KGCA Opposes MTA Plan to Rent Newly Renovated Kew Gardens Station House

In 2024–25, the LIRR carried out a rehabilitation of the Kew Gardens Station House waiting room. The work (new heavy wood-panel wainscotting, thick wood doors and benches, hand-painted signage, multiple screens, and repair of the roof, soffits, and drainage) was completed this spring after many months of closure. At no point did the LIRR inform the community about the project, and KGCA's emails asking whether a dedication ceremony was planned went unanswered.

This August, we learned why. Signs appeared on the station house advertising the newly restored space for commercial lease. KGCA discovered that the MTA had issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on June 29, 2026, with responses due September 17, 2026. The RFP, being marketed by CBRE on the MTA's behalf, covers the entire 696-square-foot waiting room, the ticketing booth room, and the patrons' restroom — plus an adjoining outdoor licensed area.

 

What the RFP Proposes

  • Leasing the newly renovated waiting room, ticket booth room, and public restroom for retail, dining, or service use

  • Delivering the space "as is," letting the tenant modify or remove anything the LIRR has just installed

  • Licensing outdoor space as well, which would effectively limit commuters to only one of the station's two passageways to the platform

  • No public notice or community input before the RFP was posted

 

Why This Matters

KGCA has not been able to obtain an official project budget, but conservatively estimates the rehabilitation cost at least $1.5 million in public funds, for a space now slated to be handed over to a private tenant at commuters' expense. This isn't the first time KGCA has had to fight for this building: in 2003, we pushed the MTA to make its exterior support columns historically accurate rather than purely utilitarian. Turning this newly restored public amenity into leased commercial space calls into question the propriety of how public transit dollars are being used.

What the KGCA Has Done So Far

  • Investigated the leasing signage that appeared on the station house in August 2026 and traced it to the MTA's RFP

  • Sent a formal letter, dated September 6, 2026, to elected officials representing Kew Gardens — Assembly Members Andrew Hevesi, Sam Berger, David Weprin, and Kevin Wisniewski; State Senator Leroy Comrie; City Council Member Lynn Schulman; and the offices of the Queens Borough President and our area's member of Congress — laying out the issue in full, with photos, and asking for their help

  • Called on the MTA to pull the RFP and repost it without the waiting-room lease and outdoor-licensing provisions

  • Requested a full, itemized budget breakdown for the 2025–26 station rehabilitation, which has not yet been provided

  • Published this page and the underlying documents so the community can see exactly what's being proposed

Take Action Now

Time is short. The most effective thing residents can do right now is contact elected officials directly and ask them to press the MTA to pull and repost the RFP.

Ask them to:

  1. Push the MTA to pull the RFP and repost it without the waiting-room and outdoor-space leasing provisions

  2. Request a detailed public budget breakdown for the 2025–26 rehabilitation

Read KGCA's full letter to elected officials
Read the MTA/CBRE RFP for the Kew Gardens Station House