LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD COMMUTER’S COUNCIL
MINUTES OF JULY 10, 2014
A meeting of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council (LIRRCC) was convened at 4:30 pm on July 10, 2014, in the LIRR East Side Access Readiness Conference Room at 450 7th Avenue, New York.
The following members were present:
Gerard P. Bringmann Matthew Kessler
Ira Greenberg Bryan Peranzo
The following members were on the phone:
Maureen Michaels Larry Rubinstein
Mark Epstein
The following members were absent:
Sheila Carpenter Owen Costello
Michael Godino Ray Pagano
In addition, the following persons were present:
William Henderson -PCAC Executive Director
Richard Schulman -Concerned citizen
Susan Carroll -Concerned citizen
Marilyn Carroll -Concerned citizen
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the July 10, 2014 meeting was approved. The minutes of the May 8, 2014 meeting were approved. It was noted that the minutes can be clarified or corrected without limitation in the future.
Chair’s Report
Matt Kessler presented the Chair’s report. A copy of the written Chair’s report is attached to these minutes.
Board Report
Ira Greenberg reported that Patrick Nowakowski gave a long discussion of Belmont Stakes service at the Board’s LIRR Committee meeting. He also noted that there was also discussion of on time performance at the meeting. The LIRR did not have an explanation for recent changes in performance, but this year’s performance has been worse than last year.
Mr. Greenberg observed that, on a positive note, mean distance between failures (MDBF) of diesel locomotives in April was better than it has ever been. He said that the committee meeting also featured a short report on Penn Station with comments from Mitch Pally discussing its poor condition and the limited dining and retail available there. The date for completion of the East Side Access project was given as December 2022
Richard Schulman noted that the difference between the facilities in Penn Station and in Grand Central Terminal is that Grand Central is a tourist attraction in its own right. Maureen Michaels commented that the operators of Penn Station could do much better. There are thousands of people that pass through the Station daily and considerable opportunities for retail and restaurants. She said that maintenance is poor and the hanging clock at 34th Street and 7th Avenue entrance is chronically seven minutes slow. In fact, there are no two clocks in Penn Station that show the same time; Amtrak clocks are frequently set to a different time than LIRR clocks.
Ms. Michaels pointed out that there is construction in front of the Penn Station building at 34th Street and 7th Avenue, and as a result commuters are taking a lane to walk in the street on 7th Avenue, because there is no space on the sidewalks.
Staff Report
Bill Henderson summarized the communications that the LIRRCC had received from riders since its May meeting. In response to one item about the marking of parking lots, Bryan Peranzo said that he received a ticket for being a fraction of an inch over the line in his parking space. Ms. Michaels responded that many of the towns operating parking at stations do this, the Town of Huntington.
In response to an item about a lack of ventilation in stations, Mr. Kessler commented that there is no ventilation in many stations. Ms. Michaels noted that at Cold Spring Harbor, the windows were functional, but when they broke the LIRR covered the windows with a Plexiglas sheet; she said that this is typical of the situation on the LIRR where solutions further degrade conditions. Gerry Bringmann added that there was a similar result from efforts to deal with the pigeons in Patchogue.
Member Reports
Mr. Bringmann said that the Council should have a tracking system for all issues that are noted by members and asked whether there could be a tracking list for these issues. Mr. Henderson said that a Google documents spreadsheet had been developed and could be used for this purpose.
Ms. Michaels said that there is a problem with the LIRR’s ticket vending machines in that when direct sunlight hits the screens of these ticket machines, they become impossible to view. Mr. Kessler said that there are glare shields that can be placed on the screens.
Mr. Bringmann commented that the MTA’s efforts to get strike information out to the riders are not adequate. He said that there are some bus services that could be used as alternatives during an LIRR shutdown due to a strike, but there is no information about them on the MTA website. Mr. Greenberg agreed that there is very little information on alternatives for riders during a strike on the MTA website.
