A meeting of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council (LIRRCC) was convened at 12:15 p.m. on October 16, 2008 in the 5th floor Board Room, MTA Headquarters, 347 Madison Avenue, New York City.
The following members were present:
Ira R. Greenberg
Gerard P. Bringmann
The following member was absent:
Gary Babyatzky
James L. McGovern
Ronald Breuer
Maureen MIchaels
In addition, the following persons were present:
William Henderson – PCAC Executive Director
Ellyn Shannon – PCAC Transportation Planner
Holli Dunayer – LIRR
Scott Crosby – Concerned Citizen
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
Due to a lack of a quorum, the agenda for the October 16, 2008 meeting and the minutes of the July 10, 2008 meeting were not approved.
Chair’s Report
The Chair’s Report is attached to these minutes
Bill Henderson briefly discussed the press conference that had been held by Transportation 4 America the day before to call upon the Presidential candidates to address pressing transportation needs.
Old Business
Gerard Bringmann said that he would like to get riders to recognize where candidates for elected office stand on issues affecting public transportation, but that there has been little discussion of this area by the candidates this election season.
Ellyn Shannon said that there is a need to refocus on Council goals and to reconsider them in light of the MTA’s financial situation and the economic situation of the region. She alluded to an Op-Ed piece written by Ryan Lynch of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign that commented on projects that have been lost because of lack of support.
Ira Greenberg said that a major problem is that there is a lack of community support for projects that are critical to MTA operations. In effect, there are no advocates for these projects except the MTA, and when there is opposition from the community, such as that to the LIRR Third Track or yard projects, the opposition tends to control the discussion of the project.
The issue of federal funding was raised. Mr. Henderson said that the MTA had received substantial federal funding for its projects, particularly the East Side Access and Second Avenue Subway projects. Ms. Shannon noted that the level of federal funding is inadequate to finance the large number of transit projects that are planned across the nation, and that the growth of interest in new transit facilities and services has stretched available funding further.
It was agreed that Ms. Shannon would add detail to the existing Council goals and send them out to members for comment. Holli Dunayer of the LIRR noted that several elected officials have appointed transportation task forces composed of citizens. It was agreed that LIRRCC staff will identify legislators’ task forces that have been appointed and make contact with them to discuss areas of joint concern.
Mr. Bringmann said that he would like the Council to talk more about the relationships between labor and management that exist at the LIRR. This has been highlighted by the recent coverage of disability payments to retired workers, but there are likely other places where existing arrangements are detrimental to the operation of the Rail Road. Mr. Greenberg stated that the LIRR’s unions should be very supportive of many efforts to improve the service, such as capital improvements, as they would result in greater employment or work hours.
New Business
A concerned citizen, Scott Crosby, addressed the Council regarding the access of LIRR trains to the East Side of Manhattan. He said that trains that are planned to terminate in the new deep station planned as a part of East Side Access could be accommodated in existing space at Grand Central Terminal. He said that the former Amtrak East Yards are underutilized and that this space could be used for the LIRR. Mr. Crosby also noted that on trains with the drive locomotive positioned in the rear of the train, other transit properties prohibit passengers from being in the front portion of the first car, which is designated a crush zone. Mr. Bringmann asked staff to look into this issue. Mr. Crosby provided the Council with copies of track diagrams illustrating his discussion of the former Amtrak East Yard at Grand Central.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
William Henderson
Executive Director
The Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council Chair’s Report
Because several members are unable to attend today and we have a small group, we have cancelled our planned presentation on the LIRR’s Atlantic Viaduct reconstruction project. We’ll have a brief meeting for Council business today.
On July 26 and 27 Bill Henderson was a guest panelist on the public affairs program Crosson and Welles, which is broadcast on the Public Television Station WLIW (Channel 21). The topic of the segment was the financial state of the MTA, and Bill discussed the elements of the MTA’s revenues and expenses that have led to the MTA’s current fiscal issues.
On September 22, I had planned to testify before the Ravitch Commission on MTA Financing, but my daughter entered the hospital that day and the next day presented me with a new granddaughter. Bill filled in for me at the hearing in Mineola; our testimony advocated taking into account all of the LIRR’s needs, including the Third Track, when considering the Rail Road’s capital funding requirements. Bill also testified before the Ravitch Commission on behalf of the PCAC in Manhattan a week earlier; this testimony centered on the MTA’s debt burden. You should have received copies of both of these statements by email.
Maureen, Jim, Bill and I had planned to meet with Senator John Flanagan, who is the Senate member of the MTA Capital Program Review Board, on October 6. Unfortunately, the Senator’s schedule changed and the meeting was postponed. We were unable to find another mutually agreeable date, so we will meet with him after the election.
We are moving forward in our effort to recruit additional members. An article is appearing in this month’s Train Talk seat drop soliciting riders to pursue membership on the PCAC. Due to the relocation of the LIRR Print Shop, this seat drop has been delayed until later this month. A similar article used by the MNRCC last year resulted in over 60 contacts from riders interested in membership. We are also scheduling meetings with the Long Island County
Executives to discuss our need for additional members, among other pressing issues.
After 9 months Ellyn finally received the ridership data for the stations that will benefit most from the LIRR Third Track project. Together with the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s Transit Coalition for Long Island we have wanted to get the data in order to craft individual letters targeting elected officials in those towns with the most riders. We are now able to do that. We will talk more about this later in the meeting.
In the last few weeks it would have been hard to miss the press coverage of the high rate of LIRR retirees qualifying for federal Railroad Retirement Board disability payments. The office of Senator Clinton reached out to me and I sent her a letter, with copies to Senator Schumer and Long Island’s Congressional delegation, offering our assistance as our elected officials move to reform the Railroad Retirement Board disability benefit system. Bill attended a press conference that the LIRR held on October 2 where Helena Williams outlined the Rail Road’s plans to reduce unwarranted federal disability claims among LIRR retirees.