Queens residents will experience significant changes in 2025, from temporary disruptions in transportation to permanent housing developments, including more affordable options.

The first disruption will come on Jan. 17, 2025, with the A train coming to a temporary halt in Rockaway.

What You Need To Know

  • The A train in Rockaway will be temporarily halted for four months starting Jan. 17, impacting service between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and the last stops on the line

  • The new year will also bring about the completion of Rockaway Village, a new affordable housing development in Far Rockaway

  • Willets Point, which recently broke ground on the city's first soccer stadium, is also undergoing a major transformation that will include around 2,500 units of affordable housing

  • Additionally, the NYPD’s long-awaited 116th precinct station house opened in December, providing a state-of-the-art facility for officers patrolling Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Brookville and Laurelton

The suspension will affect service between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and the last stops on the line: Rockaway Park-Beach 116th Street or Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue until May 19, 2025. Additionally, the Rockaway Park Shuttle will not operate to or from Broad Channel during the same period.

“I mean we depend on this. Many of us depend on this for our livelihoods, gotta get back and forth, so it’s gonna be really difficult for folks,” said John Davis, who commutes on the A train from Brooklyn to his job in Far Rockaway.

The MTA explained that the shutdown is necessary for maintenance due to damage from Hurricane Sandy. The agency will provide free shuttle buses and express buses, as well as discounted Long Island Rail Road fares for residents of the Rockaway Peninsula.

“I have two small children, and transferring buses and trains in the cold, is just a real inconvenience for me,” said Latiquea Fralin, who lives in Rockaway, but commutes regularly to Manhattan, to drop her children off at school, and the Bronx, where she works.

“There’s no correct time of the year to really do this sort of construction but it is necessary for the long-term viability of the A train,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. 

Richards believes this subway shutdown is an investment for the future of Rockaway, which he expects to grow in 2025 with the completion of Rockaway Village, a new affordable housing development in Far Rockaway.

The complex, which has been under construction for about a year, is set to bring approximately 1,700 affordable housing units to the area. This development is part of a broader rezoning plan to revitalize downtown Rockaway.

“In what would be considered the commercial district is gonna be a huge boom for downtown Far Rockaway,” said Richards.

A similar rezoning plan is underway for Jamaica, with the public review for the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan set to begin in March 2025. A City Council vote is expected around November 2025, with groundbreaking scheduled for 2026. The plan focuses on over 300 blocks and aims to add 12,000 new units, including 3,000 affordable housing units.

Willets Point, which recently broke ground on the city's first soccer stadium, is also undergoing a major transformation that will include around 2,500 units of affordable housing.

In Woodside, a nine-story affordable housing building on Queens Boulevard, featuring more than 20 units, is expected to be completed in the new year.

“Housing, housing, housing, housing is what we’re growing in Queens,” said Richards.

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development reported that over 1,000 units across Queens were listed as lotteries on its "Housing Connect" website in 2024. For 2025, the department hopes to offer a similar number of lotteries as development ramps up.

Additionally, the NYPD’s long-awaited 116th precinct station house opened in December, providing a state-of-the-art facility for officers patrolling Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Brookville and Laurelton.

On the Rockaway Peninsula, the Arverne Library recently broke ground on an expansion, which will continue for the next two years. However, accessing the area might be difficult until train service resumes at the end of May.