Gov. Hochul Completes Phase One of Interborough Express Line, which will Provide a Stop in Boro Park
By Yehudit Garmaise
The first phase of the creation of a new Interborough Express that will run directly between Brooklyn and Queens, with a Boro Park stop along the way, has been completed, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced with excitement today at the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
The first step in the new transit project that the governor first mentioned just 15 days ago in her State of the State address in Albany, was a feasibility study that assessed the practicalities of a new railway that the governor said will likely serve 88,000 riders daily.
Gov. Hochul is not yet sure whether the new line, which will run along an unused 13-mile strip of land along Bay Ridge, will take the form of bus rapid transit, light rail, or heavy rail, however, those questions will be answered in the next phase, which involves community engagement.
In addition, the state will launch inquiries into the project’s impact on the environment, which can likely be helped the rail, which could reduce the number of cars and trucks on the roads.
What Gov. Hochul does know is that the Interborough Express will conveniently connect 900,000 New Yorkers, who live near the proposed line, with 17 new subway lines and the Long Island Railroad.
“That gives New Yorkers a lot of options of where their work is going to be,” said Gov. Hochul, who pointed out more New Yorkers who live in Brooklyn and Queens work in the two boroughs, as opposed to in times past, when most residents commuted to and from Manhattan.
As opposed to a frustrating 70-minute bus ride or subway rides that must first go through Manhattan, Gov. Hochul said that the Interborough Express will take a quick 40 minutes to get from Brooklyn to Queens in one straight line: saving commuters 30 minutes a day, each way.
Besides for Boro Park, other stops along the way will include: Sunset Park, Kensington, Midwood, Flatbush, Flatlands, New Lots, Brownsville, East New York, Bushwick, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Maspeth, and Elmhurst.
The Interborough Express will not only make life more pleasant and provide more time for New Yorkers who want to zip over to Queens quickly, Gov. Hochul said that new line also will create and retain more than 20,000 good-paying union jobs.
In addition to using New York’s share of President Biden’s $1 Trillion Infrastructure and Jobs Act to create a new commuter rail, Gov. Hochul also mentioned the possibility of a Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel.
“Can the commuter line we are heading toward be designed to accommodate freight, as well?" asked Gov. Hochul, who said throughout her time as a US Representative, where she served from 2011 to 2013, when discussing necessary infrastructure projects, elected officials always said, “If only Albany would give us more money.”
“We waited a long time, but now we have an opportunity: a once in a generational opportunity to make the investments that should have been made a long time ago,” said Gov. Hochul, who with spoke with optimism and energy about the possibilities that lie ahead to transform New York for the better.
Rendering released by Gov. Kathy Hochul's office