A meeting of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council (LIRRCC) was convened at 4:30 pm on April 2, 2009, in the 5th Floor conference room, Jamaica Control Center.
The following members were present:
Ronald Breuer
Gerard P. Bringmann
Ira Greenberg
Maureen Michaels
The following members were absent:
Gary Babyatzky
James L. McGovern
In addition, the following persons were present:
William Henderson – PCAC Executive Director
Janice Wells – PCAC Associate Director
Holli Dunayer – LIRR
Matthew Kessler – Concerned Citizen
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the April 2, 2009 meeting was approved. The minutes of the March 12, 2009 meeting were approved as amended.
Chair’s Report
Our President’s Forum has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, from 5 to 7 pm in the AirTrain building here in Jamaica where it was held last year. Please make every effort to attend as this is an excellent way to hear what is on the minds of the commuters. A poster announcing the event is being printed and will be hung throughout the LIRR network. We will let you know when it is distributed so you can check to see it that it is up in your station.
As you know, Jim McGovern has withdrawn from consideration for reappointment as the LIRRCC’s non-voting member of the MTA Board because of work commitments. We sent Ira Greenberg’s name up to the Governor as our recommendation for Jim’s replacement. Ira has received from the Governor’s Appointment Office the necessary forms to fill out; we hope that the confirmation process will move quickly so that Ira can assume this role.
After four years, the PCAC offices will be rotating through the Councils this June and it is LIRRCC’s turn to provide the next PCAC Chair. At the last meeting we discussed the possibility of me assuming the PCAC Chairmanship and what that would mean for our Council offices. I would like to discuss the Council’s nomination for PCAC Chair today under old business.
As you know we got a copy of a letter to Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy from the Governor’s Appointment Secretary. The letter indicated that two Suffolk nominees have been sent for the background check process, and if they pass they will be appointed to the LIRRCC by the Governor. The individuals in the background check process are Sheila Carpenter and Mark J. Epstein.
Apparently the current interpretation by the Governor’s Office of the statutory requirement for three names to be submitted as candidates for the LIRRCC is that the Governor may appoint as many of the three as he wishes. This is good news for us, as this may mean that we can fill the Nassau vacancies more quickly than we had thought. All we need is for Mr. Suozzi to choose another candidate to recommend. Bill spoke to Mr. Suozzi, and he wants to recommend someone from the Oyster Bay branch. Bill is working on getting a seat drop to generate candidates from the County Executive’s home area.
As a follow up to our March meeting, we sent Helena Williams a letter expressing our concern that not much has happened with the Third Track project and asking that the environmental impact statement prepared for the project either be released by moving the environmental review process forward, or if the environmental process is not going to move forward, released independently. The letter expressed our continued support for the project even if progress is at a slower pace than we had hoped.
On Thursday, March 26th, Associate Director Jan Wells attended the Long Island 2035 Visioning Workshop in Melville. This initiative is a collaboration of the Long Island Regional Planning Council, RPA, NYMTC, Vision LI and Sustainable Long Island. Well over 100 invited people of diverse constituencies attended and participated in a “chip game”. Folks were assigned to tables covered by a map of Long Island showing neighborhood characteristics. Different colored chips representing various types of residential and commercial development were then placed on the map to represent where the table participants felt future growth on Long Island should go. All 10 tables agreed that there should be more mixed-use development near train stations and job centers, infill development in downtowns, and a high priority placed on preserving open space and farmland. Very few tables used any of the single-family detached home chips.
This result clearly signals a desire to provide a different kind of housing for aging baby boomers and young adults — two large and important demographic groups on Long Island. Jan noted that her table made several recommendations for new stops on the LIRR and for expanded bus transportation. Everyone agreed that affordability needed to be a key component of much of the new housing. More meetings are scheduled through the spring so that a formal Vision will be able to be produced by the summer. Having this Vision plan in place will put Long Island in a better position to secure federal funds through NYMTC.
Under Old Business we can discuss the MTA budget and the vote that was taken last Wednesday. Earlier this week we received a letter from Senator Kevin Parker of Brooklyn thanking us for our letter to have the Senate act on the MTA funding. Mr. Parker made it very clear that he was very unhappy with the MTA vote last week, does not have confidence in the MTA’s statements, and believes a full audit of the MTA finances has to be undertaken.
On Tuesday, Maureen Michaels and Bill Henderson met with Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone and his staff concerning conditions at the Huntington train station. As you may remember, Maureen arrived back from a business trip recently to find the station overpasses covered in bird droppings and the station in a general state of disrepair. Maureen and Bill discovered in the meeting that there is a “Friends of Huntington Train Station” group at work to improve the station. We can discuss the Council’s next steps under new business.
