Forest Hills Gardens May Make Station Square Pedestrian-Only

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Station Square in Forest Hills could permanently close to traffic.

The Forest Hills Gardens Corporation is mulling over plans to pedestrianize Station Square following a restoration of the square's historic brick roadway that will soon be complete.

The idea is already generating buzz among those who live in the residential enclave, but it is far from being set in stone.

"Everything is on the table for now," Matt Mandell, president of the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation's board of directors, told Patch. "We're not rushing into any decisions."

The only certainty is that 71st (Continental) Avenue would remain open to traffic, no matter what happens to the rest of Station Square, Mandell said.

The corporation, which is responsible for maintenance and upkeep in Forest Hills Gardens, is preparing a survey on the proposal to assess how the community feels and what setup they might prefer.

"Some people want to close it only on weekends, some people want to close it only in the summer; some people want to have it half-closed, half-open permanently," Mandell said. "There's a lot of options to consider."

The board is also hiring a traffic consultant to study the effects of closing the square to cars and determine the pros and cons of each option. Mandell said he couldn't commit to making public the results of that study, but he said the board would likely host a meeting after it's complete.

In the meantime, the board is collecting input on what community members want for the future Station Square. Once a final proposal is in place, a majority vote of the corporation's board of directors will determine what happens next.

"The part that we need from the community is, what do they value?" Mandell said. "It's really helpful to know what people value in terms of what the space has to offer."

Email your thoughts on Station Square to the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation at info@fhgc.org.