Children Envision The QueensWay’s Future - Historic Route May Be Redefined

By Michael Perlman

Youthful visionaries at the QueensWay Mobile Workshop, Photo by Michael Perlman, Rego-Forest Preservation Council

Our children are our future. On March 29, Queens’ youth had a creative opportunity to shape our borough’s future by illustrating and presenting their visions for the QueensWay, which bears potential as a 3.5-mile linear elevated public park. The event was held at the Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School, which uniquely sits in the foreground of a section of the abandoned LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch Line in Forest Hills. 

QueensWay conceptual rendering with children's play area, native trees, & wildflowers

Along with numerous Queens residents, the Trust For Public Land and Friends of The QueensWay envision converting an abandoned stretch of tracks, depleted with weeds and trash into a multi-faceted resource which Queens can pride as its symbolic representation of the 21^st century. This was one event among a series of QueensWay workshops and mobile workshops, which the organizations hope will inspire Queens communities to contribute ideas, pose questions, and receive feedback. 

The Rockaway Beach Branch Line in Forest Hills as of 2011, Courtesy of Friends of The QueensWay

Woodhaven Junction Station in 1950, Courtesy of Friends of The QueensWay

In 1962, a small section of the line succumbed to a fire, and city officials responded by decommissioning the entire line. The conceived QueensWay would bridge central to southern Queens communities, as it intersects Rego Park, Forest Hills, Glendale, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, and Ozone Park, and also provide direct access to Forest Park. According to the Trust, the QueensWay would serve 250,000 residents living within a mile, while fostering a major economic boost to Queens.  

Queens is a few steps closer to the QueensWay, as evident by a number of recent developments. After New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo awarded the Trust for Public Land a $467,000 to determine if the QueensWay is feasible, it led to the commissioning of two planning and design firms, WXY architecture + urban design and dlandstudio, which was recently joined by Hester Street Collaborative, a community engagement nonprofit. The organizations debuted preliminary design renderings at the Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School on March 24, followed by their presentation at the High School For Construction Trades, Engineering and Architecture on March 26. To reach residents who are unable to attend major workshops, QueensWay mobile workshops will continue to be held.

The March 29^th children’s mobile workshop was monitored by Shelma Jun of the Hester Street Collaborative and joined by Friends of The QueensWay volunteers Travis Terry of Forest Hills and Ruben Ramales of Woodhaven. Jun opened the QueensWay Mobile Workshop toolkit, and across a communal table, displayed a foldout aerial map bearing the neighborhoods that the QueensWay would intersect. She explained what led to the tracks’ abandonment and how it has creative reuse potential. The map was then reversed to reveal 10 photos which depict the area’s conditions and its embankments.

Ramales explained, “You'll find yourself on grade in the north. As it starts to work itself south, it’s pretty much earth embankments until it hits Forest Park, which then becomes more of a ravine. It changes back to earth embankments until it becomes an elevated viaduct.”

Jun explained how the areas vary in width, and drew comparisons to the width of two school buses, an airplane, or the Statue of Liberty. For example, the QueensWay is 72 feet wide near Jamaica Avenue, but 133 feet wide adjacent to the Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School. “Where an area is really wide, we can introduce lots of activities,” she said. In response, the children were presented with a map with bold titled communities along the QueensWay, and were asked to place buttons pinpointing activities which they could enjoy along specific stretches. The buttons ranged from bird watching to garden spaces to food festivals. 

   The children were then handed a “QueensWay History Coloring Book.” It illustrated the line’s origins to its abandonment, and showed how some sections grew wild and others began housing businesses below. The last steps enabled them to imagine how an old railroad can be transformed into a park, and encouraged drawing what they would like to see in a circle. The children created a pond with frogs and fish, trees, flowers, bike paths, a zip line, and swings. Then they placed their 4 favorite program stickers, which included nature walks, ecology classes, and picnic areas. 

The event concluded with children presenting their work and exhibiting much respect for each other’s visions. This proved how community residents need to listen to each other’s views and work as team players, to achieve a win-win solution for Queens. 

“Through our QueensWay workshops, we are coordinating fun activities for students in kindergarten through grade 12. We want to get ideas from kids in schools or afterschool programs, since they can be very positive and creative,” said Ramales. 

Conceptual renderings of the QueensWay

Conceptual renderings of the QueensWay

Conceptual renderings of the QueensWay

There are nearly 2,500 QueensWay petition signers. Will you add your name & a comment? https://www.change.org/petitions/the-city-of-new-york-create-a-greenway-along-the-abandoned-rockaway-beach-branch-right-of-way


A similar version of this feature appeared in Michael Perlman's Forest Hills Times column: http://www.foresthillstimes.com/view/full_story/24862255/article-Children-share-their-vision-for-QueensWay

You can advocate for a historical route and Queens' future by joining Friends of The QueensWay: https://www.facebook.com/TheQueensWay

 

QueensWay Envisioning Workshops This November

Make your voice heard... Envision the abandoned LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch Line transformed into a 3.5 mile linear park connecting our central and southern Queens communities. Please consider attending these important workshops on November 13, 19, and 20.

As a native Forest Hills resident, preservationist, and columnist, I am a proud supporter of the QueensWay. It is my hope that Queens residents will maintain an open mind, pose questions, and propose ideas at the workshops and online.

This is my Forest Hills Times article on the historic yet futuristic QueensWay:
 http://www.foresthillstimes.com/view/full_story/21301330/article-A-step-closer-to-the-QueensWay

Join Friends of The QueensWay on Facebook:
 https://www.facebook.com/TheQueensWay

- Michael Perlman

The QueensWay: Queens' Own Rendition of The High Line?

