Over the past two years, the disused Rockaway Beach Branch right-of-way has creeped into the news largely because a group of Queens residents want to turn it into a park. The group has received a half a million dollars from the state to study their proposal and are engaged in a design contest to produce renderings of the park. Since land acquisition costs are high and pre-existing rights of way rare in New York City, I’ve resisted this so-called QueensWay plan without at least a comparable study assessing rail feasibility.
As yet, Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder has stepped up to lend his voice for rail reactivation and a few transit advocates have as well, but the dollars to study a plan aren’t in place. The QueensWay is sexy; rail running through some backyards that encroach onto the right of way is intrusive. It’s a classic and never-ending development debate and one into which the city and MTA have yet to wade.
That said, toward the end of the MTA’s 20 Year Needs Assessment is this paragraph:
Utilizing Available Rail Rights-of-Way: One challenge in providing for non-core-based travel is the availability of travel corridors supporting radial routes linking existing subway, bus and rail lines. A possible option is the utilization of abandoned or underutilized Rights of Way such as the LIRR Bay Ridge Branch (linking southern and eastern Brooklyn with Central and northern Queens) or the abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch (linking Howard Beach and Ozone Park with Woodhaven) as transverse routes linking radial subway lines. Conversion of existing ROWs, where a solution to an identified travel need can be defined, could help reduce land acquisition and construction costs, and facilitate construction time in densely developed areas.
Project proponents are excited by the MTA’s acknowledgment of the right-of-way even if previous documents have contained more extensive examinations of the disused lines. Goldfeder reiterated his support to DNA Info. “The MTA has done their part by putting the plan on the table,” he said. “Now, I have to go to Albany and fight for the funding — first for a feasibility study and then for the money to rebuild the line.”
QueensWay proponents rolled their eyes. “This was a one-sentence mention in a study over 130 pages in length,” Andrea Crawford, head of Friends of the QueensWay and Community Board 9 chair, said. “There is no discussion of an intent to even study the feasibility of building a new rail line utilizing the right of way. To leave this land fallow, to let it deteriorate further, is not beneficial for the residents of central Queens.”
If only the world were as black and white as Crawford’s. The MTA should explore the potential uses for underutilized rights of way, and QueensWay proponents should embrace any such study as it could put to rest, one way or another, the debate over the best way to use this space. Ultimately, Goldfeder will keep fighting the good fight, and we can enjoy a forward-looking feasibility study. Without one, we won’t know how best to use the Rockaway Beach Branch for the next generation of New Yorkers.
19 comments
I have to admit that I’m a little flummoxed by the fascination with Rockaway Beach. Is this anything more than a railfan daydream? If there was not already an abandoned ROW there, would anyone want this?
Is there any concrete evidence that this will be a political and financial reality anytime in the next decade? I wouldn’t bet on it. It’s not even on the “20 Years” list!
I would imagine that Phases II through *anything* would be higher on the MTA’s budget priority list. Or improved service in busier portions of Queens. Or a myriad of other alternatives.
It’s not the neighborhood’s priority, and I’m not sure that most of us can say with a straight face that it should be. I don’t think it’s like the 125th St SBS sagas where the neighborhood advocates seem to be shooting themselves in the transit foot because of fear of change and misperception.
So what about Rockaway? Isn’t this one of the least used portions of the transit system? Why would limited transit development resources be steered towards a high-cost development in an area of low demand that services that is generally threatened by coastal storms? And since this isn’t a priority, I don’t see how keeping parkland from being expanded is something that transit advocates should be so opposed to.
Look at Woodhaven Blvd bus routes, ridership is growing.
It only makes so much sense because the ROW is there. It’s not a very high-cost proposition because of that. And it’s not just about the neighborhood; a decent cross-Queens connection benefits the city as a whole, not just one neighborhood.
It’s NYC… with the largest population it’s ever had – and it continues to grow. Well look at Queens alone (which really has been the growth of NYC). Look at how many more ppl live in Queens than did in the 1950’s. There are 500k more ppl in Queens now than in 1960… and as studies show – the younger generation aren’t in love with cars as much as the ppl in the 50’s and 60’s. If you activate it… you will find riders.
I would hope that adding subway service to parts of Queens that are currently only served by painfully slow bus service, and doing it relatively on the cheap for that matter (because of the existing ROW), would be of a very high priority for the MTA. Even if they just extend the Rockaway Shuttle to Woodhaven Boulevard via the reactivated ROW, anything- literally anything- is better than nothing, and should surely be considered.
+100
If only the world were as black and white as Crawford’s. Well in the eyes of many, the world is just that & it is a primary symtom of a generation that doesn’t know how to think without the soundbites from Fox News or Rush Limbaugh. And they get extremely defenseive when someone challenges them.
The MTA should explore the potential uses for underutilized rights of way, and QueensWay proponents should embrace any such study as it could put to rest, one way or another, the debate over the best way to use this space.
You would think so, but the narrow mindset of people like Miss Crawford shows the inability to see the big picture.
The 7 line expansion shows exactly why the Rockaway Beach Branch makes so much sense. If you build (or rebuild/reactivate) it, development will come.
Rail would make higher density development possible and likely. It would increase property values in the vicinity. And that worries those who are immediately adjacent to the rail line, but would benefit those who commute to/from Queens.
