A meeting of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council (LIRRCC) was convened at 4:30 p.m. on February 9, 2012 in the LIRR East Side Access Readiness Conference Room at 450 7th Avenue, 20th Floor, New York City.
The following members were present:
• Gerard P. Bringmann
• Ira Greenberg
• Owen Costello
• Matthew Kessler
• Sheila Carpenter
• Maureen Michaels
• Mark Epstein
• Bryan Peranzo
• Larry Rubinstein
No members were absent.
In addition, the following persons were present:
• Jan Wells -PCAC Associate Director
• Karyl Cafiero -PCAC Research Associate
• Angela Bellisio -PCAC Outreach Assistant
• Hector Garcia -LIRR
• Mayer Horn -Concerned Citizen, GPI
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the February 9, 2012 meeting was approved. The minutes of the January 12, 2012 meeting were approved as amended.
Chair’s Report
The Chair’s Report is attached to these minutes.
Chair Epstein noted that there had been lots of feedback from elected officials to the letter he sent to Congressmen Boehner and Reid. The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) noted the letter in an article that was posted it on its website.
Mr. Epstein said that the Pledge to Riders has been posted in the stations, and the LIRRCC poster has been seen in some stations, but the location is problematic. Members were asked to look around and note where the posters were placed.
There was a winter weather briefing for any Council members who could attend. The write-up was included in the Chair’s report. Ms. Michaels stated that the alert levels are confusing, as they are described in the recent seat drop. She labeled these levels as overdone and overwritten. Several other members agreed with her.
Mr. Epstein expressed thanks to the Rail Road for the pilot on extended station hours. Since there were no problems on the test stations, this program has been extended to 20 stations, effective February 9. At two critical stations, Huntington and Ronkonkoma, the station door lock mechanisms are not automated, precluding the extension of hours. The Council has asked how much it would cost to automate these stations. Ms. Michaels noted that Rail Road personnel who are working at the Huntington Station should be able to open the station in bad weather or when there are delays. Ms. Carpenter stated that the Sayville station, which was supposed to be open, was not. She asked Hector Garcia to look into the reason for this.
Mr. Epstein showed to the Council a point by point list on how the proposed House Federal Transit Bill would affect riders. Ms. Michaels suggested that we get a list of leading proponents of the bill and target them with letters. Mr. Epstein responded that this is a PCAC matter and should be handled at that level.
Board Report
Ira Greenberg gave the Board report.
Mr. Greenberg said that at the recent MTA Board meeting there was discussion about the purchase of M-9 cars and whether a sole source contract should be allowed. Several Board members are raising the issue of sole source contracts. The M-9 procurement will be a joint purchase with Metro-North Railroad. LIRR President Helena Williams said that the Rail Road would like to make their passenger seats wider, but are constrained by the maximum width of the cars.
Metro-North is looking to go into Penn Station on their Hudson line following the completion of the East Side Access (ESA) project. Mr. Greenberg noted that there is no date set yet for finishing ESA. He said that because ESA gives the LIRR extra capacity, the Rail Road should look at maximizing service throughout the island. There has been a settlement with the contractor responsible for the Manhattan terminal that is designed to speed up work, but the progression of work in Queens is still a potential problem.
Mr. Greenberg said that because of rider unhappiness the commuter railroads’ ticket refund policy may be changed.
He noted that Patrick Foye and Nancy Shevell are now off the MTA Board.
Mr. Greenberg said that the MTA Inspector General’s report on the lightning strikes was requested to be held back until a settlement could be reached with the signal system contractor. While the repairs on the signal system have been completed and there have been no outages around Jamaica, the area may still be vulnerable even after these repairs. The IG’s report should be released shortly.
Mr. Greenberg concluded his report by stating that LIRR On Time Performance in 2011 was better than in 2010, but it was not a banner year.
Staff Report
Associate Director Wells reviewed the nature of some of the emails that had been received in the last month from LIRR riders. Ticket refunds are still an issue.
Old Business
The LIRR Passenger Information Center Briefing and Tour was discussed. Several members spoke about an alert message they received that morning stating that there was a “possible track condition” without further explanation. This was very confusing to the riders that got the message.
Mr. Epstein noted the legislative efforts to return State Pre-Tax Transit Benefits to their previous level. The State legislation would make a positive statement, but the real solution is to raise the Federal benefit level, which would bring the State Pre Tax Benefit to the same level.
The effort to make the Pinelawn station accessible was discussed. The question is where to get the money to fix the station and bring it to ADA standards. One positive aspect of the situation is that there are programs to pay for transportation improvements that are aimed at veterans.
On the issue of trains overrunning the Oakdale Platform, Mr. Bringmann stated that there has not been a problem with this recently.
At the Mastic-Shirley station, the stairs still need a railing so they cannot be used. Hector Garcia will find out what the delay is and report back to the Council in April.
Mr. Costello asked for an update on the encroachment of the Port Washington right of way that was initially brought to the Rail Road’s attention last April. Mr. Garcia responded that there was a walk-through to document the encroachment. Letters have now been sent to the property owners to fix the condition by March or receive a summons. Mr. Costello asked to see copies of the letters sent to the homeowners. It was agreed that the LIRRCC will request them; and, if refused, will make a Freedom of Information Law request.
