I’m proud to share my first story in The New York Times: New York Is Planning a Train Line to Connect Its Transit Deserts. We Walked All 14 Miles of It.
This project was the idea of my good friend Tom Wilson, who invited me to join him on a walk along the proposed Interborough Express route (IBX). I wrote about what we saw, heard, and felt—paired with his beautiful photographs.
The city plans to build the IBX, a light rail line that would repurpose freight tracks to connect Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens, in about 40 minutes, linking 17 subway lines. Over the course of more than 20 miles, we followed the future route as closely as possible, walking surface roads to see the neighborhoods it would link and meet the people who live in them. The city is optimistic it can finish the project within a decade. Some joke we’ll be waiting until the next millennium.
In New York City, outer Brooklyn and outer Queens might as well be different universes. The idea of connecting them still feels abstract. Current rail options almost always mean a brutal commute, often requiring a detour across the East River and through Manhattan. For people like us, who live at opposite ends of the proposed route, the space between us feels especially unnavigable.
What does it mean to walk a train line that doesn’t exist yet? We set out to find out, knowing the neighborhoods could be forever changed if the project is completed. Along the way, we spoke with people (many of whom didn’t make it into the final piece) and tried to understand how this new route might reshape the communities it touches.
This was a dream project. I’ve been walking and writing in this city for nearly a decade, and seeing that work published in The New York Times alongside my friend feels surreal. It was an honor to walk with Tom and document the experience. I was also so happy to include my favorite bar of all time, Soccer Tavern. Thank you to editors Anna Marks and Eslah Attar, and to everyone we spoke with along the way.
Read the piece here. If you’re into it, I’d be grateful if you shared it.
More soon,
A.W.
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