Three Queens neighborhoods will see concrete roadway medians replaced with engineered green corridors designed to capture five million gallons of stormwater per year, under an $8.4 million joint investment announced August 27 by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul. The project targets Whitestone, Forest Hills, and Queens Village, three communities that have endured repeated flooding throughout the summer of 2026.
Key Takeaways
- The $8.4 million project will convert concrete medians along Francis Lewis Boulevard in Whitestone, Union Turnpike in Forest Hills, and Springfield Boulevard in Queens Village into green infrastructure capable of absorbing five million gallons of stormwater annually.
- New York State is funding $5 million of the total through the Green Innovation Grant Program and the Water Quality Improvement Project, administered by the Environmental Facilities Corporation and the Department of Environmental Conservation.
- The Whitestone median project along Francis Lewis Boulevard is nearing completion; Forest Hills plantings are scheduled for this fall; Queens Village construction is expected to begin later in 2026.
- The announcement arrives days after Council Member Phil Wong sent a three-page letter to Mayor Mamdani on August 23, demanding the city redirect hundreds of millions of dollars toward flood resiliency after his district flooded at least four times in a single month.
- Deputy Mayor of Operations Julia Kerson separately confirmed the city is investing $100 million in modernizing catch basins across the five boroughs.
- Each median site targets a different local waterway for water quality improvement: the East River (Whitestone), Flushing Bay (Forest Hills), and Jamaica Bay (Queens Village).
Engineered Medians Will Store Stormwater Underground Before It Reaches the Sewer System
The three projects share a common engineering approach. Construction crews will remove existing concrete medians and curbs, clear dead trees and accumulated debris, and install new inlet openings designed to divert street-level runoff directly into the planted areas. Beneath the surface, specially engineered soils and underground storage systems will hold stormwater in place, releasing it gradually rather than allowing it to surge into the city’s combined sewer network.
Above ground, native species, shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers will transform the medians into green corridors. The landscaping serves a dual function: the root systems help absorb and filter water, while the plantings themselves cool the surrounding streetscape and create a visible neighborhood improvement. The projects also include ADA-compliant pedestrian ramps and detectable warning surfaces at crossings, adding a safety component to the infrastructure overhaul.
Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa F. Garcia framed the initiative as a rethinking of how city infrastructure serves residents. The commissioner described the converted medians as living landscapes that manage stormwater while reimagining what streets can be, moving beyond the traditional role of concrete dividers as traffic organizers.
Three Neighborhoods, Three Waterways, One Shared Problem
Each of the three project sites addresses a distinct drainage area and feeds into a different waterway, spreading the stormwater relief across a wide section of Queens.
The Whitestone site along Francis Lewis Boulevard, between 20th Avenue and 21st Road, stretches 1,105 feet and captures runoff from a 1.17-acre drainage area. The project, now nearing completion, is designed to manage 1.11 million gallons of stormwater annually and reduce combined sewer overflows into the East River.
In Forest Hills, the Union Turnpike medians extend 3,245 feet between Metropolitan Avenue and 71st Road, drawing from a 2.56-acre drainage area. Plantings are scheduled for fall 2026, with the medians expected to handle 2.43 million gallons of stormwater per year. The site targets Flushing Bay, where combined sewer overflows have long contributed to water quality concerns.
The Queens Village installation on Springfield Boulevard, between Lucas Street and Merrick Boulevard, will add 1,182 feet of green infrastructure tied to a 1.51-acre drainage area. Construction is expected to begin later this year, and the site will manage an estimated 1.44 million gallons of stormwater annually, with overflow reduction aimed at Jamaica Bay.
All three projects have been coordinated with the New York City Department of Transportation and NYC Parks, reflecting the cross-agency logistics required when street-level infrastructure doubles as environmental protection.
