A meeting of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council (LIRRCC) was convened at 12:15 p.m., August 13, 2009, in the 5th Floor Board Room, MTA Headquarters, 347 Madison Avenue, New York. The following members were present:
Ron Breuer
Gerard P. Bringmann
Sheila Carpenter
Owen Costello
Ira Greenberg
Maureen Michaels
The following members were absent:
Mark Epstein
James L. McGovern
In addition, the following persons were present:
William Henderson – PCAC Executive Director
Jan Wells – PCAC Associate Director
Ellyn Shannon – PCAC Transportation Planner
Holli Dunayer-Shalvoy – LIRR
Scott Howell – LIRR
Stephen Russo – MTA Real Estate
George Haikalis – IRUM
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the August 13, 2009 meeting was approved. The minutes of the July 9, 2009 meeting were approved.
Chair’s Report
I am pleased to announce that we have a new member from Nassau County, Owen Costello. We’ll take a few minutes to allow Mr. Costello to tell us a bit about himself and then let our more experienced members introduce themselves and state where we commute from.
The news of the LIRR in the last month was dominated by the fallout from an allegation that on July 2 the engineer of an LIRR diesel train in regular revenue service allowed one of the passengers to operate the train between the Hicksville and Hunterspoint Avenue stations. We’ll have to wait to know whether the allegations are true, but we are very aware of the substantial danger to riders and the public at large if this incident is true. And we will continue to monitor the case closely.
In addition to the allegation itself, I am disturbed by the way that the MTA and LIRR handled this situation. While there is a disciplinary process that the Rail Road must follow with respect to the engineer, the LIRR’s public response to the situation mainly consisted of a series of weak statements and terse replies to members of the media. An effective response to this situation would have involved the leadership of the MTA and the Rail Road holding press briefings and working to explain to commuters the steps that the LIRR is taking to ensure public safety. The riders don’t want to hear that operating personnel have been “reminded” of the rules; they want to be sure that the operating personnel know that if rules are not followed there will be swift and severe disciplinary action. I also believe that it both undermines and embarrasses LIRR management to be receiving tips on how to better manage its workforce from Nassau County DA, Kathleen Rice.
Despite protests from transportation advocates, including the members of this Council, Governor Paterson on July 28 appointed Senator Craig Johnson as a member of the MTA Capital Program Review Board. Senator Johnson was recommended for appointment by Senator Malcolm Smith, in his capacity as Temporary President of the New York State Senate. I sent letters of opposition to the Senator’s appointment on behalf of the LIRRCC to the Governor, Senate leaders including Senator Smith, and the majority members of Long Island’s Senate delegation. We also expressed our opposition in a news release to local media outlets. A Newsday editorial several days later called on Senator Johnson to expand his view to encompass the interests of all of Long Island.
We opposed Senator Johnson’s because of his strong position against the LIRR Main Line Corridor improvement program, which this Council has long stated is necessary for the future of efficient rail service on Long Island. Although this project has been stalled and was replaced in the proposed 2010-2014 capital program by less costly projects designed to enhance capacity, ultimately it will be needed to fully realize the potential of the East Side Access project. To place Senator Johnson in a position where he would have veto power over this project was an affront to the hundreds of thousands of daily riders of the LIRR. I fully intend to communicate our discontent to the Governor and to the elected officials on Long Island who failed to take preventive action. It is not okay and we will not be deterred in continuing to push for the Main Line Corridor.
Also in July the choice of Jay Walder as the new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the MTA was announced by Governor Paterson. Unfortunately, this is another case where partisan politics is interfering with actions that improve services to the public. Mr. Walder must be confirmed by the State Senate but the legislature is dragging out the process and it is unlikely that Mr. Walder’s confirmation will be voted upon before September, and that vote will probably occur only after several committee hearings. And should Mr. Walder not be approved, we have to start again the whole bloody process. This subject is of particular interest to LIRR commuters, as Helena Williams is serving as the interim leader of the MTA as well as LIRR President. Together with our sister Councils and the PCAC as a whole, we have strongly expressed to Senate leaders our view that the confirmation process must be completed promptly to restore permanent leadership to the MTA and full time leadership to the LIRR.
