The Timeline

1908-1948 In 1908, the one-acre Williamsburg Bridge trolley terminal opens on Delancey Street, transporting passengers from the Lower East Side to Brooklyn. After just four decades of use, the trolley terminal is closed to the public, and would never again have any official transit use, despite its adjacency to the J/M/A subway line.

1948-2000s The Lower East Side remains a remarkably diverse neighborhood, due to a mix of public housing and former tenements, and home to immigrants, small businesses, and artists. Delancey Street is widened for high volume car traffic, and becomes one of the least safe streets for pedestrians and local residents.

2009 James Ramsey, owner of Lower East Side design firm Raad Studio, is introduced to the forgotten Williamsburg trolley terminal and he hatches a plan to install solar technology in the site, enabling plants and trees to grow. Dan Barasch is separately exploring a project to install underground art in the New York City subway system. The two friends chat one night over too much wine, and agree to explore the idea of an “underground park” in earnest.

2011 James Ramsey and Dan Barasch release the concept of the Lowline to the public in a highly visible James Ramsey and Dan Barasch release the concept of the Lowline to the public in a highly visible New York Magazine feature . New Yorkers and the world at large are fascinated by the idea that an underground park is possible.

February 2012 The team launches a Kickstarter campaign that raises over $155,000 from 3,300 supporters from all over the world— creating a new record for the largest number of supporters for an urban design project on the platform. A community is born.

Summer 2012 The Lowline commissions two planning studies, one from HR&A Advisors and one from Arup, to assess the viability of building a public park in the former trolley terminal. Both studies provide solid evidence that the idea can be transformed into reality.

September 2012 Team Lowline installs a functioning full-scale model of the solar technology and accompanying green park in an abandoned warehouse directly above the actual site. The exhibit was attended by over 11,000 visitors in just two weeks, serving as proof of concept for the ambitious project.

April 2013 The Lowline conducts its first in-school program with local high school students, designed to engage young people in the process of imagining an underground park and to help design its future uses. This leads to The Lowline conducts its first in-school program with local high school students, designed to engage young people in the process of imagining an underground park and to help design its future uses. This leads to additional youth engagement and design projects with local schools and organizations.

Summer 2013 Nine elected officials send a joint letter to the City showing their support for the Lowline project and encouraging the City to help it progress.

Fall 2013 The Lowline conducts a semester long The Lowline conducts a semester long Young Designers Program with Henry Street Settlement / Boys & Girls Republic, Educational Alliance / SPARC Program and University Settlement / Beacon Program.

Spring 2014 The Lowline has a month long The Lowline has a month long exhibit of the Young Designers work at the Mark Miller Gallery

March 2015 The Lowline holds the “Shaping the Lowline” exhibit, where work from the newest class of Young Designers is displayed and the community is invited to provide greater input.

October 2015- February 26, 2017 The Lowline Lab, a free community gathering space that displays cutting-edge solar technology, serves as a laboratory for lighting and horticulture experiments, and features multiple cultural and community events. Over 100,000 people from across New York City and around the world visited.

July 2016 The Lowline secures a conditional site designation from the City of New York. After negotiations are finalized, a capital campaign to support construction will be launched.