By Jenny Xu | 8 years ago

With the lack of available space, New Yorkers mostly have to make the most of what they do have: various parks, window boxes, strips of grass on traffic islands, rooftops, and more unorthodox places, such as the famous High Line park, which was built on an abandoned elevated railway, or Open House Gallery’s pop-up park.

They’re always looking for more room to take a break from the hustle and bustle of city life though, which is where the Delancey Underground project, or the cheekily named “Low Line,” comes in. The plan is to build an underground public area in what was once the Williamsburg Trolley Terminal, which has been abandoned for the last sixty years, underneath Delancey Street.

Here’s the concept video:

Masterminds Dan Barasch and James Ramsey claim that the park will use filtered solar lighting, powered by street level solar panels, to create a perfect habitat for grass and trees to grow underground. The indoor park would be the a great place to go on a rainy day, and would be used for everything from Farmer’s markets to art exhibits. The project wants to expand the way urban planners look at and use space within cities, and recycle unused urban infrastructure while they’re at it.

Barasch and Ramsey have raised approximately $155,000 so far, but still need to get their project approved by the city in order to gain further funding and approval for construction.

This is what the underground space looks like now…



And this is what it will look like when they’re done…



For more concept photos hit Digital Trends.