RTC Legal Team Notches Key Win Against Conrail, Developer in Harsimus Embankment Case

Jake Lynch — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:00:00 GMT

Goliath, meet David.

Thanks to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's (RTC) remarkable legal team, led by general counsel Andrea Ferster and pro bono attorney Charles Montange, and our partners in Jersey City, the ambitious dream of a public greenway through the heart of downtown Jersey City is still alive following a crucial legal ruling announced last week.

Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sustained an appeal filed by RTC, Jersey City and a local community organization, which charged Conrail's sale of the historic Harsimus Stem Embankment to a private developer with ignoring federal rail abandonment legislation.

For the past 36 years, this railbanking legislation has made possible the conversion of hundreds of out-of-service rail corridors into public trails, transportation and recreation facilities; it's a regulation that is at the very heart of America's rail-trail movement.

Though the precise legalese of the matter is complex, the basics of it are this: In selling the six-block site of the disused railroad embankment to a developer, which intended to tear the historic structure down and build apartments, Conrail ignored the provisions of railbanking legislation that dictates such facilities must first be offered to any local municipalities or community groups interested in converting them for interim use as a rail-trail. It is a piece of law designed to preserve the common wealth, and public usage, of these corridors.

The win is but one step in what has been, and may continue to be, a long and drawn-out series of legal challenges. This most recent court decision held that RTC and partners merely have the right to challenge the lawfulness of Conrail's sale.

However, reporter Heather Haddon of the Wall Street Journal wrote today that a settlement may be in the works that would protect the embankment for conversion into a greenway, while also allowing some development opportunities. Details of a potential settlement remain uncertain.

Since 1986, RTC's lawyers have argued the case for preserving rail corridors as public recreation and transportation assets at the local, national and federal levels in more than 50 cases, as well as before Congress and administrative agencies. RTC is the foremost, and often the only, legal advocate for rail-trails in the United States.

For background on the Harsimus Stem Embankment--the site, the project, and the court cases--read our feature, "High Hopes for the Harsimus Embankment."

Photo of Harsimus Embankment by RTC.

Concept drawing courtesy of the Embankment Preservation Coalition.

Support Builds for Elevated Greenway Through Queens, N.Y.

Jake Lynch — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:00:00 GMT

In the world of science, the arts - in fact all human endeavors where people are constantly trying to innovate or discover new, uncharted territory - it often happens that the achievement of one groundbreaking pioneer opens the gate for many to follow.

That's just as true in the world of rail-trail design. The successful development of the High Line on Manhattan's lower west side in the mid-2000s has lit a path for a number of greenway projects along out-of-service elevated rail trestles and embankments in American cities.

In Jersey City, N.J., a strong community movement is building support for a greenway and trail along the Harsimus Stem Embankment. In Chicago, plans for a similar community space and transportation corridor along a three-mile section of the Bloomingdale Rail Line through the heart of the city is exciting residents, businesses, planners and officials.

And now, the success of the High Line has re-energized supporters of a 3.5-mile greenway along the Rockaway Beach Branch of the Long Island Rail Road through Queens. It's an elevated section of track that has been out of use since the 1960s, and greenway proponents say the corridor, as it stands, does little more than contribute to the derelict appearance of some sections of the neighborhood. Those same unused tracks, though, could be revived as an elevated trail that enriches the community.

The Rockaway Beach Branch Greenway Committee (RBBGC) is well-organized and well-supported; Travis Terry, who was involved with the creation of the High Line, is one of the key members, and the group has the support of elected officials and community groups throughout the region. The Trust for Public Land has committed to producing a feasibility study, and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's (RTC) Northeast Regional Office has been tapped for technical advice and support - a role we also played in the early stages of the High Line.

The greenway, which is being referred to variously as the Rockaway Beach Branch Greenway, the Queens Highline, the QueensWay or the QueensLine, would run about 3.5 miles from Rego Park to Ozone Park in central Queens, linking the neighborhood of Forest Park with the Shore Parkway path, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Gateway National Recreation Area.

And though the buzz created by the unique success of the High Line was a catalyst for community action behind this greenway in Queens, the projects are very different. A Rockaway Beach Branch trail would be more than twice as long as the High Line and would be more park than footpath - featuring wide spaces for recreation and gathering.

According to the RBBC's Peter Beadle, the route of the greenway covers a broad spectrum of areas, with fairly affluent neighborhoods to the north, and historically underserved areas to the south.

"These areas have lacked the same access to social services, to green spaces," he says, describing the areas around the currently neglected railway corridor as "derelict, abandoned, decrepit, dangerous."

He says one of the main oppositions to the trail concept at the moment is the perception that it would somehow increase crime activity.

"The evidence shows that building community greenways and trails like this has the opposite effect," Beadle says. "We see increased property values, and better conditions for businesses along the line."

Beadle's insight is confirmed by a number of RTC case studies that detail how increasing foot and bike-traffic in previously under-used urban areas increases the safety of those areas, particularly as local communities begins to take "ownership" of the trail, trailside parks and spaces, which become popular neighborhood assets.

One significant hurdle greenway proponents won't have to scale is the great expense of acquiring the land, as the city of New York owns the corridor.

Beadle says the RBBC is in the process of formalizing as a nonprofit and gathering resources for a period of public outreach and support-building. Last week the group launched an online petition, which it hopes will urge the city of New York to commit to converting the disused line into a community greenway. After just a few days, the petition has more than 530 signatures.

To learn more about the Rockaway Beach Branch Greenway project, or to add your name to the petition, visit www.facebook.com/RBBGreenway.

Photos courtesy of Anandi A. Premlall/Envisioning the Queens Highline

RTC TrailBlog : harsimus stem embankment

RTC Legal Team Notches Key Win Against Conrail, Developer in Harsimus Embankment Case

Support Builds for Elevated Greenway Through Queens, N.Y.