By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Google Inc., which employees 2,000 people on Ninth Avenue, is upping its profile in Chelsea with a $1 million donation to the High Line.
The money will go toward ongoing construction as well as an endowment for future maintenance and operations, according to Friends of the High Line, which announced the gift Friday.
The elevated park plans to open its second section, running between West 20th and 30th streets, in the spring of 2011.
The donation comes at a time when Google Inc., which moved into 76 Ninth Avenue in 2005 and now also operates offices inside Chelsea Market, is looking to increase its efforts to be an active member of the West side community.
Last month, two Google representatives offered online tips to small businesses in the area, some of which have been hit hard by the recession and closure of St. Vincent's Hospital.
"We want to be the best local neighbor we can, and maybe traditionally we weren't as thoughtful of a neighbor as we'd like to be," Google Community Affairs Manager Alex Abelin said in October. "In 2011 we should be a big player."
