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A map showing how the IBX will improve transit access for people who live and work along its route. MTA<\/p>\nGov. Hochul\u2019s vision for the proposed Interborough Express light-rail between Brooklyn and Queens includes a hell of a lot more housing \u2014 despite the caterwauls of opponents who\u2019d rather the city not make room for more people, the governor said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m committed to transit-oriented development. This will be the embodiment of the dream to have more transit-oriented development,\u201d Hochul told reporters during her appearance at an MTA sidewalk \u201cpop-up\u201d to collect public feedback about the project. <\/p>\n
Speaking alongside Assembly Member Claire Valdez (D-Ridgewood), the Democratic nominee to succeed U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez next year, Hochul talked up the IBX as a way to facilitate sustainable city growth, and vowed to get the project done with or without money from the federal government. <\/p>\n
As the governor framed it, she views the IBX as more than an effort to make it easier to get between Brooklyn and Queens without a car, but as an opportunity to encourage denser population growth near mass transit \u2014 the type of development that his long-powered New York City\u2019s growth. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have land that is a low value, it\u2019s abandoned land or sometimes it\u2019s just parking lots next to subway stations, it should have a higher and better use,\u201d the governor said. \u201cAnd housing is the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The IBX will add 18 light rail stops between Sunset Park and Jackson Heights to the MTA system, with transfers to the existing subway stations at 12 stops. That has the potential to spur the construction of 60,000 new units of housing, transit officials said, by massively increasing the number of job, educational and cultural centers people can access within 30 minutes by transit.<\/p>\n
A map showing how the IBX will improve transit access for people who live and work along its route. MTA<\/p>\n
As governor, Hochul has tried to encourage more up-zoning in suburbs and suburban-coded areas of the city with access to transit, though her first push to get a statewide housing plan through faltered in the 2023 budget<\/a>. <\/p>\n But in the case of the Interborough Express, the governor has a seemingly willing partner in Mayor Mamdani, who has pushed for massive increases in city-funded housing<\/a> as well as private development.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Mamdani\u2019s Department of City Planning kicked off a rezoning study<\/a> along Coney Island and McDonald avenues, a study that the department said \u201cwill also help the City and surrounding communities prepare for the MTA\u2019s future Interborough Express (IBX), which will serve the area.\u201d<\/p>\n Hochul on Wesnesday also talked about the funding challenges ahead for the IBX. <\/p>\n So far, the state has committed $2.75 billion to cover half of the projected $5.5 billion price tag for the project. Normally, a project like the IBX would be a shoo-in for matching funds from the federal government. But MTA Chair Janno Lieber has said the MTA is exploring<\/a> ways to cover the rest of the cost itself if the federal government refuses to help, as it has done repeatedly with transit projects since President Trump returned to office last year.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/hochul-valdez-IBX-e1789060452428.jpeg\")
Gov. Hochul, Assembly Member Claire Valdez and MTA officials speaking with members of the public outside the Ridgewood Public Library on Wednesday.<\/p>\n