Streetcar to the Beach

Tuesday's New York Times included a good piece by Michael Kimmelman proposing a streetcar line connecting Astoria and Red Hook. Kimmelman points out how difficult it is to travel between Queens and Brooklyn, not sparing a few choice words for the G train. It's a fine idea, floated first by city planner Alex Garvin. Of course, as the article notes, this is not so much a new idea as a return to the way things used to be--when streetcars ruled the roads.

Photo: Courtesy Museum of the City of New York

This photo from 1898 depicts cars along the Jackson Avenue & North Beach line.  This was one of the Steinway Railroad lines that began operating in northwestern Queens in 1892. North Beach was home to the Gala Amusement Park, which was razed in 1929 to become the site of La Guardia Airport.

North Beach (courtesy SteinwayMansion.org)