Bikes, buses and ferries — Queens BP candidates talk transit

Three of the four Queens borough president candidates — Councilmember Costa Constantinides, former Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley and Councilmember Donovan Richards — who attended a forum on environmental sustainability on Feb. 13 said they take public transportation to work. Retired police sergeant Anthony Miranda said he does not. Eagle photo by Rachel Vick.

By Rachel Vick

A Queens Borough President candidates’ forum on sustainability turned to transit on Feb. 13, as candidates framed bike lanes, public transportation and ferry service as key elements to a sustainable future.

The New York Hall of Science was a fitting location for the forum, where nearly 100 environmentalists and constituents registered to hear Councilmember Costa Constantinides, former Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley, retired police sergeant Anthony Miranda and Councilmember Donovan Richards talk about how Queens can best address climate change.

All said that moving away from cars was important to minimizing fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. Removing diesel-spewing freight vehicles from the roadways would go along way toward zero emission goals, but Queens cannot yet support electric vehicles, Richards said.

“We learned that there were companies in Queens, like UPS, who really wanted to expand electric vehicle use — they wanted their whole fleet to be electric, but the infrastructure couldn’t support it,” he said. 

Richards said that he backed legislation to expand electric-charging stations, a change that could create a path to systemic change, as evidenced by cities like London, which have already introduced charging stations along sidewalks.

Increasing access to public transportation is another key to reducing the use of cars, said Constantinides. Certain communities, like the Rockaways and Northeast Queens, are cut off from the subway system and have spotty bus service, compelling commuters to rely on automobiles.

“We need to figure out a way to make both plans work .. to make sure we have those additional transit options so that the Rockaways and South Ozone Park are not the transit deserts that they are, but we have to double our greenspace,” “We are in desperate need in Queens of more greenspace [and] more transportation,” Costantinides said. “As borough president it's about getting [stakeholders in a room] to make these things work.”

Crowley, who has centered her campaign on improving and expanding public transportation, called for adding ferry service to Northeast Queens and reopening the Long Island Rail Road’s Rockaway Line and Montauk Branch, which traverses Queens on tracks now used for hauling freight. The line would enable residents of Middle Village and Glendale, largely cut off from the subway system, to board a speedy train to other parts of the borough or into Manhattan.

Crowley’s transit plan includes expanding ferry service to northeast Queens and connecting Astoria and Rockaway through several rail lines, “which would create jobs, and opportunity and affordable housing” along the line, she said.

The forum was hosted by the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, whose goal was to bring the topic to the forefront of both the voters and candidates minds, said President Julie Tighe.la

“Voters don’t realize that a lot of issues they care about in day to day life [are environmental concerns], like lead and combined sewage overflow,” Tighe said. “We think it’s important that whoever comes in respects and understands that.”

Other sponsors included Eastern Queens Alliance, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, New Yorkers for Parks, Regional Plan Association, Guardians of Flushing Bay and the Waterfront Alliance.