New Friends for the Queens Highline

Great Minds Do Think Alike!

Photo by William Richard Seqeira

Friend and fellow environmentalist Gil Lopez found Alissa Wassung's post about creating A "Highline-like" project to turn the abandoned elevated subway track around the Rockaway Blvd stop on the A-line into a community produce garden on Change by US NYC. Since then I have reached out to Alissa and utterly pleased to find yet another Queens resident who is passionate about creating a green space out of the abandoned railroad.


I also came across William Richard Sequeira through a previous post on this blog, sharing his experience on this space:


"Hey Anandi, glad to see someone take the first steps in making the Queens Highline Park a reality in the future. Over the past summer I’ve been mountain biking at Forest Park on a weekly basis as a recreational sport and one day came across the abandon LIRR tracks where I grew curiosity to know where the tracks would end. In lure of a small adventure I decided the next day I would come with a friend and hike to the end of the line and maybe explore some artifacts left behind from the old railroad. Even though there could have been the possibility of encountering snakes, bats or raccoons due to all the fallen trees and obstacles along the way I felt confident enough to get by with my current experience walking railroad tracks as a NYC Transit employee. At the end of about 2 miles just past the overpass of NYC Transit’s in service A line at Rockaway Blvd all that was left was a few scratches, some mosquito bites, and the experience of hiking the future Queens High Line Park. Anandi, as an advocate for more mountain bike trails in the city, you have my total support in making this project a reality as I see it adding great value to the borough of Queens."


 and some of the photos from his collection:

And that's not all! Peter W. Beadle and the Rockaway Beach Branch Greenway Committee contacted me through facebook and a lovely email sent via to Joe Anuta after the Make unused Rockaway LIRR into greenspace: Activist article posted this weekend. I was so excited to find someone from the group that has been working on a proposal as my previous emails to them had bounced a few years ago and again most recently. Ivan Mrakovcic, a Community Board 9 member, wants a bike path on the tracks is also on the Rockaway Beach Branch Committee.

A post on the Sustainability Practice Network (SPN) blog inspired a response from a couple other Yay-Sayers:

• Carlos Martinez, a Parks employee and resident of Jackson Heights, offered resources such as Partnerships for Parks's new program called People Make Parks. 

• Mark Anthony Thomas, Director at City Limits stated, "This sounds great. and asked me to consider writing a piece for City Conversations. Hmm, you know, I think I might just do that :)

Needless to say, countless others continue to show support by commenting, sharing ideas, visions, and inspiring others like Michael Perlman and Russel Nelson. Thank you all!

Do you have any stories or photos to share? Let's talk!

Making Headlines

Make unused Rockaway LIRR into greenspace: Activist

Photo by Joe Anuta

Joe Anuta of the Times Ledger saw my tweets about the #QueensHighline and wanted to know more. We exchanged some conversations via email and phone. And then he wrote this piece: 

Make unused Rockaway LIRR into greenspace: Activist

I think his article that ran this week pretty much summed up the vision, helped others who are working on this proposal seek me out. I also started the Facebook Group (along with a strong suggestion by Michael Perlman!) to gather even more public support for this project. All are welcome to join as it's an open group and might have a larger audience than this is free-floating blog.

The Queens Crap posted Anuta's piece and received many comments: The Queens High Line?

Also The Sub Chat posted Anuta's article and gathered a large discussion about this proposal, most are for the rails being revitalized, think that Queens has enough parks or worry that a park in this area will breed rapists, muggers and other violent creatures.

What I want to know is: Why do some individuals get so nasty or hateful about green space and super defensive about cars or resurrected rails? There are parks or green spaces on nearly ever other block in Manhattan. Why argue against a greener and greater Queens?

What are your two cents?

Mission Possible

Visualize it and It will Happen!

Here are the renderings from Urban Design Week. I’m not sure why they didn't call it the Queens Highline, but these sketches look pretty good and incorporated most of the ideas desired. I wish we had an opportunity to communicate with the designers and architects who worked on our ideas.

South Queens GREENway by Jennifer Cromie / Newtownards, UK

http://www.urbandesignweek.org/1988309/

Rockaway Greenway Queens by Achva Benzinberg Stein / New York, NY: http://www.urbandesignweek.org/1987893/

And then I was asked to speak...

Queens Museum of Art had a presentation of five of the best ideas & designs that address urban challenges relevant to both New York City & Detroit through the By the City / For the City project which invited architects, planners, artists, designers, and students around the world to participate in a collaborative re-imagining of New York City’s public realm on Sunday, Sept 18th: By the City / For the City QNS - An Urban Design Week Event

I was asked to speak for a few minutes and make a case for creating public spaces in unusual places. I gave a 5 minute presentation which I won't post right now as I'm adding charts and facts as I gather more pertinent information, especially focusing on the historical preservation, the value to the community and the need for such a space in Central to South Queens to create more awareness as to why restoration is essential and to build interest in this valuable space sooner rather than later.

What do you think of the renderings?

By the City / For the City

Answering the Call

I submitted a couple of ideas, including the Queens Highline when the Institute for Urban Design launched their Ideas Competition to Imagine the Future of NYC: By the City/ For the City where they sought to "gather up everyone's ideas: from local parks and squares to citywide issues like transit and pollution, what needs a re-design?" And offered a virtual space where we could "explore, discuss, and debate everyone's ideas."

By AAPremlall, Oct 2011

#284 Wouldn’t it be great if...The old, abandoned LIRR running from Forest Park to Rockaway Beach was turned into a simpler version of the HighLine with native plants, an edible garden, along with a bike and pedestrian path?


Where: 99th Street from Forest Park to Howard Beach (actually the unused part only goes to the intersection of Rockaway Boulevard & Liberty Avenue).


