NYCEDC and NYCDOT Cut Ribbon on 132nd Street Extension in College Point, Improving Traffic Conditions Around the Queens Neighborhood

Roadway Extension is the Result of the ‘College Point Corporate Park Transportation Improvement Study’ Led by NYCDOT

Extension Will Serve as a Critical Transportation Corridor in the College Point Corporate Park Area that will Alleviate Congestion and Improve Road Conditions

NEW YORK, NY—New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) joined elected and community officials to celebrate the grand opening of the 132nd Street roadway extension in the College Point area that will improve traffic conditions and accommodate future traffic growth around the neighborhood. The new 0.7-mile roadway is the result of the “College Point Corporate Park Transportation Improvement Study” that was led by NYCDOT and helped identify transportation improvements to alleviate congestion and improve road conditions throughout the College Point Corporate Park area. The roadway extends 132nd Street from 20th to 23rd Avenue and includes new sidewalks, street trees, streetlights, traffic signals, watermains, fire hydrants, updated drainage, and outfall to the wetland.

The 132nd Street extension is the final phase of transportation improvements in the neighborhood and builds on the completion of previous projects including the Linden Place U-Turn which created a free-flow U-turn below the Whitestone Expressway, the Linden Place Extension which created a new roadway from 23rd to 28th Avenue, and the College Point Wetland Mitigation from 20th to 28th Avenue which restored 12 acres of wetland within the former Flushing Airport site to a functional ecology.

“The new extension of 132nd Street—complete with new streetlights, watermains, hydrants, and drainage—will reduce congestion and improve traffic conditions across College Point,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball. “We’re thankful to our city partners including DEC, DEP and NYCDOT, as well as Councilmember Paladino and Community Board 7 for ‘paving the way’ for this new roadway in Queens.”

“This area in College Point seemed more like Congestion Point, and NYC DOT’s transportation improvement study identified solutions to improve road conditions and ease congestion ahead of expected growth in the neighborhood,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “The extension of 132nd Street from 20th to 23rd avenues will deliver new sidewalks, streetlights, traffic signals, watermains, and many more much needed improvements to the roadway. I thank our agency and local partners for making this a reality.”

“As College Point continues to grow, so must our infrastructure. And that's exactly what we're doing through today's ribbon cutting on the newly extended 132nd Street,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “This vital project will alleviate traffic, address flooding concerns, protect our surrounding wetlands and make our streets safer. I'm proud to see this project cross the finish line and I'm grateful to all our government colleagues for their partnership in getting us to today.”

“Today we cut the ribbon on the much needed Linden Place Extension Project. Having been born and raised in District 19, myself and the residents of College Point know how integral this extension is to streamline traffic between Linden Place, 20th Avenue, and the Whitestone Expressway,” said Councilwoman Vickie Paladino. “After over a decade of delays of this project, I’m incredibly proud to say that my office and the office of Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. played an instrumental role in bringing it across the finish line. When others couldn’t move the needle, we worked tirelessly to secure the necessary permits for EDC and push this forward. In addition to our work, Community Board Seven’s unwavering advocacy for this project and the persistence of countless civic leaders were also integral to its completion. We now stand on a completed extension of Linden Place—finally open to the public and serving the people it was always meant to help.”

“Community Board 7 Queens is proud to have worked diligently over the past 20-years to advocate for this great day for the people of College Point,” said Queens Community Board 7 Chairman Chuck Apelian. “Linden Place will once again connect the Whitestone Expressway directly to 20th Avenue for the first time since the mid-1980s, and will now provide the residents of College Point another means of access and egress besides the overburdened routes of 14th and 20th avenues and College Point Boulevard.”

“Gilbane is proud to have teamed up with the New York City Economic Development Corporation to breathe new life into the former Flushing Airport's degraded wetlands, transforming them into over 11 acres of vibrant open water habitat. This project is a sustainability game-changer, boosting water quality, enhancing flood storage, and enriching wetland habitats,” said Raquel Diaz, Gilbane Business Leader, New York City. “Additionally, with the 132nd Street extension now complete, local traffic flow will see a huge improvement. This milestone marks the culmination of a community effort that's been over a decade in the making!”

Since the creation of the College Point Corporate Park, the area has become a major commercial and industrial corridor over the years. College Point’s proximity to other big commercial hubs such as Flushing and Whitestone has generated a tremendous amount of vehicular traffic and has put a strain on streets and highways in the community. NYCDOT’s study helped identify and prioritize a list of short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations to improve roadway usability and traffic conditions.

About NYCEDC
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that works for a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers. We take a comprehensive approach, through four main strategies: strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors with a focus on equity, build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city's future economy. To learn more about what we do, visit us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.