FOR RELEASE
Contact: Dennis Watson
07/17/2003 (Thursday)
(202) 565-1596
No. 03-32
FIRS 1 (800) 877-8339
www.stb.gov


Surface Transportation Board Provides Schedule of Appearances & Time Allocations for Public & Media Attendance at July 24 Public Hearing in New York City on "Highline" Rail-Line Abandonment Case


Surface Transportation Board Chairman Roger Nober today announced the schedule for the Board's July 24, 2003 site visit and public hearing in the New York "Highline" railroad abandonment case.



The site visit and inspection will being at 10:00 a.m. and be conducted by the rail line's owner, CSX Corporation. The public hearing will begin at 2:00 p.m. in Conference Room A of the Federal Conference Center in the Jacob Javits Federal Building, located at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City. The names of the witnesses who have requested to testify at the hearing, their respective time allocations, and information for members of the public and media who are interested in attending the hearing are provided below.



MATTER AT ISSUE:

The Board is holding the July 24 public hearing to provide a forum for interested persons to express their views on the matters at issue in the "Highline" railroad-abandonment case officially titled Chelsea Property Owners--Abandonment--Portion of the Consolidated Rail Corporation's West 30th Street Secondary Track in New York, NY, Docket No. AB-167 (Sub-No. 1094)A.



INSTRUCTIONS FOR PUBLIC AND MEDIA ATTENDANCE:

• As publicly announced on June 4, 2003 (see Surface Transportation Board "News" release 03-26 issued that date), the hearing will begin at 2:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 24, 2003, in the Federal Conference Center, Conference Room A, in the Jacob Javits Federal Building, 26 Federal Plaza, New York, New York.

• There will be no reserved seating. Given the following procedures, please plan to arrive early enough to be seated no later than 1:45 p.m.

• Please enter the Jacob Javits Federal Building's Duane Street entrance at 26 Federal Plaza (between Broadway and Lafayette Street). All visitors must be cleared through Javits Building Security at the Duane Street entrance prior to proceeding to the 6th Floor Federal Conference Center, Room A.

• For security reasons, be prepared to produce photo identification (such as a driver's license), pass through a metal detector, and submit to an inspection of all briefcases, handbags, etc.

• The Conference Center complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act, and persons needing such accommodation should contact the General Services Administration (GSA) Property Manager's Office, Room 2-100, at (212) 264-9290, by the close of business on Wednesday, July 23, 2003.



SCHEDULE OF APPEARANCES

A schedule of speakers' appearances and time allocations is attached.



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ATTACHMENT
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ATTACHMENT: SCHEDULE OF APPEARANCES
Chelsea Property Owners--Abandonment--Portion of the Consolidated Rail Corporation's West 30th Street Secondary Track in New York, NY Docket No. AB-167 (Sub-No. 1094)A

PARTY / TIME ALLOTTED

Panel I
The City of New York
Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff
City Planning Commission Chairperson Amanda Burden
Speaker of the New York City Council Gifford Miller / 45 minutes

Panel II
Friends of the High Line, Inc.
Phil Aarons
Robert Hammond / 20 minutes

Chelsea Property Owners
John H. Broadley / 5 minutes

The New York Convention Center Development Corporation
Elizabeth Bradford / 10 minutes

Consolidated Rail Corporation, CSX Corporation, and CSX Transportation, Inc.
Robert M. Jenkins III
Peter J. Shudtz / 15 minutes

Panel III
Congressman Jerrold Nadler or Designee / 7.5 minutes
Christine C. Quinn, New York City Councilmember / 7.5 minutes

Panel IV
The Municipal Art Society of New York
Frank Emile Sanchis III / 3 minutes

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
Andrew Berman / 3 minutes

The American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter
Fredric Bell / 3 minutes

The Society for Industrial Archeology
Mary Habstritt / 3 minutes

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Jeffrey R. Ciabotti / 3 minutes

The New York Metro Chapter of the American Planning Association
Ethel Sheffer / 3 minutes

The Lerner Group, Inc.
Anne-Brigitte Sirois / 3 minutes

Charles Chotkowski / 3 minutes

Susan Sands / 3 minutes