New York Wiki

LIRR Huntington Yard 4

Through speeches, letters and even songs, many Huntington and Smithtown
residents are doing exactly that: opposing proposals to build a yard in their
communities. During a series of MTA-sponsored meetings earlier this month,
more than 2,000 residents turned out to voice their opinions on the planned
16-track facility, which would store electric cars deployed to Huntington.
Residents were shown six possible sites in Huntington Station, Kings Park, East
Northport and Smithtown. The MTA pulled a similar plan to build a 16-track
nighttime storage and maintenance yard in Greenlawn in 2000 after residents
expressed strong opposition.
...
One of the voices favoring the yard has been the LIRR Commuter's Council.
Vice-Chairman Gerry Bringmann said surveys have shown that riders want more
service and the council believes the yard is a critical component to achieving that
goal. "The railroad is kind of maxed-out," he said. "The only way they can
increase service is by building a rail yard."

Previously: 0, 1, 2, 3.

Residents Resist Huntington Rail Yard

By Denise M. Bonilla, Staff Writer

Daniel Karpen wanted to make his opposition to a proposed Long Island Rail Road
yard in Huntington Station resonate with MTA officials. So, when he was given the
floor during a pubic hearing last week, Karpen used his three minutes to sing
them a song.

"Choo-Choos on the Rails With Whistles" he sang to the tune of the Beatles' "Lucy
in the Sky With Diamonds," using a train whistle for added effect. Karpen, 55, an
inventor of "glare-free headlights" and civic activist, delivered the original lyrics
and familiar melody to both lighten the mood and encourage the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority to look for more creative solutions to a need for more
trains, he said.

"A yard is not going to work," he said. "There's got to be a group of people that
get up and say, 'Not in my backyard.'"

Through speeches, letters and even songs, many Huntington and Smithtown
residents are doing exactly that: opposing proposals to build a yard in their
communities. During a series of MTA-sponsored meetings earlier this month,
more than 2,000 residents turned out to voice their opinions on the planned
16-track facility, which would store electric cars deployed to Huntington.
Residents were shown six possible sites in Huntington Station, Kings Park, East
Northport and Smithtown. The MTA pulled a similar plan to build a 16-track
nighttime storage and maintenance yard in Greenlawn in 2000 after residents
expressed strong opposition.

The proposed sites have caused an outcry from residents who say the yard would
bring noise, pollution and increased traffic along with depressed property values.
Some politicians also have decried the proposed sites, including Assemb. James
Conte (R-Huntington Station). "I cannot sit idle while the MTA continues to
devalue my hometown," Conte told MTA officials at a recent meeting.

Greg Szurnicki, president of the Kings Park Civic Association, said the Kings Park
and Smithtown sites would cause traffic and other problems and would do nothing
to assist economic revitalization efforts in the area. "They try to seduce us really,
seduce in a respect that this is going to be good for us," he said of the MTA.

Eileen Darwin of Huntington has helped form the Stop the LIRR committee, a
group of civic associations and individuals opposed to the yard. She said the
committee has gathered more than 4,000 signatures on a petition they plan to
present to Gov. George Pataki after Thanksgiving.

"Rather than stuffing this project down our throats and ruining our community,
let's find out what is really needed," she said at a recent MTA meeting.

LIRR president James Dermody said the yard is one tier of a plan to meet a
projected increase in service from the East Side Access project, which seeks to
link the LIRR to the subway and Metro-North Commuter Railroad at Grand Central
Terminal by 2012. Dermody said the LIRR plans to increase its fleet by 20
percent to handle the increased ridership. The railroad zeroed in on the area
between Huntington and Smithtown because surveys showed 77 percent of
customers who ride the Port Jefferson branch use those stations, he added.

The MTA and LIRR will collect comments on the proposed site until Dec. 31. In
2004, a draft environmental-impact report will be drawn up followed in early 2005
with public hearings on those findings. They hope to have the yard built by 2011.
"We heard arguments against almost every site," Dermody said. "Now, we have
to sit down and say, 'Are those arguments valid?'"

One of the voices favoring the yard has been the LIRR Commuter's Council.
Vice-Chairman Gerry Bringmann said surveys have shown that riders want more
service and the council believes the yard is a critical component to achieving that
goal. "The railroad is kind of maxed-out," he said. "The only way they can
increase service is by building a rail yard."

The council, however, stops short of offering a preferred location for the yard.
Bringmann said he can understand why residents are upset about having a rail
yard in their neighborhood. "It's like a jail or a power station," he said. "You know
you need them, but no one wants one in their backyard."

Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.

Posted by dc at November 16, 2003 01:31 AM