Neir’s Tavern is nearly 200 years old. It is one of Queens’ most famous (and photographed) locations. Photograph Courtesy of Neir’s Tavern
In a few years, Queens will join Brooklyn as the latest New York City borough to receive a major upscale facelift. The change will come with the construction of the QueensWay, a proposed 3.5-mile greenway snaking through Queens’ six neighborhoods. Though it hopes to avoid the over-gentrification that the High Line brought to west Chelsea only a few years ago, the QueensWay seems poised to connect the neighborhoods by repurposing the RockÂaway Beach Branch of the Long Island RailÂroad into park space, currently an abandoned dumping ground.
QueensWay Eats is an effort to provide a little context to the project that most say will change Queens for the better, a map of all the best restaurants within walking distance of the proposed line.
The interactive map follows the line of the proposed QueensWay, detailing the area’s best food. The list spans pizza, bakeries, sushi, and ethnic finds from Guyana, Israel, Hungary, and Poland.
The QueensWay will conÂnect northÂern and southÂern Queens with a pedestrian path and bikeway, it would also include space for outÂdoor school classrooms, playÂgrounds, public space for comÂmuÂnity and culÂtural proÂgramÂming. Many say that it is poised to be the monument (in park form) that Queens has been lacking, one that will unite its comparably disjointed neighborhoods.
The map, curated by Jonah GarÂnick, a former intern for the Trust for PubÂlic Land, spans the entire borough, much like the proposed linear park. Natives of Queens and visitors alike have quite a few good meals to look forward to, on top of the brand-new park and public space.
Next, read about our behind-the-scenes tour of the QueensWay with the Trust for Public Land. Get in touch with the author @jinwoochong.