Monday’s Headlines: Mamdani’s Missing Link Edition

The QueensWay rail-trail may be getting some money from Mayor Mamdani, but the QueensLink, which would run transit on the same abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch in the World’s Borough, may still get an least an audience with City Hall.

Mamdani’s preliminary budget set aside $43 million to build the first phase of the QueensWay, a segment known as the Metropolitan Hub. It was an awkward look for the mayor, since he had previously called QueensLink “very important to me

The Metropolitan Hub’s design would mean that if the MTA ever did want to bring train service back to the area, the finished park would have to be ripped up, according to QueensLink supporters — who whipped up their own park proposal that they say would leave room for future subway service.

But the volunteer transit effort can only do so much without City Hall support, and at a press conference on Friday, Mamdani indicated he was willing to take the pitch seriously.

“I’ll definitely have my administration follow up,” the mayor told us. Team QueensLink said they “look forward to working with the Mayor’s office on finding a solution that works for all residents.”

— Dave Colon

In other news:

• South Bronxites sounded the alarm as the Hochul administration approaches a decision on whether to widen the Cross-Bronx Expressway. (Bronx Times)
• The MTA is hard “no” on the Trump administration’s plan to rebuild all of Penn Station, putting it at loggerheads with its old foe, the state of New Jersey. (Chelsea News)
• Washington Heights is the Wild West of New York City parking thanks to negligent cops who don’t give a shit. (NY Post)
• Here is a spirited defense of congestion pricing from the Times editorial board.
• Manhattan CB7 wants DOT to study ways to reduce cut-through traffic on the Upper West Side (West Side Rag).
• John Chell’s “free pass” confession made it into Newsday.
• Mamdani’s pothole blitz continues despite Iran complications. (QNS, Gothamist)
• Will the mayor fund Parks as much as he promised on the campaign trail? (amNY)
• MTA officials are still not fully committed to open gangway trains. (amNY)
• Transit Museum workers voted on Friday on whether to form a union. (Daily News)
• Cops in El Segundo, California arrested a man who took matters into his own hands and installed a crosswalk near a playground. (L.A. Times)
• Our country’s “horrible” inter-city rail system leaves travelers with little recourse from the current TSA airport disaster. (Gothamist)
• Don’t watch this drive: Tiger Woods should probably not be allowed behind a steering wheel. (NY Post)
• And finally, here’s a sample of Sunday’s weekend’s NYPD vs. FDNY hockey game: