QueensWay Meet and Greet
For the past few years there has been a debate about what should be done with the long-defunct Rockaway Beach Railroad Line – in Woodhaven this line runs along 98th Street, through the backyards of many residents, and behind the Forest Park Co-Ops.
Supporters of the QueensWay – who want to transform the defunct Rockaway Branch Rail Line into a public greenway for walking, jogging and bicycling – held a “meet and greet” at El Viejo Yayo Restaurant on 101st Avenue in Ozone Park Monday Night and were greeted by a large group of locals opposed to the plan.
Full disclosure on how some of this came about – one of the residents on 98th Street learned about the meet and greet (it was also listed on Facebook) and spoke to his neighbors as well as the businesses along the train trestle in Ozone Park, many of whom had never even heard of the proposal. I included a notice of the meeting in an email sent out by the WRBA, and CB9 forwarded the notice to their board members – but the vast majority of the opponents to the plan last night came via residents of Woodhaven and Ozone Park.
As for my own view on the QueensWay, I have many concerns which you can read about here if interested.
Some people may say they crashed the event, others might say they politely invited themselves -- other people genuinely thought it was an opportunity to get information and provide feedback. For many of them, this was their first opportunity to make their voice heard.
So in the beginning it was a little chaotic as supporters and volunteers were being treated to a free meal - so they were moved to one side of the room while the others were free to sit down (order a meal if they wanted to). I think there was brief consideration to asking them to leave, or to not engage them -- but in the end, they got a dialogue going and that was the best decision for all.
There was an exchange of opinions and feelings -- and it became clear that there is a huge chasm between the two groups. Neil Giannelli (of NoWayQueensWay.org) and Nick Comaianni of Community Board 9 were very vocal, with Mr. Comaianni promising to put the question up to CB9 for a vote (at the next meeting, October 8th at 7:45 PM at the Fairfield Pavilion 131-10 101st Avenue). QueensWay supporters (and also past Chairs of CB9 Andrea Crawford and Ivan Mrakovcic) stated that CB9 has "multiple" resolutions supporting the QueensWay. Note: We have asked CB9 for clarification on this - they said there was at least one resolution that passed and they will send that over to us.
The dialogue was very healthy -- and though it got a little boisterous at times, it seems like both sides left the meet and greet resolved to win their fight. One supporter of the QueensWay said that their volunteers were energized by the exchange and that they were "digging in" while many of the residents and business owners resolved to fight to protect their homes and livelihoods. The opponents had little time to prepare for this meeting and felt that they got much less turnout than they expected - but even then, they just about packed the place -- here is the spillover, the people that had no where to sit:
Here is a sample of how the meet and greet went:
It will certainly be interesting to see how the next meeting goes - and with the QueensWay folks promising "many" such meetings, there will be lots of opportunities to speak your mind.
If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.
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