Art And Food Take Root On NYC's High Line

Tomorrow, the completely awesome NYC park the High Line opens up its new Section 2 area in a once-empty parking lot. Expected to have thousands of visitors a day, the 20,000-square foot area below the park — built on an abandoned elevated railway on Manhattan's far west side — will offer many new features, including "Rainbow City," an interactive, air-fillled sculpture playground presented by Miami-based art collective FriendsWithYou, in collaboration with AOL. This 40-piece art installation will feature massive balloon sculptures for visitors to walk in and around, as well as a AOL pop-up shop with limited-edition products. The City opens tomorrow, June 8, and runs through July 5.

Adjacent to the art installation site, Colicchio & Sons, headed by Tom Colicchio, will open a new 350-seat outdoor bar offering beer, wine, and non-alcoholic sodas, named The Lot on Tap. Colicchio will also curate a rotating assortment of various food trucks, including falafel and smoothies from Taim Mobile, ice cream sandwiches from Coolhaus, lobster rolls from Red Hook Lobster, cold drinks from Kelvin Natural Slush Co., and tacos from The Taco Truck. His food truck curation, however, comes after criticism for his public admission that, in his opinion, food trucks should be required to pay rent.

The Lot is located on 30th Street in the Chelsea Art District and will be open seven days a week. Rainbow City, as well as food and beverage, will be open and available from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.