Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

Mujeres en Movimiento to Queens CB4: We Need a Safer 111th Street

Members of Mujeres en Movimiento, a Corona-based group of Latina mothers who bike, packed into Queens Community Board 4’s monthly meeting on Tuesday to have their say about DOT’s proposed redesign of 111th Street.

A group of Corona women demanded a safer 111th Street at CB 4's monthly meeting on Tuesday. Photo: Queens Bike Initiative
Members of Mujeres en Movimiento demanded a safer 111th Street at CB 4's monthly meeting on Tuesday. Photo: Queens Bike Initiative
A group of Corona women demanded a safer 111th Street at CB 4's monthly meeting on Tuesday. Photo: Queens Bike Initiative

The only way to get to Flushing Meadows Corona Park from Corona without crossing a highway is to cross 111th Street, but with five traffic lanes, it's dangerous for the families who use it every day. DOT’s proposal would repurpose one vehicle lane in each direction to create space for a protected two-way bike lane along the park and additional on-street parking [PDF].

The 111th redesign arose from a series of workshops hosted in 2014 by Immigrant Movement International, Transportation Alternatives, Make the Road New York and the Queens Museum. Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland has committed $2.7 million from her discretionary fund to make it happen, but Assembly Member Francisco Moya and some nearby residents have been trying to thwart the plan. Community Board 4 has not voted in favor of it.

In October, Moya hosted a "town hall" where he laid out three other options for 111th Street, none of which would narrow the excessive traffic lanes. The women from Mujeres en Movimiento felt silenced by a lack of translation services or space for public input at Moya’s town hall, so they put together an opinion piece for the Queens Latino as well as a speech they delivered in English and Spanish to CB4 on Tuesday.

“We deserve to have a voice in the development of this community, so that its development benefit[s] us and our children, not marginalize us,” they told the board.

Mujeres en Movimiento has around 150 members. It began as an exercise group organized by Immigrant Movement International for neighborhood mothers. Some members picked up cycling through a partnership with WE Bike NYC, which seeks to provide women with education in bike maintenance and advocacy.

“We recognize that when there are events at the park that attract many people from outside our neighborhood there could be some congestion,” they said on Tuesday. “But if our commitment is that there is not one life lost due to a pedestrian crash, as is the goal of Vision Zero, we have to make difficult decisions like this one.”

DOT could move forward with the 111th Street plan whenever it sees fit. The agency has yet to respond to Streetsblog's request for a project update.

Update: A DOT spokesperson says the agency will present the findings of its traffic study to CB4 in early 2016. As of yet, there is no timeline for implementation.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

New Bill Would Block Apps From Deactivating Workers Without Cause

A Brooklyn Council member wants delivery app companies to be more human and less robot.

July 18, 2025

Friday Video: Is Berlin a Great Biking City?

Have recent moves by anti-bike, pro-car legislators ruined the experience in the capital of a unified Germany? Sort of!

July 18, 2025

Eyes on the Street: Meeker Avenue Bike Lane Is a Failure

The Department of Transportation still hasn't finished a critical bike lane under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that the agency has been stalling for over four years even after identifying the strip's danger and lack of proper signals.

July 18, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Cuomo’s Road Rage Edition

Why does Andrew Cuomo drive so recklessly? Plus other news.

July 18, 2025

Fixing Third Ave. Was Once ‘Top of List’ For Eric Adams — But as Mayor He Backed Off

Mayor Adams has delayed a redesign of Brooklyn's Third Avenue despite once saying safety fixes there should be "at the top of our list."

July 17, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Jerry Nadler Edition

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler faced off with Sean Duffy on Capitol Hill. Plus more news.

July 17, 2025
See all posts