First Step Complete In Brooklyn To Queens Train, Hochul Says

BROOKLYN, NY — A long sought subway line connecting Brooklyn and Queens is one step closer to becoming a reality, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.

Stretching from Bay Ridge to Jackson Heights, and linking hundreds-of-thousands of low-income riders and people of color along the way, the transit line, which the governor dubbed the "Interborough Express," has been deemed "feasible" by a new Metropolitan Transportation Authority report, Hochul said on Thursday.

"What it's going to do is create a lifeline, a connection," Hochul promised of the project, which has been celebrated for serving riders (about 88,000 per-day, according to Thursday's estimates) in transit-starved outer-borough neighborhoods — unlike the city's other major transit investments, which are largely Manhattan-focused.

Now that the Interborough Express has been deemed doable by the MTA, which would eventually build and operate the line, the project can move forward to the community and environmental review phases; those processes will help the transit agency figure out some still-unknown details, Hochul explained, like what kinds of vehicles to use on the line.

Since that path forward poses many unknowns, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber wouldn't give a full project timeline or price tag at the news conference; he estimated that the Interborough Express would cost in the "single-digit billions" (without further explanation has to how it will be financed), and take "three to five years" to complete once construction starts.

The MTA top brass, however, did guarantee that the project will "provide better access to jobs, education and economic opportunities," — alluding to the 260,000 jobs that would be linked by the 14-mile plan's 17 subway stops, according to the feasibility study.

He also noted that the transit line could ease congestion and pollution by reducing car dependency for commuters between Brooklyn and Queens (about half of whom current drive, the study said)

Brooklyn groups have praised the revival of the transit line since it was first announced by Hochul earlier this month.

As proposed, the 40-minute end-to-end train line would connect up to 17 subway stations and other Long Island Rail Road stops.

“The Inter-borough Express is a game changer for Southern Brooklyn, and all the Brooklyn and Queens communities that have historically lacked reliable transit," Brooklyn State Sen. Andrew Gounardes said Thursday. "It has the power to unlock economic and cultural opportunities all the way from Bay Ridge to Jackson Heights, and stands to have a profound impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of New York City residents."