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Read the press release here.

Proposed 'LowLine' Park Gets Thumbs Up from Community Board

The project would include solar technology that channels light into the subterranean space.
The project would include solar technology that channels light into the subterranean space.
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LOWER EAST SIDE — The Delancey Underground — the proposed "LowLine" subterranean park that would take over a vacant trolley terminal within an abandoned subway station — received a vote of support from Community Board 3's land use committee Tuesday night, according to reports.

The committee voted unanimously to support the project, which plans to use solar technology to reconfigure the 60,000-square-foot underground area into a green public space, the Lo-Down reported.

"[The project] would provide much needed additional green space," ready Tuesday night’s approved resolution from the committee, adding that it should "provide a safe community gathering space for a newly revitalized Delancey Street corridor" and be "conceived and executed in partnership with a broad and diverse group of community partners and stakeholders, for and by the Lower East Side community."

Project co-founders Dan Barasch and James Ramsey brought the committee up to speed with the plan's latest developments, including a recent successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign, which raised a total of $155,186 from 3,300 backers.

However, committee member Lisa Kaplan voiced concern the elaborate project would further gentrify the rapidly changing neighborhood, the Lo-Down reported. Barasch countered that the planning process has and will receive participation from a cross-section of the entire community.

Last week, organizers announced that a donor had promised to match donations raised over the next 75 days, up to $75,000. The project is also planning to demonstrate in September some of the technology that could be used in the park allowing plants to grow underground.