Connecting Communities
with Rails & Trails

What is the QueensLink?

The Rockaway Beach Branch has sat abandoned for over 60 years. Some have called for restoring rail service, while others want to see more park space. Now we have a unique opportunity to build BOTH rails and trails! We want to put this treasure to work as part of New York’s subway network, bringing inexpensive mass transit to transit deserts and providing bicycle and walking paths, and parks.

From Queens Center Mall to the Rockaways, we can connect communities with the borough’s FIRST north-south subway. The project includes 4 new stations with transfers to the A, J/Z, EFR, and 7 trains, as well as the LIRR, while also creating up to 33 acres of new parks and protected bike paths along the right-of-way.

QueensLink is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a new backbone for sustainable transportation and recreation within New York City.

Map of the QueensLink right-of-way between Queens Blvd and Ozone Park.

Extending the M and G trains provides more service throughout Queens.

What does QueensLink do for New York?

Today, residents of southern Queens face some of the longest commutes in the nation! By building a sustainable, cost-effective transit corridor parallel to Woodhaven Boulevard, we can take 4.7 million cars off the road annually, reducing CO2 emissions by 7,200 tons (annually). This vital project will provide subway access for over 75,000 daily riders!

Residents of Queens will see travel times across the borough slashed by up to 60%. Riders of the Queens Blvd subway line will see a 50% increase in service, while riders on the Rockaway Line will see service increased up to 165%.

Economically, building QueensLink would bring up to $9 billion in total economic output for the NYC economy from construction, supporting up to 37,000 job-years and total wage earnings of $2.5 billion. For every dollar spent on QueensLink, New York could see up to $2.20 in return. This equates to about $5 billion in transit benefits to transit users, $1 billion in health and quality-of-life benefits to local residents and park users, and $780 million in congestion, safety, and environmental benefits to wider society.

Who We Are

The QueensLink is a grassroots, all-volunteer group fighting for reuse of a city-owned treasure running through central and south Queens that’s been neglected for over 60 years: a transit corridor that once carried LIRR trains from the Rockaways to Rego Park and on into Manhattan.

We are incorporating community input to design the project that provides transit equity, jobs, and a clean and sustainable environment while addressing safety and noise concerns.

Can you help us make this dream a reality?

Get Involved

Explore the Plan

Rego Park & Forest Hills

Forest Park, Woodhaven & Richmond Hill

Ozone Park

What We Could Lose

Plans for the Queensway's Metro Hub call for development of the Rockaway Beach Branch that would block future transit.

Right now, the City of New York is moving ahead with an alternative plan for this land. Called Queensway, this is a High Line-style park that was developed with the goal of blocking transit restoration. QueensLink was designed to show that both rails and trails are possible on this 3.5-mile-long right-of-way. The first phase of the Queensway, called “Metro Hub“, was funded by former Mayor Eric Adams. If built as designed, adding transit later would require demolition of the park, wasting $43 million in taxpayer dollars, and would face strong pushback from local residents.

In their public scoping meetings, the NYC Parks Department said flat out that their design would not take future reactivation into consideration. We are calling for Mayor Mamdani to halt funding and development of Metro Hub and promote our vision for how rails and trails can co-exist.

Find us on social media @theQueensLink

South Queens is in a full blown Transportation Cri

In a new piece early this morning from the @nytime

QueensLink Fast Facts 🚈💨 - 75,000 daily riders, o

In a groundbreaking new report, transportation pro

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“QueensLink represents the kind of forward-thinking investment our borough deserves``...``this project has the potential to transform mobility for nearly a million residents who rely on reliable transit to get to work, school, and play. Cutting travel times, reducing car trips, and improving air quality are not just transportation goals, they are quality-of-life improvements for our communities. When a project can deliver billions of dollars in economic benefit while strengthening transit access and sustainability, it deserves serious consideration as part of New York’s long-term affordability and infrastructure agenda.”

James Sanders Jr NY State Senator

``QueensLink presents an amazing chance to use existing infrastructure to stitch together many of the borough's most dynamic neighborhoods, improve equitable access to economic opportunities, and encourage recreation all at the same time. We applaud the QueensLink team on their new report and encourage our elected leaders to support its inclusion in the MTA's next Capital Plan.``

Lisa Daglian Executive Director, PCAC

“Queens residents deserve bold thinking when it comes to improving transit access and connectivity across our borough, particularly for transit desert communities like the Rockaway Peninsula. I’m encouraged to see the continued analysis of the QueensLink proposal and the potential it could have to better connect communities from central Queens to the Rockaways. Expanding transit options, reducing travel times, and improving access to jobs and opportunities are critical goals for our borough.”

Selvena Brooks-Powers City Councilmember

“Those who live and work in Southeast Queens are counting on new transit projects to provide greater north-south rail connection to the rest of the borough. The QueensLink is still the best proposal to deliver that for our communities, and this latest report shows just how feasible and beneficial it would be.``

Khaleel M. Anderson Assembly Member

“Transit riders know the biggest cost in our system is wasted time. QueensLink has the potential to reconnect neighborhoods and slash travel times across Queens by as much as 65 percent, while delivering real economic benefits for local residents. At a time when riders are desperate for faster, more affordable ways to get around, New York can’t afford to ignore solutions hiding in plain sight.”

Betsy Plum Executive Director, Riders Alliance

``This report demonstrates what all of us in South Queens have always known - QueensLink is not only feasible but truly needed. By expanding transit accessibility, we can connect communities while addressing the ongoing affordability crisis and preserving the environment.``

Stacey Pheffer Amato NYS Assemblywoman

“Improving transit connections in Queens is important, and proposals like QueensLink deserve careful review. I look forward to examining the findings of this report as the conversation about the future of the Rockaway Beach Branch continues.”

Phil Wong City Council Member

``This study confirms the transformative impact that QueensLink would have for working-class New Yorkers in the borough and across the city. Unlocking the unused right-of-way for a subway line and park trails would be a direct investment in an affordable New York, cutting commute times, creating jobs, and connecting neighborhoods. With almost $15 billion projected in economic growth and time savings, the case for QueensLink continues to build.``

Shaun Abreu City Council Member

``As an Assemblymember and Queens resident who relies on public transportation, I fully support the QueensLink proposal. Parts of my district are known as “Asthma Alley,” not only because of the fossil-fuel burning power plants nearby, but also because of nearby highways and pervasive gridlock polluting our communities. I welcome restoring long neglected rail service that will connect my district to other parts of Queens and Brooklyn, decrease carbon emissions, and bring transit equity to parts of our borough that have been underserved for decades.``

Diana Moreno Assembly Member

“Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability & Equity (RISE) has long worked to revitalize underutilized public infrastructure and spaces in the Rockaways, and QueensLink is one such project where reconnecting an existing abandoned train trellis could greatly benefit the entire Borough of Queens by increasing the flow of people and commerce across the borough; giving residents access to more frequent, shorter travel times between mainland Queens and the Rockaways. ”

Jeanne DuPont Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity (RISE) Executive Director