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Photos by Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates
The High Line only just opened to the public this past June, but already it's facing a $2 million lawsuit. We've been told by the NYC Park Advocates that "a basic design flaw that regularly causes pedestrians to trip has rendered the vast majority of the first section of the million High Line promenade a hazard."
The lawsuit was filed by 66-year old Paula Meinetz-Shapiro, who tripped on "raised, uneven, depressed, decorative concrete" in the park back in June, causing her to break her left ankle. She's seeking her payout from the City and the Parks Department, but not the designers of the park.
Falls aren't uncommon on the High Line, either — there's plenty of seemingly harmless design aspects that are just waiting to trip you up! These hazards include raised concrete slabs and camouflaged curbs. An employee of the High Line says, "People are tripping all the time. It's been a big issue." The problem has led to signs and rope blocking parts of the park off, but there's no word on if a more permanent fix will be put in place during Phase II of the park's construction.
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how depressing
Ridiculous.
Inevitable.
settlement
dental plan
That's pretty freaking ridiculous. I can't believe the kinds of stuff people get settlements for. Even when hot coffee cups have the words "CAUTION, THIS IS FREAKIN' HOT" ... people still get to sue fast food places when they spill it on themselves. Insane! What a world we live in..
Actually the McDonalds coffee case was a long time coming for the company and an example of suing actually working. You should do a little research before running your mouth.
yeah, I'm pretty sure that lawsuit (frivolous as it was) is the reason hot beverage cups now have cautions written on them. in her (million dollar) defense, they didn't say anything prior to that.
As much as I despise personal-injury plaintiffs for the most part, I have to grudgingly admit it, in this case, the design is a disaster waiting to happen. I love how some designers sacrifice functionality for aesthetics.
$2m for a broken ankle?
unprecedented
Was she dressed fabulously while walking the runway that is the highline? If not, then she deserves what she gets.
One day I would like a judge to tell these dumb litigious-crazy people to "watch where you are going."
Personal safety is your personal responsibility.
UGH. Learn to walk Paula Meinetz-Shapiro. It's called coordination, look into it. Heaven forbid anyone takes the blame themselves for something as stupid as tripping on a curb. People suck.
Like everything else in life it's about the money.
I love how some designers sacrifice functionality for aesthetics.
I really do love when they do that. Perhaps if there wasn't so much hand-holding we would be more aware and not need it in the first place.
Only in New York. Elsewhere in this country, people watch where they walk and if they trip because they weren't looking at the terrain, then that's what their health insurance is for. In New York, if I trip because I'm a dumba*s and don't watch where my feet should go I expect a huge windfall and more than likely will get it. If it were truly a flaw (oops I fell through the rusty/rotten boards underneath the century old roadbed) then maybe I should expect the city to at least pay for my medical bills, but for tripping on a STEP or uneven surface on the ground, then I should get NOTHING. As my grandmother used to say, its re-fu**ing-diculous.
Welcome to the United States, a country of wimps.
I think if you break an ankle at 66 years old, you stand a good chance of being crippled for the rest of your life. I'm surprised by the lack of sympathy.
I hate lawsuits as much as the next urban-communist, but if lots of people are being injured, we DO have a major design flaw here. Big payouts are designed to make companies take notice. They don't seem to be working, in this case. Perhaps it needs to be more than $2M?
soon they will have to charge entrance fees for this park if these idiotic lawsuits continue.
hey, a sidewalk has an edge too where one can trip! No one's suing there... oh wait, probably someone is...
USA: check common sense and self responsibility at the entrance....
I'm not a big fan of frivolous lawsuits, but I've got to say that there is a lot up on the High Line that seems pretty dangerous, especially those angled curbs, and the areas where the water is supposed to flow (someday). I'm getting older, and I can't see as well as I used to. I've almost tripped quite a number of times. The two photos on the upper left weren't cordoned off, and it was very difficult to see just how uneven those "prongs" are.
And as far as the settlement goes, I fell on the street almost two years ago, sprained a wrist and broke ribs, and I was shocked at how much more difficult it was to recover from these kind of injuries than when I was younger. I hate to imagine what it is like being 66.
Can't believe I'm on the side of the person suing the parks department, I must be getting older! A first for me.
