FAQ

What is the QueensWay and Who Owns It?

The QueensWay runs along the former Rockaway Beach Branch of Long Island Railroad (LIRR). The last train ran on this line in 1962; and ownership of the corridor was transferred from the LIRR to the City of NY. The rail “right of way” was legally abandoned and there is no remaining rail easement or overlay of any kind.

The 3.5 mile long, 47-acre QueensWay site is entirely owned by the City of New York. 40 acres are managed by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) and seven acres (passing through Forest Park) are under the jurisdiction of the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.

Portions of the DCAS property are leased for various community uses including sections of the parking lot of the Forest View Crescent Apartment Complex, the Ridgewood-Glendale Little League fields, and the Forest Hill Youth Athletic Association fields. It is our goal that the QueensWay will have little or no impact on these facilities.

Why are you not advocating for rail on this corridor?

Since rail use ended on the corridor, both the MTA and the Port Authority have studied rail reactivation and concluded that it is not feasible due to cost, low ridership projections, environmental concerns, and opposition from directly adjacent communities. In addition, rail reactivation would cause the community harm including the loss of seven acres of existing park space. This would require special legislation by the State Legislature to alienate parkland and find another seven acres in an area that already has scarce outdoor space.

The MTA and partners conducted a feasibility study, completed and shared in 2019, that determined the potential cost of rail reactivation could range anywhere between $6.8 billion and $8.1 billion, not including additional cost for real estate acquisitions. You can read the feasibility study here.

The QueensWay does not preclude rail. If the government chooses in the future to fund and implement a rail, they will always have that right. Discontinuing the current work on the QueensWay would only result in the loss of a chance to do something incredible for our neighborhood now.

Are QueensWay Designers Addressing the Safety and Security Concerns of Adjacent Homeowners?

The QueensWay Plan includes design guidelines regarding safety. About one-third of the 3.5-mile corridor is adjacent to one and two-family homes, and among our guidelines are some specific principles related to these sections (known as the Northern and Southern Passages):

  • All efforts will be made to retain the existing mature trees and the wooded character of the site.
  • Backyards of adjacent homes will be screened and secured.
  • The pathways that run adjacent to homes will have vegetated buffers at the top of the embankment as well as secure fencing at the property line to physically and visually separate backyards and homes from visitors.
  • The fencing will have plantings along it to provide additional screening.
  • In addition, all activity spaces will be located away from adjacent homes and sited near existing non-residential amenities and highly-used public thoroughfares. The two lengths of the QueensWay that run by homes, referred to as the “Passages,” will be used for walking and cycling.
  • Entrances to the QueensWay will be limited to key intersections. Secure fencing will eliminate access at any other points.