New Business
The Council has sent an official letter to the Rail Road with pictures showing chunks of the Hicksville Station platform missing. There has been a plan to renovate the station for some time. According to Mr. Garcia, the Rail Road is looking for money to make the needed repairs. Bryan Peranzo added that the parking lots at the station do not have enough ADA accessible spaces, and that further the accessible spaces that do exist are contained in only one lot
Mr. Epstein announced that there will be a meeting on Tuesday, February 14, with the Ronkonkoma Transit Oriented Development project’s developer and representatives of the Town. The meeting will be in Brookhaven at 2 pm.
Ms. Michaels asked what was happening to fix the glare on ticket machines at the Cedarhurst station. Mr. Garcia said that new screens were being acquired to reduce glare. On a related note, Ms. Michaels repeated her concern about being required to enter your zip code when buying a ticket from the machines with a credit or debit card and asked why this cannot be a blind entry. Mr. Garcia said that the zip code entered is shown because if a mistake is made the credit card company will decline the transaction and the rider will be locked out.
Mr. Kessler said that there is now advocacy for restoration of the Ozone Park Branch, which is proposed to be paid for by money from the Aqueduct Racino to provide access for the proposed convention center. He said that there is a press conference slated for February 10th to discuss the restoration. Mr. Greenberg noted that there is a movement in Queens to use the right of way for a park. It was also noted that in the past the City of New York took over part of this right of way and that there is still a question of who would run such a line – NYC Transit or the LIRR.
Ms. Michaels related that in the 8th Avenue corridor the displays in the middle monitor have been out forever. She also noted that those displays at the south exit of subway to the LIRR concourse have been out.
Ms. Michaels said that the clocks in stations don’t keep time correctly. She asked if the LIRR could get the time to show on platform signage. Mr. Rubinstein said he is looking into this. Mr. Costello said that at his station he sent a letter about the clock not showing the correct time. When nothing happened he wrote the station master again and the clock is now operating properly.
Ms. Michaels said that evening off-peak (after 8pm) trains from Penn Station are very crowded. She asked why half-hour evening service could not be provided during the weekdays since it is provided on the weekends.
Mr. Bringmann recounted his experience on an early morning train that was a half-hour late. He requested the reasons that the LIRR had given for the delay, but the information he was given did not make sense, as the delay was blamed on heavy loading at 5:30 am. Mr. Garcia responded that what Mr. Bringmann received was a first pass at explanations and that these are reviewed later for errors and corrections.
Ms. Carpenter wanted to know about the progress of establishing reduced fare eligibility for riders with epilepsy, as was discussed at a recent ADA advisory committee meeting. Ms. Cafiero said that it will be some time before this issue can be resolved. Mr. Garcia announced that the next LIRR ADA group meeting will be in March.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jan S. Wells
Associate Director
Long Island Rail Road Commuters Council
Chair’s Report
February 10, 2012
Executive Director Bill Henderson is out this week in Ohio as his mother is having heart surgery. Ellyn Shannon’s mother had a stroke and Ellyn has been out some to be with her in Connecticut. We send them our support and best wishes for their parents’ successful recoveries. Bill should be back in the office on Monday.
Please mark your calendars for our March 1 PCAC meeting. MTA Chairman and CEO Joseph Lhota will be the guest speaker.
On February 1, I sent out letters to Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Reid calling for the immediate restoration of 2011 limits on pre-tax commuting benefits. We were joined by groups representing riders from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Connecticut, Dayton, Des Moines, Kansas City, Maryland, Miami, Milwaukee, Orange County, California, and Philadelphia. You should have received an email from Bill with our press release about this effort. A copy of the letter is in the handouts.
On January 23rd, MTA Metro-North Railroad President Howard Permut and MTA Long Island Rail Road President Helena E. Williams presented a formal “Pledge to Customers” at the MTA Railroad Committee meeting promising to provide safe and reliable service and putting it in writing for the first time. Each railroad’s Pledge promises a safe, reliable ride; accurate and timely information; courteous employees and a clean transit environment. The Pledge also tells customers what they can expect from the LIRR and Metro-North in the event of a service disruption, making clear the steps that will be taken to provide alternative transportation, maintain customer comfort and ensure that communications with customers remains a top priority. Metro-North and the LIRR also pledge to waive the $10 refund processing fee when a service suspension is posted on the MTA website. In developing the Pledge to Customers, the LIRR and Metro-North worked closely with the Long Island Rail Road Commuter Council and the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council.
We met with LIRR on its winter weather preparation and planning, on January 18th. Their procedure was originally developed in the 90s and was used until last year’s storms. It has been updated and just finalized. Briefly, new equipment has ordered for next year which will utilize GPS. The Rail Road is focusing on better coordination with NYPD and MTAPD to assist any stranded passengers. The expanded number of AVPSs (audio-visual public address system) at stations will be able to alert passengers to specific trains that are being canceled. Many details were given about the equipment used and Bill can provide information about that to anyone interested when he returns.
The Council members had a very enlightening tour of the expanded LIRR Public Information Office on January 26th. We learned that there are AVPS screens at 121 stations as of December 2011 and that 33 manual time points have been added to improve information. PIO staff has been expanded to improve station announcements along branches as well. There is a pilot program on the Port Washington Branch to give customers real train time status and schedule information through the use of the mobile device or PC.
Vice-Chair Matt Kessler joined PCAC staff members Executive Director Bill Henderson and Research Associate Karyl Berger at Penn Station to discuss ADA issues. Peter Albert and Hector Garcia were there from the LIRR as well as ADA representatives from the Nassau and Suffolk County Executives’ offices. The tour of Penn Station that was originally planned was not done. There was discussion about how to give developmentally disabled riders reduced fare status.