There’s controversy in High Line Park and if you’ve walked the retrofitted railway, you may well have sat on the very issue. It’s the wood that the designers used for the benches, bleacher seating , and decking and it’s got the Rainforest Relief organization up in arms. Why? Because the Friends of the High Line, who are responsible for the new green space in New York, choose to use old-growth ipe wood from the rainforest instead of a local sustainably-grown wood, reclaimed wood, or recycled plastic lumber.

Rainforest Relief is criticizing the Friends of the High Line for choosing the ipe wood for aesthetic reasons, as the durability of ipe is matched and even exceeded by certain woods that are local to America (Friends of the High Line maintain that they chose ipe for its longevity), and for disregarding repeated calls from the organizations urging the park designers to opt for another wood, although the park designers did contact Rainforest Relief at point to inquire about the more-sustainable black lotus wood.With increasing demand for ipe wood estimated by some to deplete it completely in the next 8 years, Rainforest Relief is now calling on the Friends of the High Line to change their ways by using an alternative wood (whether it be sustainable domestic or recycled plastic) for the final sections of the park and by making a statement about the environmental reasons for doing so. Click here to read more

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