Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Friends of the High Line (FHL) Co-Founders Robert Hammond and Joshua David hosted a unique groundbreaking ceremony on top of the High Line elevated rail structure, heralding the start of construction of the first phase of New York City's eagerly anticipated park. To mark the occasion, the City's contractors lifted one of the few remaining railroad tracks in the first section of the 1.5-mile-long High Line to be converted to park use. U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, Representative Jerrold Nadler, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding Daniel L. Doctoroff, City Planning Director Amanda M. Burden, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, FHL Board of Directors Member Edward Norton and FHL supporters historian Robert Caro and actor Kevin Bacon attended the announcement atop the High Line at West 14th Street.