Will North Hempstead miss the train?

Daily Point

Town holds key to service solution

What will the Town of North Hempstead do?

That’s the question after a three-hour virtual public comment session this week, during which hundreds of Port Washington and Great Neck residents pushed back against schedule changes associated with the Long Island Rail Road’s planned service to the new Grand Central Madison terminal.

Residents want more trains, more express service, and fewer stops in Queens.

While attendees focused their ire on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the real question is whether North Hempstead Town officials will do what their predecessors were unwilling to do for more than a decade: Agree to an expansion of the Port Washington rail yard, even if it means giving up some nearby parking.

The town’s previous rejections of such an expansion are one key reason Port Washington did not receive significant service increases, while other branches did. It is unclear how much service can increase without the rail yard expansion.

So, while State Sen. Anna Kaplan has been in talks with the MTA, hoping to find ways to tweak the schedule, Kaplan spokesman Sean Ross Collins-Sweeney told The Point on Thursday that the spotlight now must move to North Hempstead.

“The conversation has to now switch to pressuring the town,” Collins-Sweeney said. “The MTA has always wanted this. We have always wanted this. Now we have to strike while the iron is hot … We will do whatever we have to do to find the money. We need the town to say, ‘We bless this.’”

But in conversations with The Point Friday, town officials were less definitive.

“I am going to need input from the board members and the community … so we’re going to sit down and talk,” North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena first told The Point.

When asked specifically whether she’d support an expanded rail yard even if it meant sacrificing parking, she said: “I think we should look at the amount of parking spots that we need to give up so that the whole community will benefit from this new opportunity.”

And when pressed further, DeSena added: “I think we need to explore giving up some of the parking so we can … have better opportunities for expanded rail service.”

Meanwhile, town council member Mariann Dalimonte, who represents Port Washington, told The Point: “I am open to discussions with them,” referring to the MTA.

DeSena and Dalimonte participated in a virtual meeting with LIRR interim president Catherine Rinaldi on Thursday. Dalimonte told The Point the meeting went “very, very well.”

And the conversation won’t end there. While this week’s public comment session was the only one scheduled, it apparently won’t be the last opportunity for riders to weigh in.

“I want to remind everyone that this is really just the beginning,” the MTA’s Nicholas Fasano said as the session came to a close. “After this, we’re going to have a number of other public meetings over the coming months. Please stay tuned for more info on that.”

MTA officials told The Point they’ll now review the comments they received and determine whether any changes can be made in advance of Grand Central Madison service, which is set to open at the start of next year.

Few other LIRR lines were represented in the chorus of criticism during Wednesday’s meeting, although some riders did focus on changes to service to Brooklyn, which will more often require changing in Jamaica.

And MTA officials took note, saying those who were in favor of the LIRR schedule changes likely wouldn’t speak up during a public session.

“The people who are happy about the service are not necessarily going to be the ones who stay on the phone for three hours expressing concern about the service,” Rinaldi said during a news conference Thursday morning.

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall