More than half of all New York City residents do not own a car, according to the 2024 US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Yet for that car-less majority, getting around the Big Apple isn’t so easy.
Projects like the Interborough Express (IBX), a light rail line that would create 14 miles of swift train service between Queens and Brooklyn, are a blessing to the majority. It would open up new travel options and opportunities in other parts of the city. For the communities along the IBX, it provides opportunities for new business, housing growth, and overall investment to improve and make whole neighborhoods more viable and stable.
Of course, not everyone shares that view.
A number of people who spoke at an MTA hearing on the IBX project Thursday night in Middle Village, Queens, said thanks, but no thanks, to the proposal. The concerns were primarily focused on neighborhood impacts from the project, both direct and indirect — yet not entirely invalid.
The biggest concern was the indirect impact the IBX could have on communities such as Middle Village and nearby Maspeth. Middle Village has just one current subway station; Maspeth has none. Both communities are largely residential, with one- and two-family homes, and many residents get around by car. Those who don’t have a car need to take a bus to reach the subway.
Adding the IBX would expand transit options, residents in the neighborhood agree — but it would also impact the areas’ “character,” and open the door for new housing development on a much larger scale than they would like.
In other communities where the IBX will travel, such as East New York in Brooklyn, the concerns are very much the same. The new light rail line would undoubtedly bring housing development, but it would also exacerbate the gentrification already underway in this area — and likely drive long-time residents away due to higher rents.
Progress always comes with a price, and the question comes down to whether a city can afford to pay it. Change is inevitable in any community affected by a transformational project such as the addition of a new rail line.
But can the city and the majority of its residents who do not drive afford not to have the IBX for the sake of preserving a community’s character, or stopping gentrification, alone? Absolutely not.
The IBX should move forward because it represents a net good for the majority of New Yorkers who do not drive. The changes associated with the IBX’s creation, however, can and should be properly managed by the city, in partnership with the affected communities, to ensure that community character is preserved and gentrification is mitigated.
Let’s not let perfect be the enemy of good when it comes to the IBX.
