TIMES, THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014 • 26 Glendale Concerned Over Timing Of Safety Gate At Railroad Crossing At about 12:05 p.m Sunday, May 18, this New York and Atlantic Railway locomotive passed through the 88th Street at-grade crossing in Glenadle, with the traffic gates not completely down. According to residents, the gates recently began lowering just before locomotives passed through the intersection. Railroad officials stated the devices are in proper working order, though the signal timing may need to be changed. (photo:Frank Korzeniewski) approaching.” He sent to the Times Newsweekly images taken at 12:05 p.m. Sunday, May 18, which showed the barriers coming down on 88th Street just as a diesel engine operated by the New York and Atlantic Railway (NYAR) approached the street. In another instance last month, according to Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano, a family walking through the crossing— having seen the barriers were not activated—began walking across the tracks and found themselves only 15 feet away from a slow-moving diesel engine. They managed to get out of the way unharmed but alarmed from the close encounter. Further details about problems at the 88th Street crossing were relayed by residents in posts to the Glendale Civic Association’s (GCA) Facebook page. One resident stated she stopped at the tracks as a precaution before there was any sign of the crossing barriers being activated. “I ignored the blaring horns of the cars behind me and, low and behold, wouldn’t you know a train was no more than 10 feet from the intersection,” the resident claimed. “I had to back up because only when the train approached the exact opening of the intersection did the gates come down. Much too late, if you ask me, and very scary.” Several residents posted on Monday afternoon, May 19, that LIRR workers were on the scene inspecting and repairing signal equipment. Salute The Sacrifice Of American Soldiers At Memorial Day Parades & Ceremonies and Glendale, this year’s march begins at 11 a.m. at the Ridgewood Memorial Triangle, located at the corner of Myrtle and Cypress avenues. The parade will be preceded by a brief memorial ceremony. Once the parade commences, the participants will head east along Myrtle Avenue to the Glendale Memorial Triangle, located at the corner of Myrtle and Cooper avenues. The parade will conclude with another memorial service honoring local war heroes. Charles Dunn, a Korean War veteran and member of the Sgt. Edward Miller Post 7336 in Glendale, will serve as grand marshal of this year’s parade. Maspeth Female service members will be honored in a special way at Maspeth’s Memorial Day Parade, which will take place this Sunday afternoon, May 25. Sponsored by the United Veterans and Fraternal Organizations of Maspeth (UVFOM), the march— themed this year as “Maspeth Honors Women in the Military”—begins at 1 p.m. in front of the Walter A. Garlinge Memorial Triangle at the corner of Grand and 57th avenues. From there, the procession will wind its way through local streets, led by two long-time Maspeth residents who are this year’s grand marshals: Karen Burke, the UVFOM corresponding secretary and assistant vice president of Maspeth Federal Savings bank; and Leonard Masone, a local attorney who serves as president of the Maspeth Kiwanis Foundation and board member at Maspeth Town Hall. The parade will conclude at about 2 p.m. with a ceremony at Maspeth Memorial Park, located at the corner of Grand Avenue and 69th Street. As reported in last week’s Times Newsweekly, two Maspeth war veterans will be honored: Anthony Simone, who fought in the Korean War; and Leo J. Wasil, a World War II veteran. Retired Army Capt. Laura Zimmerman will serve as the ceremony’s guest speaker. Forest Hills All are invited to pay tribute to the troops during the Forest Hills Memorial Day Parade along Metropolitan Avenue this Sunday morning. Sponsored by the American Legion Continental Post 1424, the march will begin at noon sharp at the corner of Metropolitan and Ascan avenues. The participants will head west on Metropolitan Avenue to Trotting Course Lane, then make a short north turn to Remsen Cemetery Park, located at the corner of Trotting Course Lane and Alderton Street. Msgr. John McGuirl, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Church, and Community Board 6 Chairperson Joseph Hennessy serve as the grand marshals of this year’s parade. Middle Village The St. Margaret’s Catholic War Veterans Post 1172 in Middle Village will hold solemn tributes to the fallen this Monday morning. Post members will attend a special Memorial Mass to local fallen soldiers at 9:30 a.m. at St. Margaret Church, located at the corner of 80th Street and Juniper Valley Road. Shortly after the Mass, the post will gather for a memorial service at 11 a.m. at the Middle Village Veterans Triangle, located at the corner of Gray and 77th streets. Wreathes will be laid at the monument, followed by a military salute and the playing of “Taps.” Woodhaven Woodhaven residents will pay homage to America’s troops at two memorial events, the first of which is scheduled for this evening, Thursday, May 22. The Woodhaven Business Improvement District will hold its annual Memorial Day ceremony tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Forest