Nassau Long Island Rail Road stations, specifically Floral Park’s, need better maintenance, according to an audit conducted by County Comptroller Elaine Phillips.
“I am focused on ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and effectively, so when I heard from numerous constituents from across the County that there were problems at our LIRR stations, I had to look into it,” Phillips said. “Each year, Nassau County pays more than $36 million for LIRR station maintenance…and my study showed that many of the stations are not properly maintained…Where is all of this money going if our LIRR stations are not painted, cleaned or maintained regularly?”
Her audit appears to be at odds with the MTA’s most recent customer survey, which found an 87% customer satisfaction rating among commuters at Nassau stations, and the MTA’s statement that it conducts daily maintenance and cleaning at every station in the county.
“The actual investments by the MTA far outpace Nassau County’s contributions,” the MTA wrote in a letter to Phillips’ office.“Each of the 59 stations in Nassau County receives daily cleaning, with high-ridership stations cleaned multiple times per day…Cleaning services include trash collection, sweeping, graffiti removal, restroom upkeep, heavy-duty cleaning and seasonal power washing during warmer months.”
Phillips’ audit comes from her team’s work, which spent the spring and summer assessing the physical conditions of all 59 Nassau LIRR stations against a rubric, rating the quality of amenities, cleanliness, infrastructure, safety and accessibility, as well as soliciting over 900 rider surveys asking for their thoughts on maintenance at their station.
With the most negative survey responses and low ratings on Phillips’ survey, Floral Park was deemed the “worst” station. Long Beach, Rockville Center, Valley Stream and Glen Cove followed.
Phillips said her site visits and surveys “revealed crumbling concrete, pitted steel, dripping water, unsafe conditions and peeling paint at stations, platforms and waiting areas.” Additionally, her audit found 15 stations fail to include an indoor waiting room or bathroom and that stations with those amenities typically close them by 7 p.m. or earlier and only 21 open them on weekends.
An emphasis throughout her audit and responses from commuters was the necessity for there to be more cleaning of pigeon droppings, for broken escalators and elevators to be repaired and the importance of accessible indoor waiting areas, bathrooms, sheltered outdoor waiting areas and seating availability, all things her audit asks the MTA for improvement on, or to consider dedicating additional funds that feed the agency from Nassau to.
The MTA defended its maintenance record and the use of funds from Nassau, saying it completes “thousands” of work orders across Nassau stations each year, and called Phillips’ audit “political.”
“This is a political audit that wasn’t shared with LIRR before it was blasted to the media,” wrote MTA Spokesperson David Steckel in an email to Schneps Media LI. “The LIRR is running the best service in its history, and the recently approved 2025-2029 $68.4 billion capital program is the most ambitious investment in service reliability ever made.”
Phillips said the audit was shared with the MTA on Oct. 28, the day it was published. She also emphasized that the audit was not about train service or reliability, but rather maintenance services to stations, saying that the agency was “deflecting.”
“There is nothing political about this review of Nassau County’s LIRR stations. It is a non-partisan, factual look at conditions at Nassau’s LIRR stations,” Phillips said in a statement. “My job as comptroller is to ensure that Nassau County taxpayers’ tax dollars are spent efficiently and effectively, and that was the goal of this review.”
Phillips also added that part of her job is to “ensure that Nassau County taxpayers’ tax dollars are spent efficiently and effectively,” and “to review and approve claims for payment.” Since the county makes “major payments to the MTA for LIRR station maintenance,” she determined it was necessary for her to “look into them.”
She argued that, because the county pays tens of millions of dollars to the LIRR for maintenance costs each year, it should be receiving “better” station service. Her audit also argues that improved station service would decrease the MTA’s overall costs, as she believes some capital improvement projects wouldn’t be necessary if regular maintenance was improved.
Phillips said her office’s review has left her advocating for a list of “changes,” including the MTA creating a maintenance schedule for painting and repair of overpasses, employing humane pest control techniques to control pigeons, increasing hours that indoor waiting areas and bathrooms are accessible to riders and improving lighting at LIRR stations as needed.
She said her audit also made her believe the MTA should install cameras in more stations and communicate more effectively with riders about the safety features of their LIRR stations to improve riders’ confidence in their safety.
“Riders of the Long Island Rail Road deserve clean, safe, well-lit, well-maintained train stations. I am advocating on behalf of Nassau County’s LIRR riders,” Phillips said. “I hope that the MTA will make the changes recommended above to improve conditions at the troublesome stations named in the report and ensure that all Nassau LIRR stations are getting the maintenance they deserve, which we pay for every year.”
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