Conceptual rendering of the QueensWay Metropolitan Hub. Credit: Trust for Public Land and Friends of the QueensWay.
On September 16, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams announced a $35 million investment for the design and construction of the Metropolitan (Met) Hub, a five-acre linear park in Forest Hills, Queens. The funding includes $2.5 million from City Council, while Met Hub construction will be facilitated by the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the Parks Department.
The Met Hub is phase one of a new multi-phase greenway and park project called QueensWay. This initial phase will transform a city-owned vacant corridor in Forest Hills into a five-acre park with 0.7 miles of greenway, improving access to recreational amenities and outdoor education opportunities for students. The Met Hub will provide local residents with new open space and a safe transportation corridor, connecting people to schools, businesses, and 10 bus lines.
The larger QueensWay project will convert an unused rail line into a 47-acre park with seven miles of greenway, covering the Queens neighborhoods of Rego Park, Forest Hills, Glendale, Forest Park, Woodhaven, and Ozone Park. The proposal was conceived by the Trust for Public Land and the community organization Friends of the QueensWay; both groups voiced their support for the Met Hub at Mayor Adams’ announcement. The QueensWay project concept stems from extensive community outreach that included over 20 public tours, public and stakeholder workshops, and information tables at local community events.
Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi highlighted this community input process, stating, “The QueensWay, which will open new parkland and add greenway miles, demonstrates our commitment to expanding access to healthy open spaces and safe options for mobility. We’re incredibly proud to be supporting this community-led proposal and want to thank those residents, students, commuters, and recreationists who rallied for this project for years.”
Other stakeholders who spoke in support included Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., State Senator Leroy Comrie, State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, and City Councilmember Lynn Schulman.
Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue shared, “One of our main goals at Parks is to expand our thriving parks system, and, thanks to this new $35 million investment from Mayor Adams for phase one of the multi-phase QueensWay project, countless New Yorkers will have access to a brand-new green space and greenway in their neighborhood. This investment in the Met Hub and the future QueensWay strikes to the core of several of this administration’s top parks priorities, including safer transportation in and around our parks, more parkland and green space, and connecting more New Yorkers to a park within walking distance of where they live.”
Mayor Adams added that “every borough deserves high-quality park space. That’s exactly what we are delivering with this $35 million investment in one of our vital neighborhoods in Queens. QueensWay phase one will convert abandoned railroad tracks that have been used as a dumping ground into a linear park that will make this community safer, healthier, greener, and more prosperous.
By: Cassidy Strong (Cassidy is a CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2024.)
Mayor Adams Announces $35 Million Investment in Phase One of New Linear Park in Queens, September 15, 2022.