Philip McManus, founder of the Queens Public Transit Committee, left; Rockaway resident Carol McEvoy; Public Advocate candidate Cathy Guerrero; and Rockaway resident Ron Carroll were among a crowd of people who attended a rally last Saturday in Far Rockaway to support reactivating the Rockaway Beach Rail Line.
The Rockaway Beach Rail Line, decades ago, ran from Rockaway to Rego Park. A number of residents and area leaders, including Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park), state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), and U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Queens, Brooklyn), have thrown their weight behind a proposal to reactivate the line that they say would bring needed public transportation, as well as economic rejuvenation, to the Rockaways and South Queens. Others have proposed turning 3.5 miles of the abandoned line into a park similar to Manhattan’s High Line.