Over 75 Richmond Hill residents, advocates and school leaders rallied on Friday, Feb. 6, to push back against the reintroduction of cars in Freedom Drive, a roadway between Myrtle Avenue and Park Lane South.
Hosted by Safer Streets Richmond Hill, New Yorkers for Parks and Transportation Alternatives, nonprofit advocacy organizations that champion sustainable park spaces, this follows a public vote held by Queens Community Board 9 last year that determined whether to allow motor vehicles on the connecting road after a five-year closure.
Despite community opposition, the board settled on closing Freedom Drive from April to October but reopening it to traffic from October to April. With a vote of 33-9, the plan was finalized, a decision residents say threatens public safety and diminishes quality-of-life standards that result in reckless driving and illegal dumping, as QNS previously reported earlier this year.
As part of the city’s Open Streets program during the COVID-19 pandemic, Freedom Drive was among the park spaces to be closed off for pedestrian use. Since 2020, the road has become a local epicenter for recreation, formerly enjoyed by residents and families walking, running and cycling on the road without vehicular traffic.
Kathy Park Price, the Director of Policy and Advocacy at New Yorkers for Parks, shared her thoughts ahead of the rally, reflecting on the impact of neighborhood-led rallies on local issues.
“I think when communities organize, the elected officials listen,” Price commented. “We’re out here in front of P.S. 66 with family members, with older adults, with advocates, and to show the decision makers that a car-free Freedom Drive is what the community wants and deserves.”
The Forest Park rally announced a new petition, Car-Free Parks NYC, which urges Mayor Mamdani and other NYC-based organizations to “reduce and eliminate personal vehicle traffic in New York City parks” as an extension of the city’s safe streets initiatives. A set of physical flyers was also distributed at the event, encouraging participants to view and sign the petition.
Carl Nelson, the Communications and Programs Manager at New Yorkers for Parks, shared a similar sentiment with Price.
“In a community where a lot of residents drive and where there’s not a lot of public transit access, it’s essential that parks be kept as spaces solely for biking, walking, playing and community,” Nelson shared. “Not as arteries for cut through traffic, especially when there are ample public roadways for vehicles to travel around the park.”
At 2:30 p.m., supporters braved the cold and gathered outside P.S. 66 to march towards Giovanelli Playground. A series of vocal chants emerged from the crowd, from “Car-free! Freedom Drive!” to “Whose parks? Our parks!” as they carried their signs along 102nd Street.
The rally mirrored demands to close down other roads in the five boroughs for public use — Silver Lake Park Road in Staten Island is one that has been similarly contested. Once the crowd was situated, notable community leaders and neighbors delivered speeches calling for safer, environmentally friendly parks.
Andrew Smith, a community organizer and founder of Safer Streets Richmond Hill, addressed the crowd, noting that Freedom Drive has evolved into a community hub where neighbors can spend quality time with loved ones. Additionally, the road granted Richmond Hill accessible space — a feature which Smith named “New York’s precious commodity.”
“As a resident and car driver in Richmond Hill, it is obvious that Freedom Drive should be a free, open space for pedestrians, cyclists, runners and families. It is a crucial artery that connects the people of Richmond Hill to Forest Park,” Smith said in a press release. “Allowing cars back on Freedom Drive suffocates the community. It restricts our access to Forest Park, introduces a danger to the community and ignores what residents have made clear and what we are unfortunately still fighting for: Parks are for the people and the community, not for cars.”
Hillary Dvorkin, one of the parents at Friday’s rally, voiced her thoughts in a press release over the benefits that Freedom Drive has demonstrated to locals.
“Closing Freedom Drive to cars in 2020 showed us that this corridor works best as a safe, accessible connector within Forest Park, linking the athletic fields to the rest of the park without forcing people into traffic,” Dvorkin said. “Our neighborhood is home to older adults, children and new families, and everyone deserves a park experience that is safe and accessible year-round.”
Across the borough, community leaders have spoken out in support of reserving Freedom Drive as a pedestrian-friendly area. Kevin Montalvo, the founder of Queens Distance Runners, called for further momentum behind preserving car-free spaces in Queens. Montalvo is one of many advocates who signed an open letter to Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other officials, advising them to renounce pro-vehicle decisions regarding Freedom Drive and Silver Lake Park Road.
“Freedom Drive by Forest Park has been one of the few truly car-free spaces in Queens/NYC where families, seniors, students and neighbors — many from communities of color — can safely walk, run, bike and gather without fear of traffic,” Montalvo stated in a press release. “Reopening this road to cars threatens public safety and undermines equitable access to open space in a borough that already has fewer car-free amenities than much of the city. We urge the Mayor to reverse this decision and commit to keeping Freedom Drive permanently car-free.”
Council Member Joann Ariola, an active supporter of the re-opening of Freedom Drive to motor vehicles, did not respond to an invitation to the rally. As documented by Safer Streets Richmond Hill, Ariola made an appearance on Friday from the confines of her car, observing the
gathering from a distance.
The car-free rally signaled the neighborhood’s priority not only for outdoor activities, but also for more green spaces that guarantee visitors a sense of community, health and wellness and safety.
“We want a Forest Park that breathes,” Luis Francisco Riveros from Ciclistas Latinoamericanos De New York, a cycling group, shared. “To the city officials listening, look at these families, look at these neighbors. The community has spoken. We are tired of waiting.”
