About

In 2011, local Queens residents living along the long-abandoned LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch came together to advocate for its transformation into a vibrant public park. This grassroots effort led to the creation of Friends of the QueensWay (FQW), a community-driven organization supported by hundreds of individuals and groups through petitions, fundraisers, cleanups, tours, and events. Their shared vision: to reimagine this 3.5-mile stretch as a thriving greenway for walkers, joggers, cyclists, and visitors from Queens and beyond.

That same year, Friends of the QueensWay partnered with Trust for Public Land to engage the community, gather input, and develop a plan to transform these 47 acres into a green space that connects neighborhoods and drives economic and cultural growth. Over the last 15 years, Friends of the QueensWay has become a 501c3 with an active steering committee of local resident and volunteers, has hosted 150+ engagement events, tours and informational sessions, and partnered with local civic groups, community organizations, elected officials to actualize the vision. With Phase 1 plans now going thrugh final design by NYCEDC and NYC Parks (as of April 2026), the QueensWay offers the opportunity to transform a forgotten space into a park that will connect hundreds of thousands of residents to better health, sustainable transportation, and climate resilience.

“Queens has a demonstrated need for more extensive and accessible open space, and the QueensWay is uniquely poised to fulfill those needs. The QueensWay will promote recreational and cultural opportunities while also connecting communities and facilitating alternative to the car. Queens communities experience many glaring inequities in parks access and transportation opportunities, and the QueensWay is the perfect way to address both of those issues.” —Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.

““Queens, historically, has received less support than other boroughs when it comes to Park resources. That is why I am so proud to support the QueensWay and the vision it represents for Central Queens. The project is a culmination of working with area residents, businesses and students, to transform long-abandoned rail space into a safe, vibrant greenway that connects neighborhoods, improves public health, and strengthens local businesses. The City’s commitment to moving Phase One forward, even in the face of recent federal funding cuts, shows our determination to deliver for Queens residents. I look forward to continuing to partner with Friends of the QueensWay, the Trust for Public Land, and our neighbors to make this transformative project a reality.” — Council Member Lynn Schulman

“Investing in parkland is critical to the quality of life in Queens. The QueensWay project is an ambitious plan that has the potential to be the new gem of open space in the borough. The plan would provide sprawling public parkland and would be a treasured resource for local families, children and seniors, as well a boon for the environment and the Queens economy. I look forward to further progress resulting from the study in the weeks and months ahead. I applaud Friends of the QueensWay and the Trust for Public Land for their work in engaging community members each step of the way, and I know that they will continue to do so as the project moves forward.” —U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, (D) Queens

“Parks are too often neglected and QueensWay would offer more access to open space and parkland. Parks provide an economic benefit to local business, retail establishments and restaurants and people of all ages would be able to enjoy the recreational opportunities which this new green space would provide.” —Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, (D) Central Queens

“Having grown up near the long-abandoned railway and recognizing the potential it has to be a meaningful and substantive community resource, it is great to finally see a realistic proposal to do just that. The QueensWay Plan will provide our communities with a tremendous opportunity for investment into our local economy by showcasing our distinct neighborhoods, traditions and communities, all interconnected through a single, transformative, safe, family-friendly park. I look forward to continuing to work with the Friends of the QueensWay, the community, and my colleagues in government to make this plan a reality.” —New York State Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi

“For over 50 years this abandoned railway has deteriorated into a rusting, garbage strewn repository of urban blight. I applaud the QueensWay Plan for its vision of transforming this urban scar into a “green” destination. I look forward to working with community members and the Friends of Queensway in the development of parkland that will be enjoyed by Queens residents for generations to come.” — Former Council Member Karen Koslowitz, 29th District

“I am delighted to celebrate the funding of phase one of the QueensWay. This transformative project will create much-needed green space in the heart of our borough, making Queens an even greater place to live, work, raise a family, and start a business.” — Tom Grech, president and CEO, Queens Chamber of Commerce .

“New Yorkers for Parks strongly supports the concept plan developed by the Trust for Public Land and its community partners for “Queensway,” a new linear park that would provide vitally needed parkland and park connections in underserved Queens communities, improving park equity and safe biking and walking opportunities with connections to transit. Queens deserves the same chance to turn an abandoned rail right of way that has been derelict for 60 years into a true community asset and a building block in NYC’s recovery, driven by our essential parks.” —Executive Director of New Yorkers for Parks, Adam Ganser

““The Queensway project would create more greenspace and biking space, improve ecology and wildlife, and help advance resiliency efforts. It will also enhance street safety for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as slash air pollution in communities that are systematically overburdened by the effects of climate change. That’s why we continue to support this project. We thank the Trust for Public Land for their leadership” —President of the New York League of Conservation Voters, Julie Tighe

But revitalizing the QueensWay will bring more foot traffic to Metropolitan Avenue. People walking along the stretch will come and explore our resilient community. That’s the same reason other residents of Central Queens—including Rego Park, Woodhaven, and Richmond Hill—have supported the QueensWay through hundreds of community meetings.” —  Rachel Kellner, owner of Aigner Chocolates and co-founder of Metro Village of Forest Hills.  

“I’m a community school director at a public school here in Queens, which means I work to connect students, parents and teachers with community groups and government agencies to give our kids the resources they need for the best possible chance of success. The QueensWay project came about in exactly the same way: 20 years of local advocacy, hundreds of meetings with community stakeholders, and a decade of thoughtful design and planning to create a greenway that will best serve the people of Queens: Our quality of life. Our health. Our economy.” —  Amy Kui, Forest Hills resident and and Community School Director (CSD) for United Community Schools at PS65Q The Raymond York Elementary School.

“Completion of the 3-mile Queensway project would serve some of the most diverse neighborhoods in New York City and create badly needed pedestrian and bicycle connections to seven subway lines and a commuter rail line.” —President of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Ryan Chao

Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives Paul Steely White said: “The QueensWay will provide much-needed new open space for Queens residents. We thank the Trust for Public Land and Friends of the QueensWay for getting us to this point. A key to making the QueensWay a success will be safe connections to it for bicyclists and pedestrians. We look forward to working with Queens residents to realize the continued development of a robust network to make biking and walking Queens safer and more enjoyable.”

“Our city’s open spaces are treasures that play an integral part in ensuring New York’s future is greener and greater. We are happy to support the development of the QueensWay project and believe it will benefit the cultural and economic vitality of the neighborhoods it touches.” —Ed Skyler, Citi’s Executive Vice President for Global Public Affairs and a former New York City Deputy Mayor

“It’s tremendous to see such an innovative and forward-looking project come to Queens. The QueensWay has the potential to transform a borough that is badly lacking in open space. The project wonderfully re-imagines how to use the borough’s existing infrastructure.” —Executive Director of the Center for Urban Future Jonathan Bowles

“On behalf of the Friends of the Highline, I would like to congratulate the Friends of the QueensWay and the Trust for Public Land for today’s announcement of the very thoughtful plans for the QueensWay. The conversion of abandoned rail corridors into parks can unlock a number of extraordinary benefits to the communities in which they exist.  Completing a truly detailed plan driven by community interests such as the one announced today for the QueensWay is a major milestone on the path to success.” — Co-Founder of the Friends of the Highline Joshua David

For more than 60 years, the old Rockaway Beach Branch line has been abandoned. As a result, many people are unaware of this hidden stretch of trees and dense undergrowth intermingling with the old rails, with viaduct bridges at road crossings providing the rare clue to the 3.5-mile path stretching from Rego Park to Ozone Park.
Dig into more of the history of the QueensWay and the plans to transform it into a vibrant greenway.

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