LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD COMMUTER COUNCIL
MINUTES OF APRIL 3, 2014
A meeting of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter Council (LIRRCC) was convened at 4:30 p.m. on April 3, 2013 at the LIRR East Side Access Readiness conference room at 450 7th Avenue, New York City.
The following members were present:
Gerard Bringmann Ira Greenberg
Sheila Carpenter Matthew Kessler
Owen Costello Maureen Michaels
Michael Godino Bryan Peranzo
The following members were on phone:
Larry Rubinstein
The following members were absent:
Mark Epstein
Raymond Pagano
In addition, the following persons were present:
William Henderson -PCAC Executive Director
Hector Garcia -LIRR
Richard Schulman -Concerned Citizen
Matt Alevy -Concerned Citizen
Richard Holdener -Concerned Citizen
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The Agenda for April 3, 2014 meeting and the Minutes for the January 9, 2014 meeting were approved.
Chair’s Report
Matt Kessler presided over the meeting in the absence of the Chair and Vice Chair. The written Chair’s report is attached to these minutes.
Board Report
Ira Greenberg gave the Board Report and began by noting that safety was a primary issue addressed at the March MTA Board committee meetings. As a part of this orientation toward safety, Metro-North Railroad has reduced its on-time performance (OTP) goals for the first time. The decision was made by MNR President Giulietti for the stated purpose of sending the message that OTP should not be the Railroad’s primary objective.
Mr. Greenberg said that he had asked why the hot box detectors that monitor trains for running gear malfunctions would not be deployed west of Bellerose and that the response was that the detectors were being positioned at Bellerose because most freight enters the LIRR system at Fresh Pond. Mr. Greenberg said that LIRR President Williams will provide further information to Board members about this project. Another safety-related procurement that was discussed was a system that can identify defects in rail joint bars that for Metro-North.
Mr. Greenberg noted that the reliability of diesel equipment had been particularly strong in January and that the fleet overall exceeded mean distance between failures goals. He reported that the LIRR is looking at building a new yard near Ronkonkoma and that siting additional yard facilities near Huntington was very difficult. Mr. Greenberg also commented that the Board had heard a report on the progress of the East Side Access (ESA) project and that there was surprise among the Board members that the consultants that have worked on the project since the environmental impact statement phase are still working on the project despite all the problems that it has had. There is a lot of unhappiness among Board members with the ESA project.
Maureen Michaels said that it seems like MTA Chairs keep kicking the can down the road with regard to the ESA project. Mr. Greenberg agreed that there were warnings of problems with the project and noted that NYCTRC member Mike Sinansky had expressed profound doubts that the work in Queens could be done in the time allotted. The Queens work has raised significant schedule issues for the project. Ms. Michaels asked why the project is so far off of budget and schedule and the Council discussed some of the issues that the project has encountered. Mr. Kessler asked whether anyone had looked at the impact of the project on the MTA. Mr. Greenberg replied that to the degree this was done, it was covered in the environmental impact study process.
Mr. Greenberg also noted that the possibility of a strike of LIRR employees is also a cause for concern. He said that he was surprised that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) is not a part of the larger negotiating process. Mr. Henderson said that the BLE has taken a separate approach to negotiations in the past and has generally been more difficult to negotiate with than the LIRR’s other unions.
Staff Report
Mr. Henderson briefly summarized communications that the LIRRCC has received from riders since the February meeting. Ms. Michaels commented that commuter parking in the Town of Huntington is horrible. She said that the Cold Spring Harbor parking lot had been used by many commuters to avoid the crowding at Huntington Station, but now it is full early in the morning rush hour.
The Council discussed the service disruption when a person was struck by a train near Smithtown. The process of restoring service took four hours. Mr. Henderson noted that Mark Epstein had spoken to the Chief Medical Examiners in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and that in Nassau County other officials can authorize the moving of a body, but this arrangement is not in place in Suffolk County. It was noted that the Chief Medical Officer in Suffolk County is serving in an acting capacity and may be unable or reluctant to change existing practices. Sheila Carpenter said that if there are extensive delays, bus service should be provided between an affected branch and neighboring branches with service.
Ms. Michaels stated that there is a need to push back on Suffolk County’s reluctance to make changes. Richard Holdener commented that if someone is struck by a train in Freeport in Nassau County, the Freeport Police Department responds. In Nassau County, an Emergency Medical Technician may declare death, but if there is any question about the cause or manner of death, more time is required. Hector Garcia said that he is continuing to work with the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office to reach a resolution to this issue.
Member Report
Ms. Michaels said that she has noticed problems with passenger seat repairs. She commented that the blue tape used slides from where it is placed and leaves adhesive on riders’ clothing. She said that adhesive poster material is also being used to repair seats. When these repairs make seats sticky, no one sits in those seats.
Ms. Michaels asked why monthly tickets are punched by gender. Several members noted that this helps to prevent use of the ticket by multiple persons in the same household, as the monthly tickets are intended for the use of a single individual. Richard Schulman noted that one of the purposes of punching tickets is to allow train crew members to identify counterfeit tickets. Ms. Carpenter said that some transgendered persons might have issues with using a monthly ticket.
