12 JANUARY 19, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM EDITORIAL A ‘QueensWay’ forward for the borough For more than 50 years, the old THE HOT TOPIC STORY: These 12 neighborhoods in Queens are among the most expensive in New York City SUMMARY: A recent study published by PropertyShark has placed twelve neighborhoods in Queens on a list of the top 50 priciest in all of New York City for 2016. REACH: 19,426 (as of 1/16/17) COMMENTS: ESTABLISHED 1908 Co-Publishers VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA SCHNEPS Editor-in-Chief ROBERT POZARYCKI Classifi ed Manager DEBORAH CUSICK Assistant Classifi ed Manager MARLENE RUIZ Reporter ANTHONY GIUDICE © 2017 SCHNEPS NY MEDIA, LLC. General Publication Offi ce: 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 TELEPHONE: 1-718-821-7500/7501/7502/7503 FAX: 1-718-224-5441 E-MAIL: editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com WEB SITE: www.qns.com ON TWITTER @ridgewoodtimes PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY FOR 108 YEARS COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. This newspaper is responsible for only one incorrect insertion and only for that portion of the ad in which the error appears. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make sure copy does not contravene the Consumer Protection Law or any other requirement.TIMES NEWSWEEKLY Is Listed With The Standard Rate & Data And Is A Member Of The New York Press Association SNAPS SNOWY SUNRISE IN BAYSIDE PHOTO BY THERESA EISLER VIA FACEBOOK Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting @QNS or by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps). Rockaway Beach branch of the Long Island Rail Road has been rotting away before our very eyes. It’s time for something to be done with this 3.2-mile-long blight cutting through the heart of our fair borough. In past editorials, we have advocated for bringing back public transportation on this corridor, and we still believe that enhanced rail service is desperately needed in the southern reaches of Queens. The cost for such a project, however, is prohibitive, and it may take decades for any new subway/ rail lines in Queens to be built. Look at how many years and how many billions of dollars were spent on the Second Avenue Subway — and there’s still much more work to be done there. Queens, however, has the opportunity to transform the abandoned Rockaway Beach LIRR line into the QueensWay, a proposed linear park that can meet the recreational needs of more than 2.3 million Queens residents at a fraction of what it would cost to develop park land. We say it’s time to get it done! Advocates for the QueensWay presented the proposal at our office this past week and helped us understand the potential of this project. The QueensWay aims to give the borough’s residents additional space to spend quality time in the outdoors; to exercise; to walk or bike in relative safety; and to have greater, quicker access to the wooded oasis that is Forest Park, and help reach the park’s untapped potential with new playgrounds and recreational areas. The groundwork for the QueensWay is already in place. Its projected cost is $170 million, relatively little for a legacy project such as this; the city already owns the land, so there’s no need for new acquisitions. The Friends of the QueensWay and the Trust for Public Land have the funds in place to begin designing and potentially even begin building. At some point, the public transit needs of this borough must be addressed. It will take years and cost billions to do it, and this eff ort must also get started now. In the meantime, however, there’s no reason to sit on the QueensWay any longer, or to allow the Rockaway Beach line to continue rotting away. The QueensWay should move forward, and we encourage Queens Borough President Melinda Katz to take a leading role in getting this done. Despite the challenges that remain, this project has the potential of reshaping the borough and making Queens an ever greater place to live.
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