Mark Epstein reached the meeting by telephone and said that negotiations between the MTA and the unions representing LIRR workers were taking place. He said that MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast had attended the negotiations and they appear to be getting more serious. On the other hand, the contingency plan that the MTA produced for a possible strike is inadequate. He said that the position of the MTA is that they should tell riders that there is no service and that the will not use the alternatives.
Mr. Epstein stated the Council demands that a full contingency plan should be immediately released if there is no settlement. He said that the Council has also called for a full central information clearinghouse that includes information from not only the MTA but other governmental units and private transportation systems. Mr. Epstein said that riders can no longer accept that there is not information available to them.
Ms. Michaels said that it is outrageous that people are being told by the MTA that they should take vacation if there is a strike and that minimal provisions are being made for those who must go to work.
New Business
Mr. Henderson briefly discussed the Transportation Reinvention Commission that was established by the MTA at the urging of the Governor and said that Mr. Epstein has been invited to present testimony at a public session of the Commission. Mr. Epstein asked what issues should be addressed in the LIRRCC’s testimony.
Ms. Michaels said that she would like to emphasize on time performance and the role of signalization in delays. She said that signalization appears to be the major cause of delay on the Rail Road and noted that many of the issues seem to be in Queens and involve Amtrak infrastructure.
Old Business
Mr. Kessler noted that the Meet the Council session that had recently been held was successful. Mr. Henderson briefly discussed the event and said that the members had spoken to many people and given out many buttons and pieces of literature. Mr. Kessler suggested that the Council plan another event at its next meeting.
Mr. Greenberg noted that there had recently been a short strike on SEPTA and asked what this agency had done for its riders.
Ms. Michaels commented that she has been through two strikes. During the longest strike, there were buses available to go to subway. She said that this strike does not appear to be very different from the longer strike and that her real concern was that there is no guarantee that riders taking bus shuttles westward can get back home. Mr. Bringmann stated that during this past strike, the buses were private and MTA gave permission to operate out of the stations.
Mr. Henderson said that the MTA has finalized a contract for the reconfiguration of the yard at Jamaica and that this is the beginning of construction that will end in the establishment of a separate platform for service to Brooklyn. Mr. Kessler said that the Council has long been concerned with this issue and said that he is very concerned that access to the Brooklyn scoot service will be a problem.
Mr. Greenberg stated that the solution to provide capacity for East Side Access through Jamaica had fallen short of what was originally envisioned and the solution is now essentially to cut Brooklyn off from the system to increase reliability. He said that he has told the Board that this path is not workable.
Mr. Michaels pointed out that the changes to Brooklyn service is contrary to the path of economic development and the growth of Brooklyn as a tech center. As Brooklyn is developing the service is being degraded.
Larry Rubinstein stated that there was information on LIRR Today about schedules for Brooklyn service. Mr. Greenberg said that this information comes mainly from the East Side Access project EIS. Ms. Michaels questioned the conclusions of the EIS, as they are based on outdated Census data.
Mr. Henderson briefly discussed the temporary pedestrian overpass that the LIRR will build at the Port Washington station. He referred to the illustration of the project that the LIRR had released and said that there is an effort to complete the project as close to the opening of schools and riders’ return to more normal schedules.
The Council briefly discussed the crowding of platforms in Penn Station. Bryan Peranzo said that there is a situation where an Amtrak train is called 17 minutes ahead of departure on track 14 or 15 and if Amtrak would wait 2 minutes it would allow LIRR passengers to clear the platform and make for a smoother boarding process.
Marilyn Carroll asked the status of providing an elevator at the Main Street-Flushing station. Mr. Greenberg said that he has seen architectural plans for the elevator and that it is coming. Mr. Henderson said that there was a delay caused by property acquisition to allow for the elevators to be constructed.
Ms. Carroll also raised the question of the reactivation of the Rockaway Beach Line. Mr. Henderson said that this had been discussed by the Council on a number of occasions.
Mr. Henderson clarified the LIRRCC’s position on a potential LIRR strike. The Council discussed the implications of a possible strike.
The Council discussed the impact of any LIRR labor settlement on the provision of pay-as-you-go capital funding for the next capital program
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
William Henderson
Executive Director