FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 25, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 27
THANKING THOSE
WHO DONATED
St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus
Council #5911, held a blood drive at St.
Anastasia Parish Center in Douglaston
on Nov. 14. Forty people donated blood.
I would also like to mention that we
have a shortage of available blood and
in the New York area, we need 2,000
pints of blood daily. As reported by the
New York Blood Center, we are currently
below that and need more donors to
step forward. Now I would like to thank
the members of St. Anastasia Parish and
the those in the surrounding communities
in Queens for donating the gift of
life. Also I would also like to thank the
Rev. David Dettmer of St. Anastasia for
allowing us to have this blood drive. I
would also like to thank the Boy Scouts
of St. Anastasia Troop # 153 whose help
was immeasurable. Now for that I say,
thank you very much.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Bellerose
SERVICE TO THE NEW
ELMONT LIRR STATION
IS A GLASS HALFFULL
Anyone in the transit industry knows
that customers being asked to pay a premium
fare always prefer a one-seat ride.
Th is is what is provided for most who
attend events at Madison Square Garden
or the Brooklyn Barclays Center. Why
would any Islanders fan coming from
Nassau or Suff olk County want to fi rst
drive to a local LIRR station, park their
car, board the LIRR (and in some cases
have to switch at Huntington, Mineola,
Babylon or Ronkonkoma from a diesel
to electric train), then board a shuttle
bus from the new Elmont LIRR station?
Th e completion of the south platform
serving eastbound trains in time
to coincide with the opening of UBS
Arena can only serve the Hempstead
LIRR branch.
Babylon, Speonk, West Hempstead,
Long Beach and Far Rockaway branch
riders will always have to change at
Jamaica: Th ey must walk up the stairs,
take an escalator or elevator from platform
levels serving tracks one, two
or three to the mezzanine level. Next,
they must walk across the mezzanine
and down the stairs, escalator or elevator
to tracks 7 or 8. Th en they have
to wait for the next eastbound train
to reach the new Elmont Station, followed
by boarding a shuttle bus to reach
the arena. Port Jeff erson, Huntington,
Oyster Bay and Ronkonkoma branch
riders will have to do the same until
the Elmont Station westbound platform
and overpass are completed. Initiation
of new East Side Access service to
Grand Central Terminal in December
2022 will adversely impact those traveling
on the Atlantic Brooklyn branch.
Th is will become a shuttle operating
between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal
Brooklyn. All Belmont Arena-bound
passengers to and from Brooklyn will
have to change at Jamaica, traveling
in both directions. Th e LIRR Elmont
Station westbound station is scheduled
to be fi nished one year later by October
2022 if all goes well.
Port Washington branch riders have
the added pleasure of an additional
transfer at Woodside. As a result, I predict
90% or more of those attending
Islanders games, rock concerts or other
events will elect to drive or take car service,
taxi, Uber or Lyft .
Th e MTA, LIRR and ESDC believe
30% of event attendees (5,700 of up to
19,000 total attendees) will arrive via
LIRR. Imagine several thousand fans
leaving the arena at the same time all
waiting for a shuttle bus for the return
trip back to the Elmont LIRR Station. It
is a 10-minute walk from the station to
the arena entrance. Th ere appear to be
no provisions at the arena for canopies
or shelters at bus stops.
Th ere is no way several hundred to
several thousand people could all board
a series of shuttle buses at the same
time. How many buses would be provided
and at what frequency? How
many patrons could end up waiting
between 10 to 30 minutes before boarding?
Why would any fan put up with
another 30 minutes or more going to
and from the Elmont LIRR Station to
the arena? Th is in addition to all the
time needed for boarding, switching
trains and fi nally arriving via the LIRR
to the new Elmont LIRR Station. Due
to the excessive travel time from home
to the arena via LIRR, I predict far less
than 30% of attendees — the amount
anticipated by the MTA, LIRR and EDC
— will use the LIRR. Th is will result in
increased local traffi c as many as 90% of
patrons will elect to drive or take a car
service. Will investing $105 million for
the new Elmont LIRR Station be worth
it? Completion for construction of the
eastbound platform for the new Elmont
LIRR station provides limited service
eastbound on the Hempstead branch.
Th e source of funding comes from the
Empire State Development Corporation,
transferring $105 million from their
budget to the MTA. Th is fi nanced the
new Elmont LIRR Station. Th e developers
put in $30 million up front and
the state $75 million. Th e developers
will then make payments, without interest,
to reimburse the state over the next
30 years. Th e developer ends up with an
interest-free loan. Could a small business
person get the same sweetheart deal?
Th ey would have to go to a bank and pay
interest charges. Let’s see what occurs in
2022 between construction of the westbound
NYC platform, overpass, elevators,
actual station waiting room, shuttle
bus service area (will it include shelters?),
frequency of service and fare structure to
see if it was worth the investment.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
oped letters & comments
UBS ARENA READY FOR ACTION // PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW YORK ISLANDERS
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How the MTA plans
to invest new
federal funding
BY JANNO LIEBER
Christmas came early for
the MTA this year when
Congress passed the longawaited
bipartisan infrastructure
bill on Nov. 5. Th anks to the
leadership of our hometown hero Senator
Chuck Schumer, New York state is looking
forward to $10 billion or more in new
money for mass transit.
Th is funding will be used for long-term
improvements and upgrades for the subway,
bus and commuter rail systems, including
2020-2024 Capital Program highlights
like new subway signals, more electric buses
and accessibility projects at dozens of stations.
We’re fi rmly focused on the future
and how we can improve public transportation
coming out of the pandemic. Aft er all,
the MTA is the economic engine that powers
the regional recovery.
Governor Hochul set the tone that we
need to think big with her revised proposal
for Penn Station. Her plan calls for transforming
the deservedly maligned station
from the dilapidated dungeon we know
today into a world-class transit hub, in
large part by removing most of the upper
level to create Moynihan Train Hall and
Grand Central-sized passenger circulation
and ceiling heights — and also to allow natural
light into the station for the fi rst in 60
years. Th e governor has also made it clear
she wants to get it done much, much faster
than previously planned.
Some critics have complained that the
governor’s plan fails to increase rail capacity,
but I don’t see that as valid. We definitely
need to add new tracks and platforms
at Penn. Th at is part of the Gateway
Project and New York has already committed
billions for new Hudson River Tunnels.
But Amtrak’s plan calls for the new tunnels
to be done in 2035. In the meantime,
why should riders be forced to use a station
that the New York Times has described as
“one of the most claustrophobic, confusing
and spirit-throttling spaces in the city?” Th e
answer is simple: they shouldn’t.
We have a rare window of opportunity now
to build on momentum that started with the
opening of the East End Gateway last year
at 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue and the
ongoing work to the LIRR Concourse in
Penn Station. Moynihan Train Hall is open
and serving virtually all Amtrak customers.
East Side Access is getting closer to completion,
which will shift a large portion of
LIRR riders to Grand Central. And work is
about to begin on Penn Station Access, the
transformative megaproject that will build
four new Metro-North stations in the East
Bronx and bring Metro-North trains into
Penn Station for the fi rst time.
If we time it right, we could have a brandnew
Penn toward the end of the decade, just
in time for Metro-North service to begin.
Th ere’s no time to waste. Let’s get to work.
Janno Lieber is acting chair and chief
executive offi cer of the MTA.
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