A Step Closer To The QueensWay

by Michael Perlman of the Forest Hills Times/Queens Ledger

http://www.foresthillstimes.com/view/full_story/21301330/article-A-step-closer-to-the-QueensWay

Hop aboard the QueensWay!

Not to catch a train, since the trains were taken out of service on the LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch Line in 1962, but for the visualized first linear park and cultural greenway of its kind in Queens, stationed atop of an abandoned industrial relic with Forest Hills trestles bearing a stone inscription of “1908.”

Some 60 years since its abandonment, Queens is one step closer towards achieving a High Line of its own, but will not necessarily echo Manhattan’s elevated stretch overlooking the Hudson River.

On December 19, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a $467,000 Environmental Protection Fund grant by the State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to the Trust for Public Land (TPL). This would fund a feasibility study to determine the likelihood of converting a 3.5-mile stretch along the former LIRR line into an elevated public park.

As part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's PlaNYC 2030, all New Yorkers should live within a 10 minute walk of a park. The QueensWay would achieve that, serving around 250,000 residents living within a one-mile radius.

The QueensWay would bridge the Queens communities of Rego Park, Forest Hills, Woodhaven, Glendale, Richmond Hill, and Ozone Park to Forest Park, and also bridge Queens residents through recreation, the arts, and historic and environmental preservation.

A much-needed green space may feature a pedestrian and bike path that would offer a bird's eye view of neighborhoods, and enable access to nearby bike lanes en route to Rockaway Beach and Jamaica Bay‘s recreational spaces, as well as five subway lines, numerous commercial districts, and schools.

“Over the next year, we will conduct environmental and engineering analyses, as well as a community visioning that will determine costs to turn a blighted rail line into an uninterrupted bike and walking path,” said Marc Matsil, New York State director of TPL. “The project would help catalyze economic development and celebrate the immense cultural diversity of Queens."

Since 1972, the non-profit has preserved more than three million acres from the inner city to the wilderness, and helped generate over $34 billion in public funds for conservation.

“Over the past 15 years, we assisted in the acquisition, development, and construction for successful projects such as the 17-mile West Orange Trail, the 18-mile Santa Fe Rail Trail, and New Paltz’ 12-mile Wallkill Valley Rail Trail,” said Matsil.

TPL joined forces with Friends of The QueensWay, a group founded in late 2011 by neighborhood advocates, which launched an online petition generating 2,130 signatures in favor of the project.

“It will help connect neighborhoods to green space that do not have access, help the local economy by bringing more folks to established shopping areas such as Austin Street, and help develop new opportunities along the QueensWay,” said Andrea Crawford, chair of CB9 and a member of the QueensWay Steering Committee.

“The project would create an estimated 700 construction jobs and 800 to 1,000 permanent jobs,” added Matsil.

The QueensWay would also foster friendships among residents of Queens’ ethnically diverse neighborhoods.

“There are greater than 100 ethnic groups within a mile, and we want to celebrate our diversity through cultural programs,” said Matsil, adding that its artistic and cultural scene will be a blank canvas of sculptures and ethic foods.

The lack of maintenance for 60 years has led to graffiti and hazardous conditions, including rusty tracks and large weeds engulfing litter such as aerosol cans, plastic bags, and abandoned cars, but that would be cleaned up.

Some residents with homes along its path voiced worries about crime, but it is desolate areas that are often an invitation to crime. Communities along the QueensWay’s path would be safer, as Friends of The QueensWay ensured that the stretch would be well-lit, monitored, and operate during specific hours. And TPL's goal is green infrastructure, which would pose the benefit of reducing stormwater.

Despite the extensive benefits outlined in the QueensWay proposal, Ozone Park Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder has supported reactivating the rail line to increase transit options ins southern Queens. Crawford believes reactivating the rails are not feasible, but says Goldfeder's goals can be met by reopening shuttered LIRR stops and developing bus routes.

The creative reuse of Manhattan’s 1930s-era High Line is a similar success story. Since its abandonment in 1980, some only saw a rusty structure meriting demolition, but in 1999, Friends of the High Line formed and raised funding and partnered with the city. June of 2009 marked the first section’s opening.

The High Line spared a historic railway which once delivered goods to the Meatpacking District, reused tracks to cultivate native plants and wildflowers, and introduced food kiosks, sitting areas, and water features.

“Here lies the space and creativity to do amazing things that don't necessarily raise the rents or pull the same amount of tourists, but could enlighten and enrich the communities that are a part of it,” said designer Gil Lopez, an urban ecological advocate of the QueensWay. “The bike path component sets apart the QueensWay, as well as emphasizes the need for alternative forms of transportation locally.”

Lopez envisions more diverse uses that retain the natural woodland character to highly programmed areas with seating, covered areas, and possibly outdoor dining and entertainment.

“The gardens should be diverse, from community gardens with individual plots to borough/city-managed areas maintained by the Parks Department,” Lopez said. “Areas can also be managed by non-profits.”

Forest Hills resident Travis Terry and his firm Capalino+Company worked with the Friends of the High Line, and he is now a proud member of the Friends of The QueensWay Steering Committee.

“As studies have shown, rail-to-trail conversions have a positive economic impact on the neighborhoods where they exist,” Terry said. “According to the New York Times, the High Line is responsible for over $2 billion in private investment, the creation of thousands of jobs, and a flourishing local business sector.”

“We have been in communication with the Queens Chamber of Commerce, will engage community residents who wish to bring ideas to the table, and will work with the City of New York and private philanthropies,” added Matsil.

To play a role, join facebook.com/FriendsofTheQueensWay