BY SIDDARTHA HARMALKAR
SUNNYSIDE — A proposed M train extension could create a new transit corridor connecting Rego Park to the Rockaways.
Volunteers with QueensLink, a transit-advocacy group, presented new impact assessments of the proposal at the Queens Community Board 2 transportation committee meeting on March 3rd.
The project would open a new north-south transit corridor by reopening the Rockaway Beach Branch and creating four new M line stations, as well as 33 acres of parks and protected bike paths along the long-abandoned stretch of existing railway.
While the proposal has been praised by Queens elected officials, including then-Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in 2023, it has also drawn concerns of overcrowding and potential conflicts with an Adams-era plan to build a linear park along the abandoned railway.
Noelle Hunter, the Communications Director of QueensLink, advocated for the proposal at the March 3 meeting, arguing that its benefits to Western Queens residents would go far beyond an increase in the frequency of existing subway lines.
“They’ll also be able to access an entire half of their borough that for the most part is completely inaccessible right now.”
QueensLink will be publishing an economic impact assessment and a subway ridership study in the coming weeks, Hunter said.
But transportation committee members also worried about conflicts with the Adams administration-funded QueensWay project, which would replace the abandoned land with parks and is set to begin construction this year.
QueensWay has been endorsed by Congress Member Grace Meng and Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi, among several others.
“We don’t want to wait another 60 years for something to be realized that has been studied pretty extensively and can add a lot of value within the next several years,” said Karen Imas, a board member of Friends of the QueensWay.
She highlighted practicality as a core issue in QueensLink’s proposal, pointing to the MTA’s 2023 20-year needs assessment, which found the reactivation of the Rockaway Beach Branch to “not score well in most metrics.”
Hunter said that QueensLink hopes their new studies will convince the MTA to reassess the project.
A survey conducted by State Senator Joe Adabo’s office in 2024 showed that out of the 500 participants surveyed, QueensLink garnered 75% support compared to QueensWay’s 22%.
The first phase of the QueensWay project is set to break ground soon. According to NYC EDC, construction is expected to begin by the end of the year and is anticipated to take 2 years.
