A 3.5-mile stretch of abandoned Long Island Rail Road tracks abandoned and overgrown in central Queens that run from Elmhurst to the Rockaways had two possible futures, become a park or another transit line

By reclaiming and redeveloping the abandoned old Rockaway Beach line railroad tracks, the QueensWay will provide public access to green space (Forest Park ) from the Queens neighborhoods of Rego Park, Forest Hills, Glendale, Forest Park, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, and Ozone Park, while acting as a main artery of the borough, connecting six distinct neighborhoods 

the above is an abandoned train station stop

https://ny.curbed.com/2013/12/5/10167526/abandoned-rockaway-rail-line-waits-for-high-line-moment

the above is a very good unbiased article about the tracks, unlike the other links which are so one sided, and opposite views, they gave no real information.

https://pix11.com/news/local-news/queens/queensway-deserted-lirr-tracks-to-be-turned-into-the-high-line-of-queens

the QueensWay backers prioritized building out the section of the rail tracks that run through Forest Park, where homeowners would not need to be inconvenienced or see people near their backyards.

The train tracks were abandoned in 1962. No one in 60 years did a damn thing with them. 

right through the middle of this image, left to right? Nope. That is a DIFFERENT abandoned double train track

above, on the left of the little league baseball fields. That dense woody area. That's it, and

it turns out to be VERY easy to find the other abandoned railroad tracks in the area, they are the isolated lines of trees through the city

https://www.angelfire.com/ny5/deadtracks/