The fight over Washington Square Park in the 1960s represents the quintessential struggle between the government and the people. With Jane Jacobs — the amicable community organizer — up against the callous Robert Moses, this storied example shows how residents fought the construction of a highway through the heart of Manhattan. It was an inflection point of monumental scale for the field of urbanism, demonstrating how the racist planning structure of highways often divides communities of color.
Under the Biden administration, the new Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant Program aims to rectify those past inequities by funding projects aimed at unifying neighborhoods that were fragmented by highway construction. But what happens when that program funds a project that divides communities?
The U.S. Department of Transportation used this very program to award $117 million towards the QueensWay project, a concept to turn the abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch into a High Line-style, linear park. This former branch of the Long Island Rail Road once connected Northern and Southern Queens with Midtown Manhattan. Since its abandonment more than 60 years ago, experts have deemed central Queens a transportation desert. In fact, riders from Southern Queens face the longest commutes in the city.
While Sen. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand sang the praises of QueensWay and $117 million well spent, they had unknowingly struck a proverbial chord — stepping into a tumultuous, local issue about what to do with this abandoned infrastructure.
The QueensWay project in no way reconnects communities that have been disconnected by the previous century’s planning failures. As designed, their plan will provide more green space for communities adjacent to Forest Park, and block reactivation of the Rockaway Beach Branch for residents of the Rockaways, a community disproportionately hurt by the work of Moses and the site of many public housing projects.
If our city is truly serious about addressing the fundamental equity issue at stake, QueensLink is the only choice for residents — bringing both parks and subway transit to disadvantaged communities. This is why we’re fighting for a $10 million QueensLink Environmental Impact Statement, which will give stakeholders the necessary information to make the best decision for all residents.
Over the process of obtaining these funds from the New York State budget, we’ve sent more than 11,000 letters to state leaders through our letter writing campaign. Such dedication from residents demonstrates an overwhelming consensus: Queens needs both rails and trails.
The $117 million investment in Forest Park is necessary, but it only funds a small section of an existing park. QueensLink would connect residents to this park, ultimately offering more comprehensive benefits such as reduced travel time, improved crosstown connections, and increased economic investments.
Already, there are proposals across Queens to increase housing stock, expand JFK Airport, and expand the Resorts World casino. In total, the borough would lose out on billions of dollars in economic impact if residents don’t have sufficient transit access.
With congestion pricing on the horizon, QueensLink aims to not only create safe, enjoyable streets, but it also presents the opportunity to reinvest in our transit infrastructure. As many have duly noted, such a transformative policy does place an oversized burden on those New Yorkers who don’t have quality access to the subway — who simply lack the reasonable option to travel into Manhattan by train. We should use this moment to expand access through common sense connections such as QueensLink.
While there are many environmental benefits of both parks and transit, the clear winner is undoubtedly QueensLink, as the subway extension component of our vision allows for thousands of vehicle miles to become sustainable, public transit trips. In fact, one of our biggest concerns with building parks without any provision for transit is that this may even increase the amount of car trips within Queens.
Many residents use their cars to access local parks, and without increasing subway options, more parks could lead to increased exhaust and carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles. These harmful pollutants leak into our stormwater runoff and hurt valuable ecosystems such as Jamaica Bay.
Former President Jimmy Carter once said that “every issue that is worth anything is bound to be controversial,” and too often, major governmental entities have ignored the obvious needs of community members. What Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses might have said about QueensLink is irrelevant, but their legacy lives on in moments like these.
We believe that rails and trails are the solution for everyone, and its controversy makes your voice all the more critical. Won’t you help us reconnect communities?
Hunter is the communications director for QueensLink.
