State To Study Extending Motor Parkway East To Long Island

OAKLAND GARDENS, QUEENS — A miles-long bike and pedestrian path stretching from Eastern Queens to Long Island is one step closer to reality.

State lawmakers this week passed a bill to study extending the historic Vanderbilt Motor Parkway trail to its sister trail in Long Island, following a years-long campaign by transportation activists.

"It was kind of unbelievable," Hollis Hills resident Joby Jacob said of his reaction to the bill passing. The legislation, he said, "has died multiple deaths over the years."

Jacob spearheaded the fight to connect the century-old trail to the portion of the Motor Parkway trail that runs through Nassau County, currently the subject of a redevelopment plan.

"We're going to have two trailways that have the same exact name separated by this gap," Jacob told Patch. "I thought, this is crazy. Why can't we build a connection between the two?"

The Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, also known as the Long Island Motor Parkway, is part of the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway and currently runs from Cunningham Park to Alley Pond Park in Eastern Queens. It was built in 1908 by railroad mogul and financier William K. Vanderbilt Jr. as America's first all-elevated road for cars.

The bill passed Tuesday allows the state's Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and Office of Mental Health to study the cost, duration and environmental impact of the project — the first step in making the trail connection a reality.

"I don’t think I’ve received more comments and requests from the public on this bill than any other this year," Queens Assembly Member Catherine Nolan said during the vote, according to a Streetsblog report. "So many people in Queens are really excited about this."