FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com APRIL 18, 2013 • THE COURIER SUN 21 Better air quality coming down the tracks BY MAGGIE HAYES mhayes@queenscourier.com Antiquated, high emission train engines have been a great concern for residents in the industrial areas of southwest Queens. But now, an upgrade is on the way. Freight trains passing through areas of Community Board 5 and 9 have been running past residential homes for years, causing the track’s neighbors to question any potential health risks. “This is a quality of life issue,” said Mary Parisen, chair of Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions (CURES). CURES has worked feverishly to ensure upgraded locomotive engines for the area, and through work with Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi and a coalition of elected offi cials, managed to secure $3 million in this year’s legislative budget to upgrade engines. “This is the fi rst win in what will be an ongoing fi ght to protect the health of countless families in Queens,” Hevesi said. “With New York State’s recognition that outdated trains can be severely damaging to communities they pass through, we have taken the fi rst step toward fi xing this problem.” The funds will kick off a pilot project that will upgrade the fi rst of a number of antiquated, high- emission trains. The trains, owned and leased by the LIRR, are currently equipped with “archaic” 1970s engines, and operate throughout the city and Long Island, carrying waste and cargo near residents’ backyards, schools, parks and beaches. However, after the upgrade, there is expected to be an annual reduction in nitrogen oxide, a known byproduct of diesel engines, by up to 76 percent, or 120 tons of emission over 10 years, according to Hevesi’s offi ce. After years of work advocating for modernized engines, Parisen said that she and the other members of CURES are “ecstatic” simply because they no longer need to convince agencies and the government that the upgrade needed to be done. “They all acknowledged that this needs to happen, now it’s just a matter of how we’re going to do it,” she said. The allocated $3 million is going to the LIRR and the MTA, Parisen said, and they are going to upgrade however many trains they can with the amount. PHOTO COURTESY OF ASSEMBLYMEMBER ANDREW HEVESI’S OFFICE Upgraded train engines are coming to Community Boards 5 and 9, mitigating health concerns for rail neighbors.
SC04182013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above