Train Linking Forest Hills, Southern Queens Gains Officials' Support

QUEENS, NY — New York should consider a train project linking Forest Hills and southern Queens, a group of elected officials said.

All told, 17 city, state, and federal officials signed on to a letter this month urging Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams to fund a study that could lay the groundwork for QueensLink, a proposed train and park system connecting Forest Hills and southern Queens along a deactivated LIRR line.

In the letter, the politicians said QueensLink would provide a quick and environmentally-friendly commuting option for tens-of-thousands of daily riders in transit-starved neighborhoods — just like the Interborough Express, a long sought subway line connecting Brooklyn and Queens that's now under review.

"Both projects would reuse existing rail assets to improve mass transit for neighborhoods that desperately need it, while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions," reads the letter, which explicitly compared the two transit projects.

As proposed, QueensLink would also boost local business districts, help millions of riders access destinations like JFK Airport and Queens' beaches car-free and add up to 33 acres of parks, the politicians said.

"QueensLink is an investment that could pay for itself in economic return in less than a decade while serving New York City for generations," reads the letter.

"An Environmental Impact Statement [the requested study] would provide greater detail on QueensLink’s potential economic and environmental impact, as well as provide solutions to preserve the quality of life for people and businesses along the right-of-way."

In the letter, politicians urge Hochul and Adams to fund the environmental study sooner rather than later, in the hopes that federal money from the recently-passed infrastructure bill could go towards QueensLink.

The cost of the proposed project has been the subject of controversy. Last summer transit advocates said that the MTA overstated the cost of QueensLink by more than double, estimating it would cost $8 billion even though an independent consultant found it would cost only $3.5 billion.

Officials supporting the project also expressed skepticism about the MTA's price tag, calling it a "sketch" and saying it "requires further study" — like the project as a whole.

Just as advocates and agency officials don't see eye-to-eye on the project, neither do constituents, some of whom worry about construction impacts while others relish the idea of a quicker commute, Patch reported last summer.

Neither Hochul or Adams has responded publicly to the letter, but QueensLink is listed among two dozen projects transit officials will evaluate as they consider how to upgrade the city's transit system over the next 20 years.

Related Article: MTA, Advocates Spar Over Queens Train Proposal, Reports Show