Friends of the High Line know how unlikely this victory was. Utilizing a generous donation from Fujifilm, they have plastered the walls of the construction site with photos of New York citizens accompanied by an explanation of their biggest goals. It’s all part of the underdog mentality that originally won them so much support. As it says on the organization’s website, “the High Line is proof that the most far-fetched imaginings can come true.”

But the High Line Park is not the come-from-behind victory that it may seem. For local business owners and developers, the High Line doesn’t represent the value of perseverance or dreaming big, but the value of the almighty dollar. Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea and the Meatpacking District, the three neighborhoods that the High Line occupies, are all developing into exceedingly hip areas of the city. The enormity of High Line buzz has only provided a platform for further gentrification.

Everyone seems to want a piece of the High Line pie. Powerhouse hotel developer Andre Balazs, owner of the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, is building a 337-room hotel on 12th Street straddling the High Line. Meanwhile architect Frank Gehry has already thrown his hat into the ring with the IAC building. Then there are all the galleries and bars just waiting to cash in on the High Line’s potential vogue.

The High Line, twenty-five years ago an abandoned pile of rusted steel and wildlife, may well become the new Central Park, a multi-million dollar goldmine, not to mention one of the hippest places to be in NYC. It all goes to show the power of dreaming big. And money. And political sway. And Edward Norton.