We also discussed the problem with Senator Norman Levy's office, who was the representative of the New York State Department of Transportation and the Long Island representative about fixing all the fencing that abuts the railroad and he indicated that there was no money in the budget for that. He said many communities have no fences at all and they would have priority. So that is another thing that may come up on the table and now Long Island Rail Road does not run its freight system anymore. A commuter then came to the mike and said that her concern with the railroad was safety. She said she has been a commuter for the last 15 years but has noticed over the past five years safety has really fallen off.
Trains stop where there is no platform, but the doors open, which is dangerous.
Trains miss the platform and tracks are not maintained. One commuter complained about snow removal during the various snowstorms this year. She said that at times no stairs were passable and that the snow was not cleared until the next day resulting in a hazardous approach to the train. Another resident said that the fencing along the entire length of the railroad especially between Covert Avenue and South 12 Street to the Floral Park Village line is in need of repair. The resident said that years ago the railroad did have an extensive plan whereby the MTA would come and make a list of what was wrong and then within a week those problems were fixed.