Newsflash: The New York Post reports on new estimates that put the price of maintaining The High Line Park at approximately $4.5 million per year. That makes it New York City’s most expensive park per acre. For a “park” that doesn’t even let you run, walk a dog, or bring a bike up, that sure is a hell of a lot of money put to waste. The nearby Hudson River Park is much larger, much more pet and bicycle friendly, and doesn’t have a friggin queue to get into. Yeah, The High Line Park sort of sucks once you get past the glamour of it being a new park.

Here’s a quick comparison of The High Line Park to some other New York City parks:

The city has 11 parks enforcement patrol officers working the High Line’s 2.8 acres now open.

In comparison, only five PEP officers are assigned to cover all 6,970 acres of Bronx parkland and eight handle Queens’ 7,300 acres, the city parks employee union says.

The High Line also has 20 laborers paid through its nonprofit group – including nine gardeners – and another 10 workers will be hired once the park is completed in 2011, officials said. Bryant Park, a much larger crown jewel in the city parks system at 9.6 acres, only uses five gardeners among its staff.

How about getting rid of some of those 11 parks enforcement people so that people can enjoy their time up there without feeling like they’re in prison?

Two images above from The New York Post.