Res 0059-2024

Whereas, The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is the entity in New York State (NYS) responsible for providing the public transit needs of its residents, including operating service locally through New York City Transit and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR); and Whereas, There are several neighborhoods in New York City (NYC or the City), particularly in areas of the Borough of Queens, that have limited subway access and are considered transit or subway deserts: and Whereas, According to a recent report published by the Office of the NYS Comptroller, the use of public transit in NYC fosters foot traffic and economic activity in and around travel hubs, neighborhood stations and bus stops, and improves the affordability of living in the City by reducing the need for personal vehicles; and Whereas, One proposal, being advanced by a not-for-profit organization dedicated to that purpose, seeks to add an additional public transit option in the City through the 3.5-mile-long transit and park corridor project called QueensLink, which would connect northern and southern Queens; and Whereas, The proposed QueensLink would run along the corridor formerly known as the Rockaway Beach Branch (RBB), which is a segment of a former LIRR rail line that has not been in use since 1962; and Whereas, Under the current proposal, QueensLink would extend service on the New York City Transit M Train from Rego Park to the Rockaways, offering local residents a more direct route from Southern Queens into Midtown Manhattan, and potentially serving an estimated thirty-nine thousand to forty-seven thousand daily riders; and Whereas, Proponents of the QueensLink proposal argue that an MTA investment of more than $3 billion in this project would create up to 150,000 new jobs, result in a $13 billion increase in personal income, and potentially increase property values along the corridor by up to $75 billion; and Whereas, The proposal for QueensLink also includes up to thirty-three acres of space for parks, trails or newly created farmer's markets alongside and underneath the railroad tracks; and Whereas, In August 2022, 17 City, State, and Federal officials from Queens signed on to a letter of support asking the Governor and the Mayor to fund an Environmental Impact Study for the QueensLink proposal; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York, calls upon the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to conduct a comprehensive Environmental Impact Study on the viability of the proposed QueensLink project. Session 13 RA/JPB LS #11,132 03/10/2025 Session 12 RA LS #11,132 11/2/2022