On Monday we had a rather large surprise with the release of the MTA’s 2010-2014 Capital Program, which was placed on the MTA website along with the MTA’s 20 Year (2010-2029) Capital Needs Assessment. While the other MTA operating agencies were able to include their levels of state of good repair for each category of investment (for railroads these would include stations and parking, structures, line structures and shops and yards), the LIRR was only able to complete this assessment for the line structures, which include bridges and viaducts. Approximately 50 percent of these elements are classified as being in a state of good repair. Knowing the current state of each category, however, is helpful in deciding where capital investment dollars should flow. And we will push further to know why the LIRR was not prepared with a complete report when other agencies were.
I am also concerned with the process, which was termed a “soft release,” of making the $28 billion Capital Program available to the public. As a result of the release outside of an official meeting, there was no public presentation of the Program, no questions and answers on the document in a public forum, and no discussion of the proposal in public session prior to the final vote at the September 23rd MTA Board meeting. Also, due to mistakes made in transmitting the document, MTA Board members were generally not aware of the release of the Capital Program until after the media had been informed. I can assure you, this lack of advance notice did not sit well with many members of the PCAC Executive Committee and it is raising strong questions about who is setting the agenda at the MTA. It is especially important that there be transparency and public discussion about proposed budgets that involve $28 billion dollars of taxpayer money and disturbing that MTA management must be reminded of such.
Due to the late availability of the Capital Program, we will not be discussing it in depth at this meeting. Staff will analyze the program and send to members a discussion of the Program in advance of the September PCAC meeting. We can use email and telephone to gather feedback on the parts of the document that are specific to the LIRR, since we will not have a September meeting.
I hope everyone received my email describing the new regular discussion segment that I am adding to our meetings. In the email I asked that members report specific observations or opinions regarding how practices at the LIRR impact the commuting experience, either positive or negative. Each meeting we’ll discuss a different topic and the goal is to begin a process for developing formal sets of recommendations to the LIRR based on our collective thinking and reflections on commuter experiences. Today’s topic will be “Ticketing and Ticket Collection Practices.” It will be discussed under Service Issues on the agenda.
My staff has created an Excel file that will allow us to break down ridership by Congressional and State legislative districts. Our staff is double checking the numbers entered into the table so that we can use these data in our outreach to legislators.
Comments:
Maureen Michaels officially introduced Owen Costello, the newest LIRRCC member from Port Washington who has commuted on the Port Washington branch for 23 years and grew up in Great Neck. Prior to moving to Port Washington he lived in Little Neck and would go out to Southampton via the LIRR. He said he now takes the LIRR to go to his son’s baseball and football games. He was an investment banker and currently works for the State Banking Department.
The members discussed the incident on the LIRR where it is alleged that a rider was allowed to operate a train. The members agreed they were not happy with the MTA response to the incident. Ms. Michaels stated that it is imperative that the LIRR assure the riding public that these kinds of actions will never occur again.
The members discussed the appointment of Craig Johnson to the Capital Program Review Board and expressed strong opposition to the appointment. Mr. Johnson has been very public about his opposition to the Main Line Third Track project.
The members discussed the “soft release” of the Capital Program. Ms. Michaels indicated that this jargon is simply PR spin and said the council should push back on this tactic. The members also expressed concern that the Main Line Third Track is not included in the Capital Program.
Ms. Michaels discussed the LIRR ridership database that has been sorted by legislative district. It will be used as a tool that can be accessed in seconds. Ms. Michaels said that every station will be mapped out and catalogued.
Board Report
Ira Greenberg reported that there was all good news presented at the July Long Island committee meeting. Mr. Greenberg said he brought up the diesel fleet reliability goal. He said that much was made of the LIRR’s pilot suicide prevention program. Ms. Michaels said that the program should be made permanent. Sheila Carpenter said that the posters for the program must have the correct numbers for the counseling agency working with the LIRR in the area in which they are displayed. Bill Henderson said that the calls are directed to the appropriate agency based upon where the call originated. Mr. Greenberg suggested that an LIRRCC meeting could be held at the LIRR’s Morris Park diesel repair shop.
