For years, the area beneath the Lower Montauk trestle near Babbage and Bessemer Streets in Richmond Hill was a place people hurried past, if they ventured through at all.
Under the elevated rail line, the corridor had become associated with illegal dumping, suspicious activity, and other quality-of-life concerns. For residents of this family-centered neighborhood, nestled between Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill, the condition of the street was part of daily life, sitting just steps from homes and local shuls.
On Sunday, June 7, the atmosphere changed.
The Friends of Babbage and Bessemer Block Party 2026 brought neighbors, artists, musicians, children, volunteers, and elected officials beneath the trestle for a day of music, dancing, ping-pong, printmaking, and conversation.
Organized by Friends of Babbage and Bessemer, the event helped build momentum for a safer and more connected community. The block party took place near 84-28 115th Street, in the shadow of the rail line and just a short walk from Khal Nachlas Avos, led by Rabbis Leibel Rockove and Binyomin Mittel.
Neighbors sat in folding chairs under the trees, while children gathered around activity tables, and musicians filled the space with saxophone and guitar. The printmaking station was led by a woman who, together with her husband, immigrated to Kew Gardens more than 40 years ago. Much of her personal artwork is Holocaust-themed, a way of preserving memory through creativity. For the block party, she adapted her craft for children, using foam pieces that allowed them to press their own designs by hand.
State Senator Joe Addabbo Jr. also attended, meeting with residents and discussing the progress that has been made at the site, along with the challenges that remain. Addabbo has been a consistent advocate for improvements along the Babbage and Bessemer corridor, working with a web of agencies including the MTA, MTAPD, NYPD, DOT, DSNY, Community Board 9, and local residents.
The work, however, is rarely simple. The area is a bureaucratic puzzle, not falling neatly under the authority of any single agency. Some sections involve city roadways where vehicles regularly pass. Other portions are connected to MTA-owned property and active rail infrastructure, with freight trains still operating above. That means even solutions that sound straightforward, such as installing planters, fencing, bollards, or boulder barriers, require coordination among agencies with different responsibilities, safety rules, insurance concerns, and maintenance obligations.
Addabbo’s steady involvement has helped keep the issue moving forward. His office has pushed for sanitation cleanups, enforcement, signage, traffic-safety improvements, and long-term solutions for the bays beneath the trestle. Most recently, two NYPD ARGUS cameras were installed on 84th Avenue to help address public-safety and quality-of-life concerns.
Queens Shmira has also played an important role in the broader effort. Members regularly report suspicious vehicles, illicit activity, illegal dumping, and quality-of-life concerns to the proper authorities, helping ensure that issues are documented and brought to the attention of the agencies responsible for responding.
The Friends of Babbage and Bessemer Block Party was a reminder that this corridor matters to residents who refuse to accept that an underpass must remain unsafe or forgotten.