Gerry Bringmann asked whether there are still specific days where monthly tickets are punched on specific days. Owen Costello responded that if train crews do not punch his monthly ticket at the beginning of the month, the ticket is not punched. Bryan Peranzo commented that train crews will punch a ticket if they notice that it has been left unpunched.
Ms. Michaels said that she is noticing that there a new group of ticket collectors who have recently joined the LIRR and that she was recently discussing their attire with one of them. She mentioned that she noticed an uneven presentation among train crew members, as some are unkempt but some are very neat. She said that it came up in the discussion that female crew members are issued men’s clothing. She also noted that the uniform itself has not been updated and creates a poor image for the Rail Road and that appearance standards for other service people in transportation are better than those for the LIRR. Mr. Peranzo said that there is already an acceptable uniform and that the key is implementing it properly and enforcing its use.
Old Business
Mr. Bringmann asked whether the Council could receive from the LIRR a list of disciplinary actions that have been pursued. He said that this could be a way of monitoring problems on the Rail Road.
Ms. Carpenter commented on the incident that she had with a train crew member in December. She said that she had been told that the individual involved lost 30 days of pay as punishment for his actions. She said that she found it interesting that one of the first things union representatives asked her is whether she had called the Governor’s Office about the incident. Ms. Carpenter said that since the incident she has discovered that she is not the only one with whom the crew member has had an altercation, but that he is now back on the job as a collector.
Larry Rubinstein said that the frequency of text and email alerts is crazy. He said that over time the amount of information not related to specific trains, such as warnings about severe weather, has increased greatly. He stated that there needs to be some control of the volume of information that the LIRR sends to riders. He also noted that in some cases the explanations of delays are incorrect and that this damages the Rail Road’s credibility. Mr. Greenberg said that alert information is often useless to riders because it not timely.
Mr. Rubinstein said that there is now permit parking in force at the Merrick station for Town residents. The system was set up to ensure that some spaces near the station are available for residents, and it has achieved this objective.
Mr. Rubinstein said that the LIRR’s reporting of on-time performance (OTP) to its riders is a joke and that it would be better to report nothing than what they are currently putting out. Mr. Peranzo suggested there should be a disclaimer that the figures reported are averages of all trips and that he believes that the LIRR should at least report peak and off peak performance when they disseminate OTP data. Mr. Bringmann mentioned that not long ago the LIRR reported OTP data in a spreadsheet that gave information on specific time periods as well as overall statistics. He also noted that a power station had been placed in his home station, and that this feature is very useful for riders needing to recharge cellphones.
Matt Kessler said that he attended Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg’s most recent forum on LIRR issues. He said that there the number of attendees was in the lower teens and that familiar issues, including a number of cleanliness issues, were raised with the LIRR representatives on hand. Mr. Kessler said that he would circulate a summary of the meeting.
Mr. Peranzo asked about the status of central control of LIRR trains. Mr. Garcia replied that he would get him information about the program. Mr. Peranzo also asked where the LIRR’s work on dealing with homeless individuals stands. Mr. Garcia responded that the Rail Road is finding out that that many of these persons are in shelters and during the day they go to railroad stations because they are not allowed to stay in the shelters. He said that the LIRR has contacts with the Departments of Social Services (DSS) in Suffolk and Nassau Counties and has discovered that these agencies have requirements for providing services. For example, if people cannot show Nassau residency the County DSS will not offer services. In response, the MTA is planning a request for proposals to expand the MTA Connections program.
Ms. Carpenter noted that one issue connected to homeless persons in stations is that some mental health facilities discharge their patients at stations. Mr. Holdener commented that social service personnel do not come out to deal with homeless individuals on weekends. Ms. Carpenter responded that Talbot House looks for substance impaired persons in the stations and does so on weekends.
Mr. Garcia said that he wanted to report three positive updates. He said that double track construction started this month, the Wyandanch parking work will begin in late May into June, and reconstruction work on the Long Beach Branch is about to begin.
Mr. Costello asked about the status of right-of-way encroachments on the Port Washington Branch in Great Neck. Mr. Garcia responded that the area was inspected in December, that all immediate safety issues had been removed. Letters were sent to the property owners of Haven Avenue properties where there is encroachment. He said that eventually the encroachment issue will be solved when planned retaining walls are built.
Mr. Costello also noted that he is troubled by congestion on the narrow Penn Station platform at Track 16 and 17. He does not believe calling the trains serving these tracks before arriving passengers depart allows these trains to board more quickly. Mr. Rubinstein noted that this situation is worsened when trains are short and that short trains are a problem in their own right.
New Business
Mr. Kessler noted that he had represented the Council at a celebration of the completion of a cycle of religious study held by an Orthodox Jewish community that meets on the 7:49 train from Far Rockaway.
Mr. Henderson noted that he had distributed handouts that showed the types of freight carried over LIRR tracks. He noted that the bulk of the shipments consist of waste, raw materials for manufacturing, and building materials. Mr. Garcia said that there have been shipments of hazardous materials from Brookhaven National Laboratories in the past but that these have not occurred in several years. In the case of these shipments, additional precautions are taken and jurisdictions along the route are notified of details of the planned shipments.
Ms. Carpenter stated that Suffolk County now has eight bus routes that operate on Sundays. Mr. Henderson said that it is unfortunate that the County was not granted additional funding for its transit system in the recently approved State budget.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
William Henderson
Executive Director