8 Belmont Park needs full-time LIRR schedule: Vallone
QUEENS WEEKLY, MARCH 10, 2019
BY JENNA BAGCAL
As work on the Belmont
Park Redevelopment Project
is slated for later this
year, a northeast Queens
lawmaker is calling on
the state to consider fulltime
public transportation
at the nearby Long Island
Rail Road train station.
Councilman Paul Vallone
submitted official testimony
to Empire State Development
and New York
Arena Partners on Feb. 22
outlining potential congestion
concerns and remedies
that would directly
impact his constituents.
In his testimony, Vallone
urged the stakeholders to
establish “a firm trafficmitigation
plan” to ensure
that Queens residents
could maintain a stable
quality of life.
“I represent Auburndale,
Bay Terrace, Bayside,
Beechhurst, College
Point, Douglaston, Flushing,
Little Neck, Malba
and Whitestone, neighborhoods
just a few miles
away from Belmont Park,”
Vallone’s testimony reads.
“As a lifelong New York
Islanders fan, I am personally
thrilled that the team
will be returning to their
original home of Nassau
County … However,
without the proper forethought,
this project could
negatively affect quality
of life for the thousands
of my constituents who
depend on the active road
and railways surrounding
Belmont Park to commute
every day.”
The Belmont Park Redevelopment
Civic and
Land Use Improvement
Project, as it is officially
known, is a $1.18 billion
transformation of surplus
land into a new home for
the New York Islanders
hockey team. Once complete,
the site will include
a 19,000-seat hockey stadium,
a hotel and several
commercial facilities
adjacent to the existing
Belmont Track. At peak
attendance, the racetrack
and surrounding area
will accommodate 60,000
to 100,000 people according
to information from
Vallone’s office.
“The implementation of
full-time, east-to-west service
with a Park and Ride
option would provide the
proper relief to the inevitable
influx of traffic on the
already overloaded Cross
Island Parkway, a major
artery that runs along Belmont
Park and throughout
northeast Queens,” Vallone’s
testimony continues.
“The many constituents in
my district who traverse
this roadway on a daily
basis can attest to regular
congestion. Implementing
full-time train service at
the Belmont station would
properly mitigate the influx
of thousands more individuals
who will seek to
get to and from this hub on
a daily basis. Ensuring the
station is at full operation
by the time this development
project is completed
is essential.”
A report erroneously
said that developers were
halting the project to accommodate
for an “extended
environmental review”
but ESD confirmed that
they expected that work
on the project is on track
to begin in the second half
of 2019. They added that
they have been working on
full-time transportation
to Belmont as well as traffic
mitigation efforts to
the area.
“The Belmont Project
will generate millions
in tax revenue for Nassau
County and Elmont
Schools every year, upgrade
Elmont Road Park,
create thousands of jobs,
and bring The Islanders
back to Long Island. In
February, we reiterated
the same timeline we’ve
had since the beginning
of this project, and we
still anticipate final public
approval in the second
quarter of 2019,” said ESD
spokesperson Jack Sterne.
Back in December,
City Comptroller Scott
Stringer and Councilman
Barry Grodenchik
expressed similar sentiments
about the increased
traffic for neighboring
Queens residents.
The lawmakers addressed
a letter to Department
of Transportation
Commissioner Polly
Trottenberg urging the
agency to conduct a traffic
study of potential impacts.
Stringer and Grodenchik
suggested solutions including
a residential parking
program that would
restrict curbside parking
to residents during certain
times of day.
The redevelopment site at Belmont Park.
Courtesy of Cuomo’s office
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