We all enjoy our part of the Eastern Queens Greenway, and there are many great politicians who have dedicated over 43 million dollars to upgrade it. But right now, forces are conspiring to kill the next segment of it–and they’re winning.

In the good old days, everyone supported our parkland because we all want kids to have safe outdoor space to play, just like we did when we were kids. But recently, the toxic culture war turned its head towards greenspaces.

By promoting conspiracy theories, ignoring facts, and exhibiting lightly veiled racism, these haters are getting political attention and are getting safety projects canceled. If school shootings are no longer enough to enact common-sense gun legislation, then kids getting run over is no longer enough to enact common-sense street design. That’s the world we’re being forced to live in.

Any reasonable neighbor we talk to doesn’t understand what the haters are saying or why they’re killing these projects. The top question we get from the community is: “Why would anyone oppose keeping kids safe while they go to a park?” Here’s the answers we hear from the opposition…and why they don’t make sense:

1.) “BIKE LANES TAKE AWAY PARKING” <- In reality, the majority of cycling advocacy pushes for things like class 1 parking-protected bike lanes. The EQGW projects ask DoT to keep parking, including on 53rd Avenue, as a physical barrier between dangerous drivers and kids. As you can see, the parking-protected bike lane on the far right is clear and safe; the unprotected lane on the left has 3 trucks parked in it and offers no physical protection to kids on bikes.

2.) “NO ONE USES THE BIKE LANES” <- What they mean to say is “no one important uses the bike lanes,” since the majority of cyclists are kids, minorities, lower-income people, or the elderly–all groups that are easy to “other,” groups that are easy to ignore, and groups that are easy to withhold resources from because they don’t look like the important people. If anyone honestly watched our bike lanes, they’d see cyclists. In Eastern Queens we have very low density, so most streets (that aren’t main thoroughfares) have very few drivers on them; should we remove those if there aren’t enough motorists? We have more cyclists in these bike lanes than drivers on those side streets. Saying that no one (important) is using the bike lanes was never more clear than when long time Queens Community Board Member Ann Pfoser Darby said “Once Trump removes all the illegals from Corona there won’t be anybody to ride bike lanes.” At EQGW we feel that no one should be erased.

3.) “IT RUINS THE CHARACTER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD” <- Kids have been biking in the streets of NYC since the early 1900’s before cars; the only thing different now is the green paint under them. No one honestly thinks a kid on a bike is more historically out of place than a Tesla Cybertruck. What the haters are actually doing is attacking street safety as a proxy for more extreme beliefs that they can’t say publicly or they would be forced out of polite society. In this video Philosophy Tube gives a really great example of how “defending the character of a street” actually has a hidden agenda of changing the character of a society to the far right.

As far as we know, there is no plan on the books for the North Queens Greenway. This session is for DOT to listen for ideas from the community on how to connect Little Bay Park to the Flushing Bay Promenade. They may also listen to any ideas on how to improve how this connects to the wildly successful greenway section that is locally called the Joe Michaels Mile.

So what is the opposition really fighting?

If the folks show up and demand a greenway that connects Little Bay Park with Flushing Bay Promenade, the city will create a greenway loop for Eastern Queens. This will create a space for you to walk, run, or bike throughout the community safely and off street. All EQGW wants to do is improve and expand our local greenways. Go to the meeting and demand more stuff like these:

Our EQGW group has successfully advocated for major improvements for our greeenway over the past decade. We were the ones to demand Destination:Greenways and then push to fund it. Just this week Speaker of the City Council Adrienne Adams and City Council Member Sandra Ung designated another 11.9 million dollars to improving our greenway, seen here with Community Board 11 Chair Paul DiBenedetto and Kissena Synergy activist Leona Chin.

You shouldn’t have to put in the effort to make the city do the common sense thing here, but that’s the current political landscape. So come down, elevate your voice over the haters, and get a brand new greenway section built since you care about your neighbors’ safety. Directly tell the DoT, Department of Parks, and your local politician to do their jobs and create safe infrastructure for our kids. Tell them that nothing less is acceptable.

Section 3: Willets Point to Fort Totten
October 24 (10/24), from 6-8 pm
Alley Pond Park Environmental Center