This lady is a fucking idiot. She should sue for one and half billion dollars. Obviously the classist designers, designing away in their ivory towers, and the parks department are out to get people like her.
I have only been on the High Line once -- in June -- and I tripped twice. It's a design flaw.
www.forgotten-ny.com
I cannot believe the lack of compassion some of you leaving comments display. It's really disgraceful.
There will always be a minority of people who abuse the system and scam in order to make a buck, but that doesn't mean that ~every~ lawsuit is a farce and should be treated with scorn.
What other way do citizens and consumers have to achieve justice gainst multi-billion dollar corporations and govt. agencies that they have been wronged by?
Is anyone not aware that we live in a world that is being destroyed by corporate powers that have basically no regard for human life, the environment, or much else besides their bottom line? What do you say to the families suffering from cancer and birth defects due to toxic dumping? "Stop whining and don't expect hand-holding you big wimps?"
I would swear that some of these comments on Gothamist could be coming from those rabid Fox News commentators. It's the same viscious, almost sociopathic lack of compassion for humanity.
How about reserving some of the anger and vitrol you so easily display for an injured elderly woman for the injustices that plague this city?
The very existence of the High Line is a good example of such socio-economic injustices.
If it had been your mother who had broken her ankle, would you be so cruel in your response? Would you perhaps have a different perspective? Well, that woman ~is~ someone's mother.
"Sue Everybody!"
Saul Rosenberg
The United States is sue happy - that isn't news. But to those who attacked the alleged victim probably haven't visited High Line yet. If you did you would absolutely agree with those saying that there are unneccesary dangers along the scenic path. Not only are there design flaws, but parts of it simply aren't finished and are awaiting further construction. When I was there - 3 times ranging from the week it first open thru August - I tripped or stumbled at least twice and remarked to my sister that it wasn't a place we could ever bring our grandmother.
Please at least go there before you criticize.
I think this is a legitimate suit and a huge design flaw. I myself stumbled several times when I visited the Highline, and I'm an able-bodied, fully-sighted 30-year-old. Imagine what it would be like for someone who's visually impaired, or unsteady on their feet? I'm not at all surprised that an older person has suffered a serious injury from tripping here; honestly I'm more surprised that this is the first injury we've heard of.
The curb is too low, and the subtle angle of it makes it very hard to register visually. Same with the low, gradual incline of the little fork-tine elements that mark the transition between sidewalk and beds. It's incredibly easy for your eyes to miss the fact that there's a shift in the terrain. I'm really disappointed that nobody on the design team foresaw a problem with this; they should have known better. Public spaces are supposed to accomodate people, not create hazards for them.
"fork-tine elements"...apt description. Those are absurdly dangerous. Although it seems the lady in the article was not hurt on those but rather, on the slanted edges or borders. What really irks me is that this park is beautiful, in concept and in reality. But it seems like the designers didn't bother with the common-sense "Will someone get hurt?" test. It's not "hand-holding" to consider that. One has to expect toddlers and the elderly to be using the park as well.
"When I was there - 3 times ranging from the week it first open thru August - I tripped or stumbled at least twice and remarked to my sister that it wasn't a place we could ever bring our grandmother."
OK, so DON'T take your grandmother there.
But if she goes, trips and hurts herself, it's the city's fault and she will be entitled to sue for $2 million, right? Because EVERY place should be safe for EVERYBODY at ALL TIMES, right? Because, hey, that's the way we ALL know the world works, right? And if it is not, then it's surely somebody else's fault, preferably somebody with big pockets we can milk out.
I love it when people find their own responsibility-exemp twisted logic so... well, so logic.
Every freakin' time I go to the High Line, I trip on those damn curbs - and I KNOW they're there. This IS a major design flaw. I would never take my parents up there for fear that they would trip, fall, and break a rib. This 66 year old woman suffered a broken ankle which is incredibly painful and due to her age, best of luck that it heals properly. She'll probably have a limp, pain, and/or have to use a cane for the rest of her life. 2MM doesn't seem so ridiculous.
happened to me too. miss my chance to make millions I guess.
small iq tests are distributed liberally about a person's daily life, and people seem to fail these consistently...
I'm sooo bored with the U S A!
I bet those same people were tripping all over each other to get to the lawyer's office.
actually those raised curbs are a genuine tripping hazard. They are not high enough to see but raised enough to get you, plus they blend in with the rest of the asphalt. not worth 2 mill though.
