CARE at center of unified anti-LIRR project protest
Organizers and supporters of Citizens Against Rail Expansion (CARE) recently held an informational gathering at the Floral Park Recreational Center, where local officials and residents of neighboring towns discussed how to combat the construction of an additional Long Island Rail Road third track along 9.8 miles from Floral Park to Hicksville.
CARE has assisted in defeating a nearly identical proposal in the past, however argues that this proposal is more challenging and provides less time to make their case, as state lawmakers must approve or reject the 2015-16 budget by its April 1 deadline.Cuomo unveiled his second signature proposal of his 2016 agenda last month, and according to the MTA, the project will allow the LIRR to increase service, reduce congestion and train delays caused whenever there is an incident along the busy stretch of tracks, and will enable the LIRR to run “reverse-peak” trains to allow people to take the LIRR to jobs on Long Island during traditional business hours.
A $1.5 billion cost for the third track has been estimated by the MTA and Cuomo has said that several million would be put towards the start of the process. The MTA has also said that the number of property acquisitions required would be reduced from approximately 200 in prior proposals to just 50 in the governor’s proposal, and of those acquisitions, only 20 would involve residences and the average resident acquisition would be five feet wide.
Floral Park Village Mayor Mayor Thomas Tweedy recently reactivated a Third Track Task Force headed by Cheng, and original organizers of CARE are Corbett and his wife Anne, former Floral Park Mayor, as well as Dennis McEnery and former mayor Phil Guarneri.
According to CARE, Cuomo has acknowledged the opposition of residents this past week and still intends to move ahead with the project.
Tweedy referred to an expression by NY State Senator Jack Martins, who is opposition to the project as well, asking “where is White Plains on Long Island?” Tweedy then said that Long Island doesn’t have large office complexes such as White Plains, therefore real transportation from New York City to Long Island and Suffolk County would not benefit from this project.
“The taxpayer funded multi-billion dollar project will take up to 10 years to complete and will disrupt business and residential areas in Floral Park, Stewart Manor, New Hyde Park, Garden City, Westbury, Carle Place and Hicksville,” CARE organizers have said.
According to Corbett Sr., they are reigniting their coalition of more than 140 local organizations and office holders who opposed a former project of the same concept.
“At that time, over 10,000 local residents signed a petition in opposition, and right now, we need local support,” Corbett said.
Outlining numerous negative factors of the third rail, CARE has said that existing trains are less than half full, and that spending several billion dollars, which they say taxpayers would eventually have to shell out, would be better spent on other aspects of the LIRR; and the increase in the number of trains would require a greater utilization of energy—electricity in this particular case.
“Lower income jobs out east would not pay workers enough money to cover the high cost of tickets for reverse commutation,” Floral Park trustee Archie Cheng said. “Why create added competition for these jobs when Long Island residents need employment?”
Other factors include adverse impacts on parking, traffic flow, environmental concerns such as chemicals used by the LIRR to kill plant life along the right-of-way being distributed airborne, constant noise affecting the quality of life of nearby residents, and the possible damaging of several historic buildings that adjourn the site in Floral Park, including the oldest commercial building in the village.
Supporters of the opposition to the third rail project include NY State Senator Kemp Hannon, Town of Hempstead Councilman Edward Ambrosino, Nassau County Legislatures Vincent Muscarella and Richard Nicolello, Town of Hempstead Tax Receiver Donald Calvin, NY State Assemblyman Ed Ra, Nassau County Clerk Maureen O’Connell, Village of Garden City Mayor Nicholas Episcopia, Village of Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss, Village of New Hyde Park Mayor Robert Lofaro, Village of Stewart Manor Mayor Edward Tangredi, Village of Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro, as well as various local civics, school boards and associations.