Now, if done in conjunction with upzoning with development fees, we could get a revenue source for additional capital expansions.
The problem is that the existing neighborhoods have too much political influence and there is way too much rezoning required along this line to for significant rezoning to be viable. The neighborhoods along entire line is zoned R3 and R4.
That means tearing down entire neighborhoods and rebuilding them from ground up, versus tearing down abandoned warehouses and building up empty parking lots for the 7-line extension. Its a whole different animal.
You’ll need someone with the influence of a Robert Moses to get all those single family homes converted into apartment buildings.
That’s always been the problem with the Rockaway line. It just runs through neighborhoods that are too low density.
The thing is transit-oriented development works best when large-scale development happens in conjunction with the transit project. The 7-line extension is an example of that. Early subway expansion in NYC is another example, when subway lines turn gigantic empty lots and farms into huge apartment buildings and other types of large-scale residential development. Its also how the MTR in Hong Kong makes their money.
Building a transit line into an established neighborhood may impact real estate prices and create some degree of upzoning, but the economic impact or ROI to the government will never be anywhere near the scale of true transit-oriented development.
Would this require building a few sections of a tunnel? How much would it cost. The state should also fund this study with the park idea.
What puzzles me about the 20 Year Plan is that the public wasn’t at all consulted, not even to help prioritize potential expansion projects. There are recent examples of WMATA (bus signage) and CTA (40 year plan) making a serious effort to engage the public in transit planning. Nothing of the sort seems to be happening here.
A simple high-level online voting effort could generate a lot of noise for the railway and determine if it is high on the priority list for New Yorkers.
Over on Subchat, a reposted 2012 article about this has generated a lot of interest.
http://www.subchat.com/read.asp?Id=1252374
I really hope they decide to reactivate that line. Lets be honest, if De Blasio really cares about the “forgotten outer boroughs” he will push this (along with Metro North Expansion in The Bronx), as opposed to the demands of the Park Zealots at Community Board 9, who think no matter the cost, they need more Greenway (as if Forest Park isn’t big enough?)I also think that potentially one of the most valuable pieces of property in the City will be Aqueduct Race Track, when it closes for good (and one day it will), and having increased transportation options to take advantage of that should be pivotal. Finally, I thought the more interesting article at Subchat, was about the MTA finally spending some real money and effort ($300m starting in Spring 2015 for two years), and fixing up the (N) as in Nasty Stations in South Brooklyn. You could name the 10 worst Subway Stations in New York City, and 5 (N) Stations might make that list (Chambers St obviously being Numero Uno).
+1 to your opening sentence. I would love to see it as a debate question…(Ben can you get on the panel?), but of course it won’t come up. It would be good to watch deBlasio pander the question away…
This line would be a boon to the borough… Woodhaven Blvd. is maxed out and reactivating the Subway line would relieve a lot of that congestion. The subway could replace the Q52/53 and would take some cars off the road. It would also allow transfers between line in Queens at Atlantic Ave (LIRR), Jamaica Ave (J/Z) and then at Queens Blvd… It would help to boost the economy in Queens creating reliable affordable travel from both ends of the borough. ROWs like this are a gift and should be utilized for transit.
I am all for adding a trail next to it for bikes or jogging as a compromise for the Queensway people… It’s not an area that is devoid of parks like where the high line was built. Forest Park is one of the largest parks in NYC… But a bike path would be nice to have next to a subway…
Scott, the “Park” issue is for many people (not ALL but MANY), NIMBYism with a “Green Thumb.” Why else did the junkyard owners at Willets Point constantly bring up parks (and worse play the “Race Card”)? Its not like their businesses were creating an “Environmental Oasis” where “Nature can have perfect harmony.” Community Board 9 simply does not want more people (and worse businesses) moving into the area. They know it is about: 1: Rents on Jamaica Avenue, and keeping them low. 2: Preventing more people from shopping instead at the Queens Center, which is why there is no SBS on Woodhaven Blvd (faster busses means less cars, but its about local business, not about “The Environment.”). I guarantee that if the plan to activate the rail link comes closer to actually happening, you that you will hear the “hue and cries” about losing Guyanese Bakeries & Ecuadorian Restaurants on Jamaica Avenue to “Wealthy Real Estate Developers.”
The inner borough doesn’t want to help the outer boroughs. The city considers most of the outer boroughs a dumping ground, a plantation and a cash cow for Manhattan elite. They will make excuses like there’s not enough demand, low ridership, cost too much or the community doesn’t want it. It’s all lies to manipulate commuters. The city needs a dump for their trash and they don’t want to lose their monopoly or control or compete with outer borough real estate. The outer boroughs actually subsidize the inner borough. That why we don’t have a beach resort in the outer boroughs but rather a place for poor, underserved people to live and suffer. The city needs poor people to do the dirty work. That’s the real reason the ruling class doesn’t want railway expansion in the outer boroughs including QueensRail and Triboro RX. The outer boroughs don’t deserve the QueensRail or railway expansion or funding or development. It’s class warfare. Class is more powerful than any other type of distinction. Ruling class vs. everyone else. Please support the Queens Public Transit Committee. http://www.qptc.org
The rest of the state, including the outer boroughs, sucks billions of dollars out of Manhattan.