![\"MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-03-52-PM-1194\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-03-52-PM-1194.jpg\" "\\"Mamdani")
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani said extending the G train to Forest Hills on the weekends is \u201cvery interesting\u201d and something his administration is \u201cdigging into.\u201d<\/p>\n
Photos by Lloyd Mitchell and Marc A. Hermann \/ MTA)<\/p>\n
Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> signaled on Wednesday that his administration is taking a serious look at advocates\u2019 renewed push to extend G train service<\/a> to Forest Hills on weekends for the first time in 15 years \u2014 even though the MTA, and not the city, has the final call on whether that will happen.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very interesting idea, and one we\u2019re digging into right now,\u201d Mamdani said of the proposal during a Feb. 11 state budget hearing in Albany. His comments came in response to a question from Assembly Member and Congressional candidate Claire Valdez (D-Queens) \u2014 one of his close allies.<\/p>\n Valdez, who represents parts of western Queens, is one of several lawmakers and advocates who have reignited calls in recent days for the MTA to resurrect Forest Hills G train service \u2014 specifically on the weekends.<\/p>\n But while Mamdani would be a powerful advocate for the proposal, it is ultimately the MTA\u2019s decision.\n<\/p>\n amNewYork reached out to the Mayor\u2019s office for details on how Mamdani would convince the MTA to restore weekend G service to Forest Hills; a spokesperson declined to answer, referring us back to the mayor\u2019s statements at the state budget hearing.<\/p>\n The change would extend the G\u2019s current route, from Church Av in Brooklyn\u2019s Kensington section to Court Sq-23rd St in Queens\u2019 Long Island City, to Forest Hills 71st-Av on Saturdays and Sundays. It would connect neighborhoods along the Queens Boulevard line \u2014 including Astoria, Elmhurst, and Rego Park \u2014 to areas throughout northern and western Brooklyn, such as Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyvasent, and Park Slope.<\/p>\n The G ran to Forest Hills on nights and weekends until 2010, when the MTA shortened the line to its current route. At the time, the agency cited its own financial struggles and low capacity on the crowded Queens Boulevard line for its decision.<\/p>\n Last week, a coalition of over 30 groups, including advocacy organizations and the New York Mets baseball franchise, penned a letter to Mamdani, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber urging them to extend the G.<\/p>\n In their missive, the signatories argued that restoring G train service to Forest Hills would be a fast and inexpensive way to ease commutes for Brooklyn and Queens residents between the two boroughs. They also contended the change would help those traveling to several notable destinations along the current G and Queens Boulevard lines as well as shift workers headed to their jobs move between Brooklyn and Queens more smoothly.<\/p>\n The letter\u2019s lead author Jaqi Cohen, the director of climate and equity policy at Tri-State Transportation Campaign, told amNewYork that Mamdani is uniquely positioned to push the MTA and the governor toward embracing the proposal as a former Astoria Assembly member.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that he, as somebody who represented one of the outer-boroughs for years, gets it,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cAnd we were really excited to see him acknowledge that it\u2019s an idea worth looking into.\u201d<\/p>\n