|
|
| Lawmakers: southern Queens commuters need a new railway more than the QueensWay (1139360) | |||
 |
|||
| Home > SubChat | |||
|
[ Read Responses | Post a New Response | Return to the Index ] |
|
||
|
Lawmakers: southern Queens commuters need a new railway more than the QueensWay |
|
|
Posted by Gold_12TH on Mon Feb 13 21:28:15 2012 Local legislators don't oppose greenway, but want to see abandoned Rockaway Beach line rehabbed for rail service Assemblymen Michael Miller (l.) and Phil Goldfeder (D-Ozone Park) at a news conference near the corner of Liberty Ave. and 99th St. in Ozone Park, Queens, on Friday, advocating for the rehabilitation of the old Rockaway Beach LIRR line. Reactivating the abandoned Rockaway Beach rail line would help both frustrated southern Queens commuters and people using the proposed convention center at the Aqueduct racino, local officials said. Assemblymen Phil Goldfeder (D-Ozone Park) and Michael Miller (D-Woodhaven) stood with transit advocates in the shadow of the old railway on Friday to emphasize the need to rebuild the crumbling trestles and tracks. “The commute for people here is only going to go from bad to worse,” Goldfeder said. “You can’t talk about a convention center without talking about transportation.” Gov. Cuomo has proposed building a massive convention center at Aqueduct, where a new racino is also attracting crowds. The old Rockaway Beach line runs up through Ozone Park to Rego Park, cutting through Forest Park and several neighborhoods. It has been out of operation for more than 50 years. A group of park advocates is pushing a plan to turn it into a High Line-type walkway and bike path dubbed the QueensWay. Goldfeder and Miller said they are not opposed to turning sections of the line into a park, but said people who live in Rockaway, Ozone Park and other areas have no quick or easy way to get into Manhattan. Goldfeder said the leading advocates for the QueensWay enjoy a relatively short commute to Manhattan. Lew Simon, a Rockaway civic leader, said commuters from his neighborhood can be stuck for hours on the A train. “If you get the express A train maybe you can get to Chambers St. in an hour and 15 minutes,” he said. “Without the express train you are ... going through hell.” A spokesman for Genting, which operates the racino and the company tapped to construct the convention center, said they are evaluating several plans to increase transportation access. “There is a general agreement that we have to come up with transportation options,” said Genting spokesman Stefan Friedman, adding the company is committed to paying for part of the transportation improvements. Andrea Crawford, a member of Friends of the QueensWay, said there are other ways to increase transportation in the area, such as buses and reopening shuttered LIRR stations. “The building of a new rail line in this economy and the destruction it would cause into adjacent neighborhoods including Forest Park is not feasible,” said Crawford. ---http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/reactivating-rockaway-beach-rail-line-spells-relief-stranded-southern-queens-commuters-article-1.1020731?localLinksEnabled=false |
|
|
|