The QueensWay

The QueensWay The QueensWay plans to convert the long-abandoned LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch into a public park and serve as a link between neighborhoods.

Nobody plants a tree for right now. You plant it for the person who's going to sit under it in ten years, and that's bas...
09/04/2026

Nobody plants a tree for right now. You plant it for the person who's going to sit under it in ten years, and that's basically the whole design philosophy behind the QueensWay's tree list.

Ten species made the cut for this corridor, and we already introduced five plants in our last post. This round: red maple, going full flame every October. Eastern redbud, blooming pink before it even bothers growing leaves. Tulip tree, patient enough to eventually tower over the entire trail. Shadblow serviceberry, quietly feeding birds all summer after its spring bloom. And Taylor eastern redcedar, staying green and upright through the dead of winter while everything else gives up.

That's 10 of 20 plants revealed so far. The other half of the list is still coming.

Which one are you most looking forward to walking under?

For over a decade, the QueensWay was a volunteer-run dream: neighbors circulating petitions, board members showing up to...
09/01/2026

For over a decade, the QueensWay was a volunteer-run dream: neighbors circulating petitions, board members showing up to community boards on their own time. No staff, no office, just people who believed an abandoned rail line could become something better for Queens.

That changes today. Friends of the QueensWay has named John Surico as its first-ever Executive Director.

John's not new to this fight. He's an Astoria neighbor, a public space researcher and writer whose reporting has run in the New York Times and Bloomberg, and the volunteer who grew the 31st Ave Open Street from a scrappy weekend pop-up into a 100-member nonprofit. His research helped push $43 million in new funding into the city's parks system.

He takes over as the $49 million Metropolitan Hub, the QueensWay's first phase, prepares to break ground this fall.

"I've cheered on this project from the sidelines since it was first imagined by neighbors, and have deeply admired the passion and determination by the board to make it a reality," John said. "Now let's get started."

Fifteen years of neighbors building something out of nothing. Now it has someone leading it full time.

08/27/2026

🎥 One minute with our Council Member, Lynn Schulman 舒曼琳, recorded right here on the QueensWay at the future Met Hub.

She's the one who helped secure $49 million to get this first phase moving, and this clip is a taste of why she got involved in the first place.

You're already here, so hit follow and keep an eye out for cleanup days, town halls, and volunteer opportunities. Or email [email protected] and her office will connect you directly.

Forest Hills, this one's for you. Thank you, Council Member Schulman.

📍 2026 is the year of the QueensWay

For 60 years, this stretch of Queens grew nothing but whatever pushed up through the old rail bed on its own. That's abo...
08/22/2026

For 60 years, this stretch of Queens grew nothing but whatever pushed up through the old rail bed on its own. That's about to change.

We just got our first real look at what's moving into the QueensWay corridor, and it turns out plants have just as much personality as your neighbors. There's a staghorn sumac that goes full crimson every October like it's got somewhere to be. An oakleaf hydrangea that's already booked for every corridor photo op. New Jersey tea pulling in every pollinator on the block. Elderberry growing berries the birds are going to fight over. And inkberry, quietly holding the whole thing together every February when nothing else here is green.

That's 5 of the 20 species headed for this corridor for Phase 1. We'll be introducing the rest over the next few weeks.

Which one are you most excited to see grow in? Tell us in the comments.

The neighborhood's most famous resident has been getting around Queens without crossing a single street since 1962. Must...
08/19/2026

The neighborhood's most famous resident has been getting around Queens without crossing a single street since 1962. Must be nice.

For everyone else, there's a 3.5-mile stretch of abandoned rail line running through the middle of Forest Hills, Rego Park, Glendale, Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, and Ozone Park. It's been sitting unused for more than 60 years. The QueensWay turns it into 47 acres of walking and biking paths, outdoor classrooms, and green space, with 28 schools and seven subway stops within a ten minute walk.

245,000 people live within a mile of it. Phase 1 breaks ground by the end of the year.

08/15/2026

Que viva la QueensWay. 让我们建造QueensWay. لنبني كوينزواي.

This is what twenty years of asking for a park actually sounds like when you just point a camera and listen. Six neighborhoods, 3.5 miles, 47 acres of parkland Queens still doesn't have.

We're so ready to build the QueensWay.

Kinda chic to care about a rail corridor most people drive past without noticing.3.5 miles through Central Queens. Close...
08/08/2026

Kinda chic to care about a rail corridor most people drive past without noticing.

3.5 miles through Central Queens. Closed for over 60 years. Green the whole way.

We're opening it.

Save the date: the QueensWay 5K is coming to Forest Park.October 4, 2026, 9 AM at Victory Field. Choose your distance: 5...
08/01/2026

Save the date: the QueensWay 5K is coming to Forest Park.

October 4, 2026, 9 AM at Victory Field. Choose your distance: 5K or 1 mile, all paces welcome.

Presented with Trust for Public Land and Fast Feet. More details and registration coming soon, get it on your calendar now.

07/26/2026

Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. walked the QueensWay with us, and the message was clear: this park is happening.

"This is the year of the QueensWay." Right in the heart of Forest Hills, where open space is scarce, BP Richards sees a future where our young people finally get passive recreation in their own backyard. Biking. Chess tables. A place to just come out and hang out. Better than the High Line, he says, and he might be right.

Because parks are democratic institutions. They belong to everybody. And this one is going to bring the whole borough together.

Real support for a real project. Unwavering support for an unstoppable project. Queens gets the parks!

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