QueensLink seeks input from qualified firms and individuals to assist QueensLink in developing a related Request for Proposals (RFP) to be issued after the RFEI project closes. Our experience in community engagement is mighty, but limited to our existing activities, and the team wants to expand our reach and sustainability for long-term advocacy of the current QueensLink project and future accessibility and mobility options.

QueensLink’s goal is to reactivate the abandoned RBB as part of New York City’s subway network, bringing four new stations to critical transit deserts and struggling commercial corridors. The QueensLink vision will also provide bicycle trails, walking paths, and park space on the remaining 33 acres of land in the right-of-way. “In addition to reconnecting north and south Queens with the M train, the QueensLink project includes bringing the G train back to Forest Hills.” QueensLink is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a new backbone for sustainable transportation and recreation within New York City. In early 2026, QueensLink released an Initial Business Case (IBC) study, authored by the Steer Group, solidifying the socioeconomic value the rail reactivation would bring to riders, nonriders, nearby community members, the MTA, and the State budget. The IBC should be used as a positioning document for future refinement and should keep the need for QueensLink urgent and relevant. Its findings demonstrated that the requisite ridership exists and will exist as the corridor develops and that the net benefit to the community means that the MTA should invest in this project over holding the capital long-term.

We are seeking a blend of activities, reports, and short-, medium-, and longer-term plans from professionals who have engaged with our type of nonprofit, advocacy organization before. We have a general idea of what outcomes we want to achieve, but are not certain about the right size and shape of the activities that would help QueensLink achieve its goals before, during, and after the rail line is operational in the 2030s. This is where you come in. We are open to all innovative ideas that make use of modern technology and tools and capitalize on the tried and true. We don’t expect your response to pull together a plan for us, but we do want a list of qualified ideas to choose from to then include in an RFP. We expect to release the RFP for solicitation on October 23rd, 2026 and expect to close the response window on November 18th, 2026 at 11:59:59pm EDT to sync with the solicitation responses of our other two projects.