{"id":207400,"date":"2026-04-23T17:04:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/207400\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T17:04:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:04:32","slug":"mta-touts-ibx-light-rail-environmental-benefits-for-brooklyn-and-queens-major-public-outreach-planned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/207400\/","title":{"rendered":"MTA touts IBX light-rail environmental benefits for Brooklyn and Queens; major public outreach planned"},"content":{"rendered":"

The MTA announced the next phase of public engagement for the IBX light rail<\/a> planned for Brooklyn and Queens\u2014the largest transit expansion project undertaken by the state-run agency in over 50 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The meetings will take place throughout the two boroughs, starting on Tuesday, April 28, at P.S. 7 in Queens. A total of six public meetings, where residents can share thoughts and ideas, are planned through May.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The IBX, formally called the Interborough Express, is poised to transform travel between the two outer boroughs, connecting nearly a million residents along the route. Since many of the IBX\u2019s potential riders currently rely on private vehicles for local travel, the MTA said, the planned light rail<\/a> will translate to roughly 21.8 million fewer vehicle miles traveled in passenger cars each year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The result? A reduction in greenhouse gas emissions each year, according to the MTA.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cNearly one million New Yorkers live along the proposed IBX route, many of whom feel they need a private car for interborough travel,\u201d MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said on April 22. \u201cOn this Earth Day, we want to make sure these folks know that soon there will be a better, faster and more climate-friendly way to travel between Brooklyn and Queens.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency<\/a>, transportation is the largest source of emissions in the country, accounting for 28% of all national greenhouse gas emissions in 2022. Primarily, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation come from burning fossil fuels for cars, trains, ships, planes and trucks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MTA reps said over half of the transportation sector\u2019s emissions come from passenger cars and trucks.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

The public meetings aim to raise awareness about the environmental benefits and while giving New Yorkers a chance to share their thoughts about the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe upcoming public workshops are an important step in reaching them as we continue to advance the IBX,\u201d Lieber said.
\n\"\"The proposed IBX route.Image courtesy of the MTA\n<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, residents of Brooklyn and Queens have expressed both support and concern about the IBX, including its environmental impacts on communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIBX would destroy thousands of trees along & near the freight line,\u201d Liisa Lunden of Elmhurst, said. \u201cA single tree in NYC can support hundreds to thousands of species, including birds, mammals, insects, etc. and trees play a crucial role in supporting this biodiversity. What happens to all of this wildlife?\u201d<\/p>\n

Will, a Queens resident, told amNewYork that he likes the idea of the IBX but is concerned about any trees that might be lost during construction of the train line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Christina Wilkinson, secretary of the Juniper Park Civic Association in Queens, expressed similar sentiments about the importance of trees.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trees currently serve as a buffer between the polluting freight trains<\/a> and the community,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople waiting down on the platforms will be subjected to freight trains belching black smoke and trash odor from waste trains. What will MTA do to protect riders from these conditions?\u201d<\/p>\n

Other residents living close to the planned route expressed concerns about noise pollution and the many cat colonies near the existing freight line that the IBX would use.<\/p>\n

Barbara O\u2019Donnell, a homeowner in Middle Village, said at an MTA public meeting in November that her neighborhood would be \u201chighly impacted\u201d by the IBX\u2019s proposed Eliot Avenue Stop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe avenue is a two-way street. It does not support a gigantic subway station,\u201d she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Still, officials said the IBX will significantly reduce travel times between Brooklyn and Queens by bypassing Manhattan along its route, which will connect to 17 subway lines, 51 bus lines and the Long Island Rail Road. Currently, the G train is the only NYC train that does not stop in Manhattan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Interborough Express will be life-changing for residents in the two largest and fastest-growing boroughs in New York City,\u201d Jamie Torres-Springer, construction and development president at the MTA, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Schedule of IBX public meetings<\/p>\n

Public workshops about the IBX are scheduled for:\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 6 to 8 p.m. \u2013 P.S. 7Q
Queens: 80-55 Cornish Ave., Elmhurst<\/p>\n

Saturday, May 2, 2026, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. \u2013 Christ the King High School
Queens: 68-02 Metropolitan Ave., Middle Village<\/p>\n

Thursday, May 7, 2026, 6 to 8 p.m. \u2013 PS 235K
Brooklyn: 5811 Ditmas Ave., East Flatbush<\/p>\n

Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 6 to 8 p.m. \u2013 Maimonides Medical Center
Brooklyn: 4802 10th Ave., Borough Park<\/p>\n

Thursday, May 28, 2026, 6 to 8 p.m. \u2013 PS 88Q
Queens: 60-85 Catalpa Ave., Ridgewood<\/p>\n

Saturday, May 30, 2026, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. \u2013 East New York Arts and Civic High School
Brooklyn: 800 Van Siclen Ave., East New York<\/p>\n

More information about the IBX is at mta.info<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The MTA announced the next phase of public engagement for the IBX light rail planned for Brooklyn and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,82240,4803,82241,3935,2423,141,9,24,63,1210,122],"class_list":{"0":"post-207400","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-brooklyn","9":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","10":"tag-brooklyn-news","11":"tag-greenhouse-gases","12":"tag-ibx","13":"tag-ibx-light-rail-project","14":"tag-jamie-torres-springer","15":"tag-janno-lieber","16":"tag-mta","17":"tag-new-york","18":"tag-new-york-city","19":"tag-nyc","20":"tag-nyc-transit","21":"tag-queens"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}