Exploring A Long Forgotten 1933 Tunnel In Queens

[49NASH]

What a great find! Thanks Joe. By the way i know where there is another buried tunnel not far from where this video was shot.This old train tunnel ran until 1965 or so and was finally filled in around 1991. It ran under the cross island parkway towards creedmore.Right past saint gregs school. The school is still there but unless you know where to look you'd never know there was a tunnel there.I don't know how much pull you have as to digging out an old tunnel. Thanks again.

[jcroproductions]

Thanks for this great find! I appreciate your hard work!

[parrot0051]

If anyone decides to go into this place they should at least go in groups, do not go alone as Joe said it's dangerous and be safe and have fun.

[paktype]

Why does the reporter keep referring to Union Turnpike as Utopia Parkway? Utopia Parkway is some miles from that location.

[R110A]

Great video reminds me of forgotten Subway tunnels that time forgot and that was a great find joe ,thanks.

[gyedc]

Thanks for another fascinating video Joe! I was kinda waiting for the bit where John Donahoe leaps out of some dark tunnel corner...

[SignOfTheHandLtd]

cool

[NateTheGreat848]

loveddddddddd ittttttttt thanks

[ozgood1x]

OUTSTANDING ! I just got TWO new Video Cameras. A Dash Cam and a Handheld.

This is the kind of stuff I LOVE to do.

Thanks JOE !

[crazeenydriver]

@ozgood1x hey how ya been? how much was that dash cam? did you get it online? I would like to get one :-)

[tiredfingers99]

You just did the NY department of transportation a great favor. Who ever installed those pipes broke through the walls and did not repair the walls properly, and this could be a safety hazard to Union Tpk. The roadway above could collapse where the pipes break through the walls, and this needs to be repaired immediately. I really enjoyed your video, it reminds me of old subway tunnels that are forgotten about.

[pseudogreenlady]

Robert Moses was not a great designer.

[bobbyrab]

This is the bridal path that originally ran from the Long Island Motor Pkwy. in Alley Pond Park to Cunningham Park. I used to walk this path with my dad as a child. There were four tunnels - one going under the Motor Pkwy in Alley Pond Park, one going under Union Tpke. (in the video), one going under Springfield Blvd. and the longest one went under Hollis Ct. Blvd. into Cunningham Park. This last tunnel was obliterated during the construction of the Clearview Expressway.

[ThePokerfacemama]

when I showed my Dad this video earlier today (he was born in 1943) he said right away it had to have been used for horses since there is no street - just all grass and trees. They wouldn't pull up the pavement and leave the iron gates.

[patsw1]

This is quite a find.  A great job. Great information. If there are awards for amateur history video, I would nominate this one.

[DynamiteDan1]

Very cool video sir. I enjoyed it a lot, fascinating stuff. Would really like to see more vids of this type of any neat sites around NY. Thanks for going to the trouble of making this video and great job!

[GrayRealities]

Looking forward to the next find Joe ....Great video it was fun Thanks

[chaz18541]

THIS IS A GREAT VIDEO. LOTS OF FUN. KEEP IT UP.

[MrSafetyForever]

Hi Joe, Very interesting, perhaps a large number of undiscovered long forgotten under ground structures are waiting to be found all over NY city. Thanks for sharing. Please stay safe around all that traffic. Best Regards

[niconestra]

also passed it a million times. Ha! never noticed.

[farnk]

I geek on this stuff and appreciate your effort. Imagine this was slightly easier for you than nosing around the Harlem Riv Dr viaduct/Hamilton Br/Deegan/Cr Bronx area :)

Shame once $ was spent sealing/resealing etc they couldn't at least set up a hiking/biking trail here perhaps with volunteer help. Similar to this are some videos and websites about the lost LI Motor Parkway in Queens, Nassau and Western Suffolk. Interesting stuff. Hope you've Been made whole from the freak Oct storm!

[crazeenydriver]

UPDATE: several people told me that the ramp was not used by cars, but by horses as it was a bridle path that was indeed sealed up in the late 1960s

[captainbedworthy]

Very neat. There are many such abandoned works up here in the Boston area too. I looked down at the area from Google Earth and could not find the traces. Is it visible from the air I wonder?

[abbnelson]

Great, great video. My best friend lived right around the corner from there on Cloverdale Boulevard. That means I've passed this a few hundred times. I like to consider myself a minor NYC history buff, this is a great job.

[bobwiland]

Great find! It may have been closed in the early 1960's when the parkway was widened for the World's Fair. I'm confused a litle with its location - does the tunnel go under Union Tpke.? If you want to search for other sealed up tunnels - there's definitely one under the Cross Island Parkway between 87th and 88th Aves,. closed in the early 1970's. This was for the LIRR branch to Creedmoor. Don't confuse it with the nearby smaller pedestrian tunnel that's still open.

[mailtrap22]

Cool. It reminds me somewhat of where Austin Street passes under Union Turnpike at the Kew Gardens/Forest Hills border.

[cyfacchini]

Good job, keep it up!

[blorber1]

great discovery! Is this the intersection of GCP and Union Tpk which is near the Cross Island (i.e. the service road you entered from is 86th ave) or the other one near the Interboro and Van Wyck?

[crazeenydriver]

@blorber1 this is exit 22 of the GCP; close to alley pond park

[rosskstar]

they should turn it into a bomb shelter

[kellyadmirer1]

Awesome stuff, can't believe I am viewing this the same day as he filmed it (by my area's time). Super cool! Nice work. :)

[chaz18541]

Was this possibly the 'Bridal Path' that ran all along the old GCP through Alley Pond Park, Cummingham Park, and Kissena Park? It zig-zagged all over this area. Given up about 1969 more or less.

[crazeenydriver]

@chaz18541 sir you nailed it :-)

[ThePokerfacemama]

Glad you didn't run into a ghost running around down there. LOL.

[FEVER55555]

Great! Must have been tough to break in was that a gangs secret hideout?

[slapshot01j]

thank you!!!

[blaubas]

Nice! I wouldn't be shocked if the tunnel gets re-sealed within the next couple of months.

[robaronin]

Fantastic! I live right by this, in Fresh Meadows, and never knew about it. Must have driven over it dozens of times! Keep up the great work!

[Tortarra2]

Are you a traffic officer?

[kerrgal]

It's hard to believe that Robert Moses designed this.

[PokemonITANI]

I really enjoyed this. Keep these videos coming.

[EJBRedsox]

I was hoping for an eBay video, but this one was AWESOME! I hope you make more like this (and also more eBay videos haha).

[cccplt]

I love this video, I live in massachusetts and there is this munitions factory that was heavily used durning the cold war and then later turned into a park. There are some large old buildings left in that park. Coincidentally, I'm going to that park tomorrow so I will get some video. If you think that this tunnel is cool wait till you see my video. :)

[rudemood2011]

I was hoping for a ebay video :(

You're crazeenydriver and I'm not

[Leehunglow]

Great video guy, thanks I love nostalgia I happen to be an electrician and I use to do alot of work

in Woodside and Astoria some years ago. and I did work for elderly couples who were married 50 and 60 years. And they use to tell me stories about how the neighborhood was 50 and 60 years ago. I could listen to them for hours. I just love it. Thanks great job.

[TheHollowBlade]

I dont know why but i Love your videos. Keep up the great content and information CNYD

[mikeejay63]

Neat find Joe! I love this kind of urban spelunking(sp) I bet there is drawings and dates in the publics works office, I guess it's just a matter of how interested anyone is. Anyone wanna guess at how much weed was smoked in there?

[TheMrmagnetophon]

Whats your Facebook i'd like to see more pics of it.