Transit supporters and commuters are welcoming progress on the Interborough Express, a proposed passenger rail line that would directly connect Brooklyn and Queens—two of New York City’s most populous and underserved boroughs—without passing through Manhattan.
Currently, no direct rail service links the two boroughs. The Interborough Express would change that, connecting disconnected neighborhoods like Middle Village and Flatlands to 17 subway lines, 51 bus routes, and the Long Island Rail Road.
In April, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority would receive $68.4 billion over the next five years under the largest capital plan for public transit in New York State history. As part of that plan, Hochul approved $2.75 billion in funding for the long-awaited Interborough Express.
The 14-mile line is expected to serve both Brooklyn and Queens residents, with projected weekday ridership of 115,000 and an estimated annual total of 40 million passengers. The project will rely on existing infrastructure to accelerate construction.
The line is set to have 19 stops, starting in Jackson Heights, Queens, and ending in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The trip would take under 40 minutes—an appealing prospect given that traveling between the boroughs by subway or bus can take more than an hour. The Interborough Express will operate as an electric light-rail system, narrower than traditional subway cars, following the path of a 19th-century freight rail line. The total project cost is estimated at $5.5 billion.
The rail proposal has already attracted the attention of real estate developers. With New York facing an affordable housing crisis and an estimated need for more than 500,000 new units, the Interborough Express corridor is being eyed as a potential development zone. A report released Thursday by the New York Building Congress suggests that more than 70,000 homes could be built within a half-mile of the line’s stations over the next decade—if certain land-use changes are approved.
Still, the process is fraught with complications. As The New York Times reported, the rail line passes through “low-slung suburbs, gritty manufacturing districts and busy commercial hubs, all with their own zoning restrictions, many in neighborhoods where local officials oppose new housing.”
Councilman Robert Holden, who represents Middle Village, Maspeth, and other parts of Queens near the Interborough Express route, voiced clear opposition to potential rezoning. “We’re opposed to upzoning the district, and anybody that succeeds me would say the same thing, and if they don’t, they won’t get elected,” he told The Times.
Barika Williams, executive director of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, also expressed caution. “It can’t be a singular focus on mass transit connectivity, without looking at affordability, business stability, community culture, and how existing communities are preserved and protected,” she said.
On the other hand, Carlo Scissura, president and CEO of the New York Building Congress, supports the housing push. “This is the moment,” he told The Times. “If you’re building a revolutionary line, something that hasn’t been done in 100 years, let’s simultaneously chip away at this insane affordability crisis that we are living in.”
The Interborough Express has been under consideration since 2022, but existing zoning laws remain a major hurdle to the scale of development envisioned by the Building Congress.