Finally, a press conference that was being arranged by Senator Schumer’s office to build support for getting the Moynihan Station project rolling has been postponed indefinitely. The concept promoted by Senator Schumer would provide a new home for Amtrak and create additional room in the current Penn Station for commuter rail facilities. If done right, this project could relieve some of the crush on LIRR riders. Staff will keep us informed of further developments on Moynihan Station, and I’ll let everyone know if I’m contacted by the Senator’s office about this initiative.
The members agreed to make a presentation to Jim McGovern, thanking him for his service on the MTA Board, once Ira Greenberg is approved as the LIRRCC non-voting MTA Board member.
Old Business
The members briefly discussed the LIRR’s annual Customer Satisfaction survey. Maureen Michaels noted that the study’s methodologies were sound, but questions using a 10-point scale tend to be monotonous and can cause a shift in perception as one proceeds through the survey. She noted that the biggest problem with the survey is how the numbers were aggregated. She said scores of 4 and above were classified as indicating satisfaction with LIRR service. This is not an industry norm and it is not credible for the LIRR to tell riders that 98 percent of them are satisfied. If the LIRR were to perform another survey using a more intuitive scale, the results would likely be very different. She said the analysis that was done appears to be for the purpose of public relations and not something to be used for business planning.
Mr. Greenberg said he wouldn’t give a response of 4 if he is satisfied with a service. He recommended writing a letter outlining the Council’s objections to the scale that was used in the survey and Ms. Michaels said she would draft such a letter. Ms. Michaels said that most businesses look at the number of respondents who give “very satisfied” ratings of 8, 9, and10 and work to get more respondents into that category in future surveys. She noted that there has been a lot of research done on the meaning of ratings of 8 to 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Ms. Michaels said the LIRR survey was not conducted according to the same standards private sector businesses use for surveys of this kind. She said, however, that she doesn’t want to go public about the shortcomings of this survey, but insisted that these deficiencies can’t happen again. She suggested that staff look up the procurement action for this survey work and obtain the cost for the project. She said the Council will lose its credibility if changes are not made and it doesn’t challenge the report next year.
New Members
The members discussed how the Council can get new members from Nassau County. Staff will email Holli Dunayer with ideas for reaching out to the Oyster Bay branch and send Ms. Dunayer a draft article about the need for additional Council members to be included in a seat drop.
Huntington Station
Ms. Michaels briefly described the meeting that she and Bill Henderson had last week with Huntington officials. She said that, after having spoken to LIRR staff about conditions at the Huntington train station, it was a little uncomfortable to find out for the first time from Town officials that the station was being renovated. Ms. Michaels noted that there is an active “Friends of Huntington Train Station” group and asked if Ms. Dunayer could send staff the contact information of other “Friends of “groups. She said she would love to know all the people who are working on behalf of the stations. This information is important so that the LIRRCC can advance its agendas and so that the LIRR and towns can work together.
Ms. Dunayer said there are 123 stations and she has no idea how many groups exist. She does not have access to lists of “friends of” station groups. Ms. Michaels suggested that this would be an opportunity to create a network of groups. She also mentioned that there is a communication issue regarding station renovation projects that makes it difficult to identify information about the work taking place and who to contact with questions about a specific project.
New Business
PCAC Nominations
The members discussed nominations for PCAC officers. Gerry Bringmann noted that he wants to be sure he is employed before he assumes the position of PCAC Chair. He asked that they defer the discussion until the next meeting. Ms. Michaels suggested that Mr. Bringmann take the position and establish a time line in which he will reevaluate his tenure in the office if his employment situation does not change.
A motion was made to support Mr. Bringmann’s nomination as PCAC Chair. The motion was approved and seconded.
LIRRCC Nominations
Maureen Michaels was nominated for Chair of the LIRRCC. Gerry Bringmann was nominated for LIRRCC Vice-Chair. No other nominations were received for the slate. Elections will take place at the May meeting.
Board Report
Maureen Michaels asked why the East End commuter, who has the greatest hardship, pays the highest LIRR fares. Ira Greenberg asked what would happen if the fare were the same for all commuters. He said that if this were the case there would most likely still be reluctance to commute from farther east. Ms. Michaels asked why everyone in diesel country doesn’t pay the same fare and whether this be a fare structure that the Council should support.
Jan Wells raised the issue of not being able to use a reduced fare ticket for morning peak inbound travel. She said that this is a confusing policy for riders. Mr. Henderson said this issue would be examined in the fare policy study that the PCAC will conduct this year.
Ms. Dunayer mentioned that she is trying to find out about the LIRR’s $20,000 in unclaimed funds that are held by the State Comptroller and has received no answer yet.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Karyl Berger
Research Associate