Mr. Greenberg said the dual mode failures are a result of a design flaw. Ellyn Shannon noted that the LIRR says the diesel fleet is in a state of good repair, but the locomotives’ Mean Distance Between Failures (MDBF) hovers in the 14,000 to 16,000 mile range and that earlier in the year the LIRR lowered their MDBF goal from 30,000 to 18,000 miles. Ms. Michaels indicated that it is important that the Council get a full accounting of the items that need to be repaired on the diesel fleet.
Old Business — Service Issues
Penn Station Security and Access—Ms. Michaels said there needs to be a plan as how best to deal with Amtrak. She said there are two Amtrak exits at 8th Avenue and noted that the exit at 31st Street/8th Avenue was partially blocked because they were installing new escalators. Now the entrance is still partially obstructed because the staircase is blocked off. The notion that Amtrak talks seriously about security is false because you can’t have true security when exits are blocked. Ms. Michaels spoke to Amtrak police about the obstructed entrance and they said dealing with this issue is not their job.
Ms. Carpenter noted that the signage at Penn Station is terrible. She said that she misses the side stairways leading from the 8th Avenue end of the station to the LIRR concourse all the time and she noted that even as a regular user it is hard to orient oneself in Penn Station. She asked that staff inquire about the training LIRR personnel receive to provide directions to people in the station. Mr. Henderson made a note that staff will look at signage.
Ms. Michaels noted that there aren’t staff members readily available to ask about directions for other services in Penn Stations. It was noted that at Grand Central there are people available to ask for directions. Jan Wells said it would help to have customer service floaters throughout the station.
MTA Police Activity—Ms. Michaels said the Council needs to find out more about the police activity on the LIRR. Presently, we only hear reports about the rate of major felonies. Ms. Carpenter said she has seen three assaults take place on board trains and said the train staff has lots of issues.
Ron Breuer said train crew won’t throw someone off the train for lack of funds to pay a fare. Train crews will ask that person for identification, and he or she will then receive a bill for the fare.
Ms. Carpenter said she knows of one conductor who has been involved in lots of police activity. She noted the conductor used poor discretion on some situations that developed into problems.
Penn Station Ladies Room—Ms. Michaels said that in the newly renovated ladies room at Penn Station, four stalls have been out of order for a long time and one has been closed with duct tape. She said there is a lack of toilet paper and that the grout under the hand dryer has turned black. Owen Costello said the men’s restroom is no picnic either.
Ms. Carpenter said the women’s restroom at Jamaica Station is better, but there are not enough facilities.
Tickets and Ticketing Practices—Ms. Michaels noted that this issue has become the issue for the month. She noted that ticket collection does not get done on all trains. She also noted that on many express trains, tickets are not collected until after the stop at Jamaica. She also reported that some people buy tickets from the last zone inbound as they know their tickets won’t be collected until after Jamaica. There are also problems with many ticket collectors making their rounds at a time that tends to disturb passengers.
Mr. Bringmann said that on the trains he takes, the tickets are collected after they leave Babylon. Mr. Bringmann said he knows people from Bay Shore who buy Babylon monthly tickets because they know they won’t be collected until then. Ron Breuer asked to get a clarification on the policy about use of seat checks.
New Business
The members discussed the LIRR Customer Satisfaction Survey. Ms. Michaels noted that she met with the LIRR about the issue. Ms. Michaels reported that the LIRR has made changes to the survey that will make it consistent with the survey conducted by Metro-North. There is still work proceeding on unresolved issues and it is hoped that it will be resolved by next month.
In response to Owen Costello’s question as what can the PCAC do in terms of Craig Johnson’s appointment to the Capital Program Review Board, Ms. Michaels said it is important that he understands that he represents all of the MTA territory and Long Island rather than just his home district.
The members discussed a letter regarding trash and pigeon droppings from Residents for a More Beautiful Port Washington to the LIRR, which Mr. Costello to the members. Ms. Michaels noted there are three problems including trash from the LIRR’s maintenance activities, pigeon droppings, and train crews dumping trash directly on tracks. She said that the maintenance trash includes not only used railroad ties but also items such as mops and brooms. Mr. Costello said that the group had met with Port Washington Branch Station Manager Paul Bisono of the LIRR, but he just had lots of excuses. Ms. Michaels suggested that the Council convene a pigeon poop summit.
Adjournment
Respectfully submitted.
Karyl Berger
PCAC Research Associate