A Summer of Flooding Set the Stage for the Announcement
The timing of the green median initiative carries weight. Queens has been hit by repeated flash flooding throughout the summer of 2026, and the political pressure on City Hall has mounted in parallel. Council Member Phil Wong, who represents District 30, sent a pointed three-page letter to Mayor Mamdani on August 23, four days before the green median announcement, demanding the administration treat flood prevention as a spending priority rather than an afterthought.
Wong documented that his constituents experienced serious flooding at least four times in August alone, with streets turning into standing water and homes sustaining repeated damage. The council member called for the city to redirect hundreds of millions of dollars toward the Department of Environmental Protection, specifically targeting more frequent catch basin and sewer cleaning, additional drainage and retention infrastructure, homeowner assistance in flood-prone areas, and a long-term expansion of sewer capacity.
Wong also criticized what he characterized as misplaced budget priorities, pointing to city spending on new offices at City Hall as an example of funding that should flow toward infrastructure. In his letter, the council member wrote that basic infrastructure has to come before what he termed political pet projects, and urged the mayor to give DEP Commissioner Garcia the resources to act.
Mayor Mamdani addressed the flooding issue at an unrelated event in Glendale on August 24, acknowledging that the city’s sewer system was built for the rainfall patterns of a century ago and that climate change has intensified precipitation beyond what the existing network can handle. Mamdani described flood mitigation as one of the foremost priorities of his administration and referenced several approaches under exploration, including cloudburst technology, permeable pavement, and floodable parks designed to absorb excess rainfall.
The $8.4 Million Investment Sits Within a Larger Resiliency Push
The green median project does not exist in isolation. The Mamdani administration’s latest city budget included $43.2 million to expand DEP’s coastal resiliency bureau, with plans to hire additional maintenance workers, inspectors, and engineers. Deputy Mayor Kerson confirmed a separate $100 million commitment to modernize catch basins citywide. Earlier in 2026, Mayor Mamdani also announced a $95 million investment in a cloudburst project in Homecrest, Brooklyn, part of a broader series of cloudburst installations announced for Corona, Kissena Park, Parkchester, and East New York.
Whether the cumulative investment matches the scale of the problem remains an open question. The city’s flood sensor network, managed by NYU and CUNY, recorded 46 inches of street-level floodwater at a single sensor in Hollis, Queens during a May 20 flash flood. A July 18 storm registered 29.3 inches at a sensor in Fresh Meadows in roughly one hour. Those figures point to a gap between the infrastructure the city currently has and what the climate now demands.
New York State’s $5 million contribution to the Queens median project, channeled through the Green Innovation Grant Program and the Water Quality Improvement Project, reflects the state’s own financial role in closing that gap. DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton credited Governor Hochul’s record state investments in green infrastructure as enabling the kind of municipal support that the Queens project represents.
For residents along Francis Lewis Boulevard, Union Turnpike, and Springfield Boulevard, the green medians represent a visible, tangible change to their streetscape. Whether they also represent the beginning of the systemic overhaul that Council Member Wong and Queens residents are calling for will depend on what follows.
FAQs
What neighborhoods are included in the Queens green median project?
The project covers three Queens locations: Francis Lewis Boulevard in Whitestone, Union Turnpike in Forest Hills, and Springfield Boulevard in Queens Village. Each site will convert existing concrete medians into green infrastructure designed to absorb stormwater.
How much stormwater will the green medians capture?
The three sites are collectively projected to capture five million gallons of stormwater per year. Whitestone will manage 1.11 million gallons, Forest Hills 2.43 million gallons, and Queens Village 1.44 million gallons annually.
When will construction be completed?
The Whitestone project on Francis Lewis Boulevard is nearing completion. Forest Hills plantings along Union Turnpike are scheduled for fall 2026. Queens Village construction on Springfield Boulevard is expected to begin later in 2026. No single completion date has been announced for all three sites.
Who is funding the project?
The $8.4 million total includes $5 million in New York State grants from the Green Innovation Grant Program and the Water Quality Improvement Project, administered by the Environmental Facilities Corporation and the Department of Environmental Conservation. The remaining funding comes through the NYC Department of Environmental Protection.
