Rockaway Beach Branch Rail Line Forum....

Dueling plans for abandoned Rockaway Beach branch rail line pit park lovers against transit advocates

By Lisa L. Colangelo / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, September 27, 2012

 

 

 

Two groups with two very different visions for the abandoned Rockaway Beach rail line will try to win over Queens residents during a special forum on Saturday.

Friends of the QueensWay is hoping to help transform the tracks — which snake through Forest Hills, Glendale, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill and Ozone Park — into a lush outdoor park similar to Manhattan’s popular High Line.

But transportation advocates have argued the tracks need to be reactivated to give public transit-starved southern Queens residents faster ways to get around the city.

“We have not taken a position on this yet,” said Ed Wendell of the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association, which is hosting the meeting at 1 p.m. at the Queens Tabernacle, 86-03 96th St. “We want to hear from the residents who are going to be affected the most.”

Public sentiment on the plans has been mixed. Park advocates have embraced the QueensWay proposals, saying it will open up the heavily wooded stretch and make it safer. Rockaway residents, who say the city’s mass transit system has essentially abandoned them, dream of a quick trip into Manhattan. And some who live closest to the tracks are uncomfortable with both plans.
“We’ve sent out 1,000 flyers,” said Wendell. “This is their chance to be heard. Even within our own board there are two or three different opinions.”

Andrea Crawford, who sits on the Friends of the QueensWay steering committee, said the group has raised more than $6,000 of private money to help fund a feasibility study. The Trust for Public Land is also helping the group secure a grant for that purpose.

“This will be such a boon to central Queens,” said Crawford. “It would be a cultural greenway and add economic development. There’s a lot of support out there.”

The group is planning to lead a group of elected officials on a tour of the tracks in the coming weeks.
But most lawmakers, wary of angering voters on this hot topic, have not advocated for either plan.

The one exception is Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, who has said he believes reactivating the line will have the most benefits for local residents.

“South Queens is cut off,” said transit advocate John Rozankowski. “If you reactivate the Rockaway [Beach] line and combine it with limited-stop bus service, you will be able to get to Citi Field, Queens College and downtown Flushing in record time. Travel time into Manhattan would be 23 minutes.”

He also said having greater access would make the region more attractive to businesses looking for lower rents in Queens.