Flushing residents push for a path through tangled roadways
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The Kissena Way project would create bike and pedestrian pathways bypassing the tangled web of roads around Flushing. Photos via TransAlt.
By Amir Khafagy
Special to the Eagle
Street safety advocates calling for a pedestrian and cyclist pathway through the maze of highways and congested streets in Flushing see an opportunity to break ground on the project with local Councilmember Peter Koo now leading the Council’s Committee on Parks and Recreation, but Koo has yet to fully embrace large-scale plans for the area.
Local organizations have championed several park projects, including a plan called the Kissena Way, which would create a network of pedestrian paths and cycle trails stretching from Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to Kissena Park. The Parks Department has estimated that the plan would cost $13 million, but the project has so far stalled.
Koo took over the Parks and Recreation Committee when Barry Grodenchik resigned his chairmanship in May and says he supports the greenway project.
“To be clear, we support the Queens Way,” said Koo’s spokesperson and Deputy Chief of Staff Scott Sieber. “It was one of the first things the councilmember brought up in his meeting with the Parks Commissioner.”
Six months into Koo’s tenure leading the committee, local residents and advocates are calling on Koo to push the project now.
Street safety advocates have called on Councilmember Peter Koo to support projects that would provide safer pathways between Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and Kissena Park. Photo by Emil Cohen City Council/Flickr.
“The chair of each committee is the most powerful point person on that issue, so Peter Koo has enormous power at his disposal to influence the parks department and get them to reprioritize and take a lot of these neighborhood issues seriously,” said Flushing Chamber of Commerce Executive Director John Choe. “We have met with Councilmember Koo and he has verbally agreed to support the Kissena Way, but we have yet to see any action on his part. I think we are still waiting for him to take leadership on that committee.”
Downtown Flushing is one of the deadliest places for pedestrians and bikers in the city, according to vehicle collision database CrashMapper.org. Seven of the 33 pedestrian fatalities that took place in the first 11 months of 2018, took place in Koo’s district.
Koo has publicly stated that he is “against having bike lanes in Downtown Flushing” and the Kissena Way project would bypass the area.
Choe said that opposition discouraged the Department of Transportation from pursuing bike lanes in the area, despite the dangers.
“Even though Flushing is a Vision Zero Priority Corridor, and one of the most dangerous corridors in the city, the DOT doesn’t have the political will to build something that would save people’s lives,” he said.
Bike New York spokesperson Laura Shepard said Koo could take the lead by using his discretionary funds to pay for a portion of the project. That would encourage other local councilmembers who represent parts of the root to back the project, she said. “And he could help identify other sources of funding in the city budget,” she added.
Other activists say they are concerned Koo has hesitated to support large local park plans because some of the land — including space along Flushing Bay — could be used for a potential train route to LaGuardia airport. Koo has not publicly supported the air train plan, however.
“Developing a huge piece of transportation infrastructure in an area cut off from its waterfront is very concerning,” said Guardians of Flushing Bay Program Coordinator Rebecca Pryor. “As of right now, we don’t know if Councilman Koo’s concern about the air train coincides with his work regarding access to parkland.”
“As of right now, Koo has withheld making a public announcement he is for or against the AirTrain, but my understanding is that he’s holding out because it will bring development in his district,” Pryor continued.
Sieber, the spokesperson, declined to discuss Koo’s stance on the AirTrain, but he pointed to Koo’s record of support for local waterfront park projects.
“The councilmember has been a long-time advocate for Flushing Creek,” Sieber said. “He has been working closely with the city to ensure that any waterfront development has public space open to the public not just ivory tower playgrounds for the rich.”
But Choe, the Flushing Chamber director, said Koo’s record is less clear.
“In terms of local parks and playgrounds, he has been very good, but when it comes to larger issues of access to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, to the Kissan Way, to waterfront access I would say the record has been more mixed.”
Choe said Flushing residents need better access to parkland, especially amid the neighborhood’s development boom.
“Public space is something people in Flushing desire and need,” Choe said. “I think the rapid development of Flushing has made that more critical. That we need, more greenery, more public space, more access to the waterfront.”
Amir Khafagy is a New York City-based journalist. Follow him on Twitter @AmirKhafagy91.
