Queens divided over fate of abandoned train line

A long-abandoned train line that cuts through Queens has divided the borough’s residents.

The 3.5-mile elevated structure runs between Ozone Park and Rego Park. It was used by the Long Island Rail Road to service the Rockaways until the line shut down in 1962. Since then, it’s become a ruin that’s overgrown with trees and filled with debris.

For years, competing groups have quarreled over what to do with the defunct structure. One wants to repurpose it into a High Line-style park. Another wants to restore it into a subway line to fill in a glaring hole in the Queens transit map. Many people who live near the line simply want it to remain the way it is.