Friends of the High Line own real estate beyond the park itself?
Yes. The organization's asset base extends beyond the linear park to include specific commercial and mixed-use properties. These include the Diller-von Furstenberg Building at 820 Washington Street, the 18th Street Plaza, and the Robert and Anne Dickey House at 67 Greenwich Street, all in Manhattan.
How is Friends of the High Line connected to other infrastructure reuse projects?
The organization founded the High Line Network, a strategic hub for leaders managing infrastructure reuse projects across North America. Through this network, the group shares operational, financial, and design strategies with peer projects, establishing a professional standard for converting derelict industrial infrastructure into civic amenities.
Who are the key philanthropic backers on the board?
The board includes several prominent New York donors and operators. Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg are major donors and board members. Bill Ackman and his Pershing Square Philanthropies have also been significant donors. Other board members include Jon Stryker of the Arcus Foundation, Darren Walker of the Ford Foundation, and Jane Lauder of the Estée Lauder Companies.
Is Friends of the High Line a city agency?
No. It is a private, nonprofit conservancy. Though it operates and maintains a public park on land owned by the City of New York, the organization is responsible for raising nearly all of its budget through private donations and managing its own endowment and real estate assets, independent of direct city operational control.
What assets make up the Friends of the High Line portfolio?
The portfolio can be categorized into three buckets: the physical park infrastructure and the adjacent commercial and mixed-use buildings it owns; an endowment fund estimated at $75 million to $80 million; and a cultural asset layer that includes the High Line Art Collection and rotating Plinth commissions, which are integrated into the park's physical fabric.
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