Roy Batty--you're missing the point. It's a PUBLIC PARK. A hundred-million-plus-dollar and supposedly cutting-edge one, at that. They shouldn't have to post signs at the entrances saying, "not recommended for people over 60 or the physically impaired." A brand-new urban park, designed in 2008 by a group of ostensibly well-educated designers familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the concept of universal design, SHOULD be safe, or at least safer than what they have constructed, which is full of tripping hazards.
It just frustrates me because it's so unnecessary. The problem could have been avoided with minor changes to the overall design.
this is what you get when you hire age denying hipsters to design for the rest of us.
You could make these curbs 90 degrees and 6 inches high and people would still trip on them.
An experiment: get out of your chair, go out on the street for 10 minutes and watch the curb in front of your building. I bet someone stumbles mounting the curb.
We have building codes for a reason.
but sidewalks and streets all over the city are uneven and full of holes and outcropppings and cracked pavement and weird things. It's pretty typical to trip on something if you walk anywhere in the city. Should you be rewarded because you're incapable of dealing with the FACTS OF URBAN LIFE like everyone else?
This almost makes me pine for the days before the High Line was renovated, when you had to be young, slim and agile to get through the tiny openings in the fences. As cluttered as it was back then, I never once tripped or fell. It's the age-old problem. If you make a place seem safe, people will be a little less careful. Similarly, when automakers add more safety features like antilock brakes and airbags, studies show drivers become less careful, expecting the new features to protect them from any stupid decisions they make.
I've tripped there (only because I was too busy admiring the view to look where I was walking)... so I can see it happening... but that's my fault. And does someone sue every time they trip over uneven pavement in Central Park or a tree root in Prospect Park?
According to the logic displayed here, the parks won't be safe until they are cushy and soft... sort of like a padded room for mental patients. Yeah... that sounds about right!
comments like this are funny,
i cant find the bloomberg bldg resident's lawsuit regarding the curb cuts and curb same color as sidewalk , its hard to find on google (i wonder why?)
im no expert on all this stuff, but the problem is obviously a willful ignorance of design laws & rules in place to allow all people access to public resources and recognizes that people with disabilities be given fair and equal access,
apart from that, this seems to be a case where edgy design took precedence over obvious design features that minimize liability and accidents.
This lawsuit isn't going to make parks safer, it's going to make them less ambitious, more conservative, and all around more boring. I'm sure this element met all current safety mandates.
I like those fork-tine elements; it merges the sidewalk with the planting beds elegantly - and it would have been better to put an obstruction, such as a bench, to direct walkers away from them.
The high line is one of the best examples of good public design we have available, at least in terms of aesthetics and a parks department willing to do something new and interesting. Let's not sue this sort of thing out of future plans.
as an architecture student who just toured the high line two weeks ago with the project manager, people should know that the 'tripping hazards' are not an aesthetic detail, but actually an ADA requirement to keep wheelchairs/strollers on the path and an indication for the blind...
i'm sorry this woman was injured, but people should know what they're talking about before they assume this was an aesthetic decision at the hands of the architects...
so should people be allowed to sue when they trip on curbs?
It does not matter that the design was not a sacrifice for aesthetics and that it was meant to fulfill an ADA requirement. It has functionally failed if it is causing repeated accidents. (And disabilities come in many flavors, as someone with visual impairment has noted.) Bad design is bad design - no matter what the motivation. Having a daughter in an architecture program where the emphasis is on form over function, this is not at all surprising. It is, however, sad, given that this is new construction and given how much more we know about designing for disabilities than we did in the past.
It is inconsistent in design -- poorly planned for pedestrian safety in certain areas (mostly the narrowest parts), and very well-done in others. I am fit and found myself tripping and stubbing my toes several times, especially when it was crowded. You can't enjoy it as much as you'd like beacuse you have to keep your head down watching out -- but because the color of the cement and the foliage together disguise those sloping parts, it is easy to trip anyway. Plus, those signs cautioning people are not everywhere they should be!
"art" obviously the ADA requirements arent sufficient because the park is filled with poorly designed tripping hazards. The problem is that the highline walkways are sort of Z shaped so you are walking straight and then it veers and then you are walk onto a slightly raised section of same-colored concrete.