Claim Trains Needed For S. Qns.
In response to long commute times and restricted transportation options in Southern Queens and the Rockaways, Assemblymen Phil Goldfeder and Mike Miller held a joint press conference Friday, Feb. 10 along Liberty Avenue in Ozone Park, calling for the complete rehabilitation of the old Rockaway Beach rail line, which they claim would increase access to the area.
“With the opening of the casino at Aqueduct and the proposed convention center, having adequate transportation to and from Queens must be a top priority,” Goldfeder said in a statement. “Now more than ever our families need access to affordable and reliable public transportation.”
“The transit infrastructure of Queens is hardly capable of handling the population needs of 1990, let alone 2020,” added Miller. “There are a lot of proposals out there to improve transportation options for the residents of Queens; it’s time we took a serious look at some of these options”
The Rockaway Line, also known as the White Pot Junction Line, was created around the turn of the century and was owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road. It provided residents with safe, affordable and expedient access to other parts of the city and 40 minute commutes to midtown Manhattan.
In the early 1960s, parts of the railroad service were condensed, sectioned off and eventually closed. In the following years, the property was vandalized, encroached upon and has become a source of embarrassment for the families that reside in the area.
Currently, people commuting from Queens to midtown Manhattan face commute times of well over an hour. Reinstating the Rockaway Beach Rail line would once again provide people with a safe, affordable and expedient way to parts of the city, while cutting down the commute time to midtown Manhattan significantly, Goldfeder added.
“In my district, Assembly District 38, over 52 percent of daily commuters use mass transit, which equals about 30,000 people daily,” said Miller. “I have spoken to transit ex- perts and this plan seems to be the most viable option to meet the needs of our growing borough. If the Aqueduct destination point is to be successful, there must be easy access to it from JFK (Airport), Queens and Manhattan.”
“The goal of these initiatives is to cut down on commute times for Southern Queens and Rockaway families traveling outside of the borough for daily necessities and make Queens more accessible,” Goldfeder said. “This plan would help us achieve both.”
Despite limited transportation options, in recent years, Southern Queens and Rockaway has seen a large population and construction boom. The opening of the Resorts World Casino at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, the proposal to build the largest convention center in the world and the growing population show that the restoration of this rail line is needed now more than ever, according to the lawmakers.
