Practical Leadership. Mamdani is choosing a realistic park project over an ambitious rail plan that the MTA has shown little interest in supporting.
46D AGOLOCALNYC MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANITRANSIT
Mamdani Backs Park Over Rail Project He Once Championed
What's the gist?
During his campaign and as an Assemblymember, Mayor Zohran Mamdani supported breathing life back into an abandoned Queens rail line which would have connected the southeastern part of the borough to Manhattan. He is now supporting funding a park project on the rail tracks instead.
Context
The abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch operated until 1962. QueensLink would reactivate it as subway service, while QueensWay would create a park similar to the west side of Manhattan's High Line. Mamdani previously rallied for QueensLink as assemblymember and during his mayoral campaign but now supports the park.
Positive takes
Green Space Priority. The mayor is delivering immediate benefits to Queens residents by creating 3.5 miles of parkland and recreational amenities.
Flexible Planning. Administration officials maintain the park design won't prevent future transit development if circumstances change.
Negative takes
Broken Campaign Promise. Mamdani abandoned his vocal support for QueensLink after taking office, disappointing transit advocates who backed him.
Short-Sighted Decision. Examples from Atlanta and Maryland show that building parks first makes adding transit later extremely difficult and expensive.
Missing Transit Opportunity. QueensLink would provide the first north-south subway connection in Queens, dramatically cutting travel times for South Queens residents.
— by VoiceWhat's Voice? Read this.
News sources
- 01
Ryan Schwach · Queens Daily Eagle · June 2, 2026
- 02
John Schilling · The Wave · April 22, 2026
- 03
Dave Colon · StreetsBlog NYC · May 11, 2026
Social takes
- 01
@TODNewsHub · Twitter · Negative take
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