By Michael V. Cusenza
Thanks to New York’s two senators, nearly $118 million in federal funding is headed to The World’s Borough—specifically the Forest Park Pass section of the ambitious QueensWay Plan.
Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday touted two Neighborhood Access and Equity grant awards, including $117,696,000 for the “NYC Parks QueensWay: Forest Park Pass.”
The City Parks Department earned the grant, which has been earmarked for the design and construction of the Forest Park Pass, a section of the QueensWay that will include over nine acres and extend approximately 0.65 miles from Union Turnpike, through Forest Park, to Park Lane South.
The QueensWay project proposes to convert the former LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch into a new, public park. Abandoned since 1962, the RBB used to run off the Long Island Rail Road main line at Rego Park heading south via Ozone Park and across Jamaica Bay in the Rockaways.
The full QueensWay will be a 3.5-mile, 47-acre linear park that, according to Friends of the QueensWay and the Trust for Public Land, will transform a stretch of abandoned railway and provide green space and a transportation corridor within walking distance of hundreds of thousands of residents in Central Queens from Forest Hills to Ozone Park. The proposed route will provide an off-road alternative connection to 12 schools, seven subway lines, the LIRR, and hundreds of borough businesses.
Rendering Courtesy of Friends of the QueensWay
The Forest Park Pass section of the QueensWay will include over nine acres and extend approximately 0.65 miles from Union Turnpike, through Forest Park, to Park Lane South.
“For many of the 2.3 million people who live in Queens, access to public parks and open space is limited, and in many cases, difficult and dangerous to access by bike or on foot. That’s why I’m proud to deliver the massive infusion of federal funds, via the Inflation Reduction Act I led to passage, that will advance the Forest Park portion of the ‘QueensWay’—an exciting new urban trail along an abandoned track bed that will connect a range of neighborhoods, create a linear park and provide new cleaner, healthier transportation options, like biking, jogging and walking paths,” Schumer said.
“For more than a decade, Trust for Public Land has been a steadfast collaborator with community partners, advocating for the transformative repurposing of the rail line and recognizing its potential for positive change across Queens. With the announcement of $117 million in funding from the U.S. DOT, specifically allocated to the Forest Park Pass section of the QueensWay, a new chapter in our mission unfolds,” the Trust for Public Land said in a statement. “In strategically linking these diverse neighborhoods via Forest Park Pass, TPL reaffirms its commitment to better connecting culturally rich and historically underserved communities with the outdoors. This funding acts as a powerful catalyst, propelling us towards the realization of a vibrant linear park, QueensWay, that spans communities across Queens. TPL is grateful to Senators Gillibrand and Schumer and to be part of this extraordinary journey towards a more vibrant, connected, and equitable future for more New Yorkers.”
The other grant award announced on Tuesday set aside $5,600,000 for “BQE Connects: Advancing the BQE North and South Corridor Vision.”