Parkway Plaza, located at the corner of Forest Parkway and Jamaica Avenue. On Memorial Day Monday, the American Legion Post 118 will hold its annual ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on the steps of its hall located at the corner of 89th Avenue and 91st Street. Traditionally, both services include remarks from local veterans and elected officials, patriotic songs and a wreath-laying at the plaza’s monument. Kew Gardens The Friends of Maple Grove Cemetery will honor those lost in wars past with a special Memorial Day service and musical celebration this Saturday afternoon, May 24, at the Kew Gardens burial grounds. As announced, the program begins at 3 p.m. near the Center at Maple Grove Cemetery, located at 127-15 Kew Gardens Rd. Free parking is available. The event will feature a color guard followed by music and reflections honoring the nation’s soldiers. For more information, visit www.friendsofmaplegrove.org. Woodside Generations of Woodside soldiers will be remembered at the community’s Memorial Day parade this Monday morning, sponsored by the St. Sebastian’s Catholic War Veterans Post 870. Following a 10 a.m. Memorial Mass at St. Sebastian’s Church, located at the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and 58th Street, veterans will gather at the Woodside Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the corner of 57th Street and Woodside Avenue. The parade will step off at about 11 a.m. following the ceremony, with participants walking through the Woodside streets. It will stop in front of Post 870’s headquarters on 61st Street near Roosevelt Avenue and at the Woodside war memorial at the corner of Roosevelt and Woodside avenues for wreath-layings and other tributes. Marchers will then head west onto Woodside Avenue to 56th Street and enter Doughboy Playground. The parade will conclude with a ceremony at the World War I monument.H oward Beach Howard Beach residents will honor the troops at the neighborhood’s Memorial Day parade this Monday morning. Organized by the Bernard J. Coleman VFW Post 2565, the parade begins at 11 a.m. Monday at Coleman Square, located at the corner of 103rd Street near 159th Avenue, near the Howard Beach-JFK Airport train station. The march will then wind its way through streets in the “old” section of Howard Beach before returning to Coleman Square for a closing ceremony. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- “It’s been fixed before, and it gets back to the same place,” GCA President Kathy Masi cautioned in speaking with the Times Newsweekly Tuesday. Last year, the NYAR leased from the LIRR all of the Lower Montauk Branch—which runs from Jamaica to Long Island City and through Glendale’s Fresh Pond Railyard—for its freight rail operations. Passenger service which previously operated on the Lower Montauk branch was eliminated. The LIRR, as part of the lease agreement, agreed to continue maintenance of railroad crossing signals and equipment. “NYAR has retained the LIRR to maintain the crossing gate system, the railroad performs regular maintenance and the system is in good working order,” LIRR spokesperson Salvatore Arena told the Times Newsweekly in an email on Tuesday, May 20. “The LIRR has also responded promptly to emergency maintenance calls made by NYAR and will continue to do so.” According to Jessica Mead of the NYAR, the train crew “visually inspects the crossing” after the barriers are activated “to verify if it is clear, and at that point, the train proceeds over the crossing.” “The signal and gate are functioning properly and there have been no near miss incidents,” she said in an email to this paper. The issue, as one individual with knowledge of the situation indicated, may be the transition of the Lower -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- Montauk Branch to an exclusively freight rail operation. Since the NYAR trains travel more slowly through the corridor—LIRR passenger trains used to travel at speeds exceeding 30 mph—the signal timing may need to be adjusted accordingly. Sources familiar with the situation indicated the NYAR and LIRR are working on a solution that will address community concerns about signal timing at the 88th Street crossing. The situation needs to be addressed promptly, Giordano told this paper in an interview on Tuesday. “The potential for someone getting killed or seriously injured at the 88th Street crossing—and other at-grade crossings where the railroad gates either are not functioning or allow people to get that close to the tracks before they come down—is all too great,” he said. “In our area, we have serious concerns with regard to the 88th Street crossing at 76th Street, and the Metropolitan Avenue crossing near Woodward Avenue in Ridgewood.” The Ridgewood location, as Giordano pointed out, was where a runaway diesel engine on the LIRR Bushwick branch smashed into several vehicles in March 2004. The Metropolitan Avenue crossing lacked proper barriers and gates; since then, flashing signals and a railroad crossing sign atop a metal gantry have been installed. “Something has to be done by the Long Island Rail Road and the New York and Atlantic Railway to better safeguard those crossings—and it needs to be done immediately,” Giordano added.
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