WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES OCTOBER 17, 2019 13
RELEASE OF
ROCKAWAY BEACH
LIRR BRANCH
STUDY CONFIRMS
PROJECT IS DEAD
The MTA finally released the
Rockaway Beach LIRR Restoration
study on the eve of Yom Kippur
hoping no one would notice. It was
dated September 2018.
Perhaps they did not want to
embarrass elected officials who
supported the project by releasing
it just prior to the November 2018
General Election.
In any case, the contents confirmed
that the financial cost for
implementation is prohibitive. This
proposal is dead contrary to local
state Assembly member Stacey Pheffer
Amato. Her quote “cost should
be no obstacle” is pure fantasy. The
study cost for implementation far
exceeded even the conservative
estimate of between $600 million
to $1 billion.
The study concluded the cost
based upon 2016 dollars would be
$6.7 billion for LIRR and $8.1 billion
for a subway connection to the
Queens Boulevard line. It could
easily go up by several hundred to
several billion, by the time shovels
hit the ground 10 years from now.
NYCDOT has been unable to
obtain approval of a $97 million
Federal Transit Administration
New Starts Full Funding grant
agreement toward paying for the
$231 million Phase 2 Woodhaven
Boulevard.
Bus Rapid Transit along the same
corridor for four years and counting.
You don’t have to work in the
transit industry to know that even
if the MTA considered being the
project sponsor, the odds of obtaining
a similar funding arrangement
for $3.3 billion against a $6.7 billion
cost for reactivation of LIRR service
or $4 billion against a $8.1 billion
cost for reactivation via a subway
connection to the Queens Boulevard
line are nonexistent.
The costs would rival two other
projects which have far more
support from other city, state and
federal elected officials.
The proposed $9.5 billion new
Hudson River Tunnel and $1.8 billion
repairs to the existing tunnels
damaged by 2012 Superstorm Sandy
combined are looking for $5.4 billion
in FTA New Starts funding
under a Full Funding Grant Agreement.
This is more realistic than
the previous $29 billion with a $14.5
billion federal share. There is also
the MTA Second Avenue Subway
Phase 2 project. This proposal will
cost closer to $7 billion, looking for
between $3 and $3.5 billion from the
same federal source.
The odds of both securing FTA
Full Funding Grant Agreements are
the same as the Yankees playing the
Mets in the Subway Series. The FTA
funding both projects would leave
little for many other proposed New
Starts projects around the nation.
There is no funding included in
the $51 billion MTA 2020 - 2024
Five Year Capital Program for
advancement of service on the old
abandoned Rockaway Beach LIRR
branch.
The same is true for the current
New York State April 1, 2019 - March
30, 2020 or NYC July 1, 2019 - June
30, 2020 municipal budgets. Don’t
be surprised when this project is
not included in the upcoming MTA
Twenty Year Future Capital Needs
Assessment Report. It is due to be
released by the end of December
2020.
I don’t see anyone who will pony
up $20 to $30 million or more to help
pay for the next step after completion
of any feasibility study, which
is a formal Environmental Review.
This is supported by conceptual
and preliminary design and engineering,
which helps support the
environmental review process and
further refines the estimated project
costs. Without this, the project
is dead and buried. Remember that
the environmental review process
would have to follow the National
Environmental Protect Act (NEPA).
This would be part of the formal
process to become eligible for Federal
Transit Administration’s New
Starts, formula or any other discretionary
federal funding program.
It is time to read the tea leaves,
regroup and look for other low cost
easier to implement solutions.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
PLEASE GIVE
BLOOD TO HELP
SAVE SOMEONE’S
LIFE
How would you like to save someone’s
life? Life is such a precious
commodity and I think some of us
wonder if there is something we can
do to help someone in need.
Well, I have a suggestion!
I am Grand Knight of St. Anastasia
Knights of Columbus Council #5911
and we are hosting a blood drive at
St. Anastasia Parish in Douglaston
with the help of Boy Scout Troop
#153. It will take place on Nov. 10,
which is the day before Veterans
Day, when we honor our veterans
who gave the ultimate sacrifice with
their blood for our great nation.
Head to Father Smith Hall, which
is attached to St. Anastasia Parish —
located at 45-14 245th St. — to donate
between 8:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.
This is a great opportunity for
many to truly give the gift of life
by donating blood. There is no substitute
for human blood.
One in three people will need
blood sometime during their lives
and your donation now is critically
important. Close to 2,000 men, women
and children in our communities
— including cancer, transplant and
surgery patients, trauma victims,
accident victims, newborn babies
and many others — need blood
transfusions each day.
For more information or for
places closer to your homes can
go to the New York Blood Center
at www.nybloodcenter.org. Please
give the gift of life for it is sorely
needed.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
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