Mayoral hopeful says it’s time to get QueensWay chugging along

Mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia said she would tackle the abandoned rail line cutting through Central Queens if elected.  Photo via Katherine Garcia/Twitter

By Jacob Kaye

Mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia made a commitment Wednesday to complete several long-stalled transportation and environmental projects to get Queens residents moving a little easier. 

Among her list of projects is the QueensWay, a plan to reform a 3.5 mile stretch of abandoned railway into a linear park much like the High Line along the west side of Manhattan. 

“We will build the QueensWay, transforming what is now a deteriorating, rusty railway into a public amenity filled with new greenspace and park land,” Garcia said. “We will, for the first time, be able to connect some of our most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods from Ridgewood, to Rego Park, to Ozone Park and to local restaurants and small businesses along the way.”

The plan for the QueensWay began in 2011 when a group of Queens residents created the group Friends of the QueensWay and started advocating for the former Long Island Rail Road line to be converted into a public park. The project has garnered support from community groups, electeds and candidates for office over the years but hasn’t gained much steam in the way of actually getting built. 

The line, which originally extended from Rego Park to the Rockaways, was shut down in 1962 following a series of track fires. The southern portion of the line was revitalized and eventually became the tracks where the A train now runs through Jamaica Bay and into the Rockaways. 

However, the portion that snakes from Rego Park through Forest Hills, Glendale, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park has remained abandoned. 

Garcia joined a growing list of people running for public office to make a commitment to building the QueensWay, something that excites the Friends of the QueensWay. 

“We’re encouraged to see that candidates like [Garcia] are willing to do the hard work to champion these initiatives,” said Karen Imas, a member of Friends of the QueensWay steering committee and Forest Hills resident.

“Coming out of COVID, this project really highlights that cross section of open green space, safe streets and alternative transport, parks equity, underserved areas and economic development,” she added. “These are some of the very issues that the pandemic has highlighted in terms of our city's parks.”

With around 320,000 people living within a mile of the proposed park, the plan for the QueensWay would not only serve as a park itself but also as a bridge to other parks along its stretch, according to Friends of the QueensWay. 

With a record number of New Yorkers hopping on bikes, coupled with a suring passion for parks and green spaces, the group — which does not endorse candidates — is hopeful the project has a bright future ahead. 

“Friends of QueensWay have always been champions and believers, and we've always been able to highlight the benefits to the community,” Imas said. “ But I think this confluence of factors makes us very optimistic about the future.”

“It's certainly an ongoing process,” she added. “But I think the key thing is, we're excited to get to work with the next administration and really get this off the ground by piloting a piece of the QueensWay.”

Garcia also made a commitment to rebuild the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, reform the Cross Bronx Expressway, bring greater bus service to Staten Island and implement the Gateway Program in Manhattan.