Mayor's Budget Could Derail Queens Subway Expansion He Once Backed

Funding for a High Line-style park in Queens could block future efforts to revive a dormant rail line.

Mar. 25, 2026 at 4:05am

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Transit advocates in Queens are criticizing Mayor Zohran Mamdani's budget, which includes $43 million to build the first phase of the Queensway, a linear park project proposed for a dormant LIRR right-of-way. The advocates argue this could prevent future attempts to reactivate the Rockaway Beach Branch for a new subway line, known as QueensLink, which Mamdani previously supported as an Assembly member.

Why it matters

The QueensLink proposal would provide a much-needed new transit option for southern and central Queens, but the Queensway park could make it politically and logistically more difficult to revive the rail line in the future. This highlights the tension between transit and park projects on limited urban land.

The details

Mamdani's budget includes funding to build the Metropolitan Hub segment of the Queensway, a High Line-style linear park proposed for the dormant LIRR right-of-way. QueensLink advocates argue this would block future efforts to reactivate the Rockaway Beach Branch for a new subway line. While the city says the park wouldn't preclude the rail project, the current Queensway design appears to occupy much of the space the train would need.

  • In 2023, then-Assembly member Mamdani spoke at a rally in support of the QueensLink proposal.
  • Last July, Mamdani called the QueensLink 'very important to me' during his mayoral campaign.
  • Mamdani's current budget includes over $43 million for the first phase of the Queensway park project.

The players

Zohran Mamdani

The current mayor of New York City, who previously supported the QueensLink proposal as an Assembly member but is now including funding for a competing park project in his budget.

Andrew Lynch

A proponent of the QueensLink proposal, who has been central to the design ideas for the rail project.

Meera Joshi

The deputy mayor under former Mayor Eric Adams, who insisted that building the Queensway wouldn't preclude building QueensLink.

Janno Lieber

The chairman and CEO of the MTA, who has not embraced the QueensLink proposal despite agreeing to study it.

Eric Adams

The former mayor of New York City, who promised $35 million to design and build the first piece of the Queensway linear park.

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What they’re saying

“Looks like Mayor Mamdani is proposing to keep funding the Queensway's Metro Hub. As designed, this will block future reactivation of the LIRR Rockaway Branch.”

— Andrew Lynch, QueensLink Proponent

“The fight for public transit is a fight for making sure that every single New Yorker has their God-given right to go around every single borough of this city. This is a fight of immense importance. If we want to know how to combat the climate crisis, we need to build out right rail at every possible place in this city. QueensLink offers us the possibility of giving up to 50,000 New Yorkers an option to take public transit.”

— Zohran Mamdani, Former Assembly Member

What’s next

QueensLink supporters hope the new mayor will reconsider the current Queensway project and find a way to accommodate both the park and the potential future rail line.

The takeaway

This case highlights the difficult tradeoffs cities face when trying to balance transit expansion and green space projects on limited urban land. The mayor's budget decision could have major implications for the future of transit access and climate resilience in Queens.