Bethpage-Tribune_1984-03-08

              BETHPAGE BETHPAGE PLAINVIEW
BETHf-AGE PUBUC LIBRARY
ISLAND TREES PLAINEDGE
OT 4C0PttS
8C T H P A G C LIBRARY
47 POWELL *VC
O C T H P A G C NY I 1714
SEAFORD
VOL. 14 NO. 48 Week of March 8-14,1984 20 cents per copy
LIRR Change In Bethpage
By Eden Laikin
An open hearing to dis­cuss
proposed alterations
for the Bethpage railroad
station due to LIRR electri­fication
was held Thursday
evenings March 1, at Beth­page
High School, drawing
an enthusiastic crowd of
about 200.
Present were Senators
John Dunne (R-SD6) and
Norman Levy (R-C-SD8),
Assemblymen Lewis Yevoli
(D-lOthAD), Philip Healey
(R-C-l IAD), and Fred Par-ola
(R-14AD), Councilman
Salvatore Mosca arid .a
representative of the LIRR,
The purpose of the hear­ing
was to air local senti­ment
regarding the rail-
' road!s new five-year capital
program line improvements
affecting the Bethpage sta­tion.
The program has about
$ 145 million to upgrade pas­senger
service on the Main
Line between Hicksville and
Ronkonkoma through elec-trification
and station
improvements.
in order to realize the
beniefits of electrification to
passengers, one of the pro­gram's
requirements is the
construction of i2-car, high-level
platforms, four feet
above ground. These plat-fprnis
would not only allow
the LIRR to accommodate
its longest trains with max­imum
safety, speed and effi­ciency,
but would also pro­vide;
the only means for
passenger-access electric
trains, since the trains'doors
are well above ground level.
At present,,about 970 pais-sengers
board \yestbound
trains at Bethpage each day.
By 1987, the first full year of
electrification, the LIRR
expects that number to
, increase to 2,050 passengers
daily.
Four options are being
considered asto a site for the
new alterations: 1) Building
the new platform about
1,000 feet east of Broadway
in Bethpage; 2) building it
about 1,000 feet west of
Stewart Avenue in Beth­page;
3.) keeping the present
location; 4) closing the sta-tion.
down entirely.
Thursday's turnout was
comprised mostly of con­cerned
local residents who
live either on or near the
thoroughfares considered in
the options. The residents
heard by a presentation by a
LIRR representative, fol­lowed
with a talk by Sen.
Dunne, and then were given
an opportunity to respond.
They did this sometimes
heatedly, a-s questions con­cerning
better service, more
trains, less waiting, safety
hazards and a possible
decrease in property values
were freely expressed.
Those against the Stewart
Avenue option claim it is a
busy residential area: and
could not handle the
increase in traffic. Those
opposed to the Broadway
option also cite traffic and
pedestrian hazards, as well
as a possible increase to
local taxpayers. If the new
platform Were placed there,
all passengers would be
entering and exiting at the
western end of the platforms
directly onto Broadway.
Residents claim this would
create a safety hazard. They
further claim that lanid on
either side of the tracks
would have to be acquired
by the Town of Oyster Bay
at" an additional expense,
and that more access roads
would also have to be built.
The option for the present
site location was found
Senator Dunne addresses Bethpage residents during discussion of electrification of the Bethpage Rail Road iStation,
while other political representatives wait to add their, comments.
unacceptable because it
would require the closing of
Broadway. Traffic would
also be adversely affected
because of the longer down­times
of the crossing gates at
Stewart Avenue. The fourth
option, that of closing the
station, was the most unpal­atable
of all, both to the res­idents
and the. LIRR.
Future hearings are being
planned to pursue the mat­ter
further, as fime for posi­tive
acfion draws. increas­ingly
near. Academy Appointments
Bethpage will resemble this neighboring railroad station
after electrification.
Congressman Norman F. Kent (R«East Rock^,way) has named four (4) Biethpage residents tp the United States Military
Academies. Lent, after an extensive selection process conducted by the Fourth Congressional District Military Aca­demies
Selection Committee, nominated: Eugene Marquardt, John Cornicelli, Ingrid Birnbach and Roy Bocina to the
Nation's Military Academies. These fine young people will now compete with other congressional nominees from
throughout the United States for actual admission to the Academy to which they have been nominatedi
Pictured at a recent meeting at the Congressman's office are: (1-4) Roy Bocina (Merchant Marine), Ingrid Birnbach
(Air Force), Congressman Lent, and Eugene Marquardt (West Point .-.'•'