So that people could...enjoy more safer green spaces, reduce traffic across Queens, garden and spend time with the community through public programs. We could definitely use a park in this neighborhood!


Because I want the city to be...more bike and pedestrian friendly and safer over all. The area under these tracked are filled with makeshift garages, the surrounding area doesn't look very safe or welcoming for anyone walking or jogging. This area is highly underutilized and could make the neighborhood more beautiful.

http://www.urbandesignweek.org/by-the-city/reports/view/284

#283 Wouldn’t it be great if...there were more organic, edible community gardens as they are far and few in neighborhoods I grew up in. If they can be on rooftops that would be awesome and would utilize unused space.


Where: South Queens (Richmond Hill, South Richmond Hill,Forest Hills/Kew Gardens, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Jamaica, South Jamaica, Far Rockaway)


So that people could...enjoy fresh affordable produce, connect with their communities, the earth, save money and live healthier lives.


Because I want the city to be...nourishing & flourishing, with food devoid of GMO's and harmful pesticides. As you can see from the attached links, we have very few community gardens in South Queens.


http://www.urbandesignweek.org/by-the-city/reports/view/283

#445 Wouldn’t it be great if...No Trace Left Behind was incorporated into all public spaces? (Oops that should be Leave No Trace, but you get it).

Where: All of New York City


So that people could...help maintain parks by learning to clean up after themselves though required service for using these spaces; use less single-use items (disposable plates, cups, utensils), and to compost organic waste so that we can ALL enjoy the beauty of our parks without being bombarded with trash, plastic bags, styrofoam and other garbage interrupting the landscape. It's really heartbreaking to those who do participate in beach/park clean-ups regularly and see how they're ruining our public spaces.

Because I want the city to be...beautiful, cleaner and contribute less trash to landfills; to be welcoming to all visitors, an example of how nature thrives in urban settings.

http://www.urbandesignweek.org/by-the-city/reports/view/445

And here are a few honorable mentions:

#446 Wouldn’t it be great if...we had more CLEAN, public bathrooms that anyone can use http://www.urbandesignweek.org/by-the-city/reports/view/446

#447 Wouldn’t it be great if...there were more art studios and galleries http://www.urbandesignweek.org/by-the-city/reports/view/447

#577 Wouldn’t it be great if...all pubic schools were retrofit with green infrastructure, including a green roof and edible learning gardens? http://www.urbandesignweek.org/by-the-city/reports/view/577

You can view various reports from IfUD including the borough breakdown:

Queens residents shared 87 ideas for their borough (18% of the total). With 24 of those ideas relating to Recreation (31.5% of all ideas in that category), this was one of the only issues where an outer borough captured the largest percentage of ideas across the city. The top five categories across Queens were: Transportation; Green Space; Streetscapes; Recreation; and Culture/Public Art.


http://urbandesignweek.tumblr.com/post/5428386626/the-borough-breakdown

How would you improve on these ideas? What are yours?

Doctor's Orders!

Walk Two Trails and Call Me in the Morning!

Rails to Trails simply rocked my socks with their latest newsletter raving about the need for public spaces in areas like New York City. In fact, there have been a few articles from other sources about making of the Highline Park and how beneficial it is to the economy and those who enjoy this park in the sky (stay tuned for a dedicated post on the Guardian write up).

A sad but true statistic of how incredibly sedentary our lives have become: "Almost half of all urban trips in the United States are less than two miles, but almost all of these are taken by car. By choosing to walk rather than drive just a few times a week, we can all make a big difference to our personal health. Many doctors now believe that walking just 150 minutes a week can have marked impact on treating a range of problems, from depression to high blood pressure."

It seems counterproductive to go for a walk when the toxic fumes and noise from buses, trucks and cars overwhelm the streets and make it anything but relaxing. Unless you take the Q41 over to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge or the Q11 to Forest Park, there aren't safe and soothing spaces to walk in South Queens. The tracks in public school yards are closed to the public (yes, I checked). The therapeutic benefits of nature definitely won't kick when you're hitting the pavement around these parts.

"Over the past 50 years we have built landscapes that work for cars but not always for people. In many communities it is inconvenient, or even dangerous, to go for a walk, to try and live an active lifestyle, " stated RTC President Keith Laughlin. I'm not going to call any names ;)

More often than not, parents who live within ten blocks are driving their cars when dropping off and picking up their children from school (which, in my humble opinion, is not a far walk at all and would help to instill healthy habits and bonding time). You cannot tell me you haven't noticed the back-to-back traffic around elementary schools!

I fondly remember my grandpa walking my brothers, cousin and I to P.S. 55 every morning. And sometimes our neighbor's dog Romeo followed us all the way. Grandpa waited until we went inside, walked back home to 125 Street. Then he magically appeared again at 3:00PM to walk us back those 10 blocks. I relished those afternoons, finding treasures of acorns and colorful leaves, which I secretly tucked away into my dad's brown corduroy sport jacket as I skipped along the cracked sidewalks.

Laughlin's words are music to my ears, "At the local level, people are yearning for investments in their cities and towns that make them more livable and walkable." In other words, let's do this!

"The testimony of medical professionals is now adding to the growing weight of evidence that investing in biking and walking infrastructure will not only save the nation billions in reduced oil consumption and environmental mitigation, but also slash wasteful health care expenditure." What a fantastic argument to make for the Queens Highline (or any public space for that matter). I'm sure the Department of Transportation is thrilled to hear this!

On this happy and healthy note, I look forward to day when the Rail to Trails crew, our Mayor, Borough President, City Council Members, Community Boards and even the President of the United States come to my neighborhood for a walking tour of the Queens Highline.