Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Dina De Giorgio (R-Port Washington) has been attacking Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman over a Long Island Rail Road plan to expand its tracks at the Port Washington station.
But, according to Kaiman, it’s De Giorgio’s criticism that is off the rails.
“Technically, there is no role for the town,” said Kaiman in an interview. “That’s just pure politics.”
The Long Island Railroad is seeking to build a track expansion at its Port Washington station, which it says will provide more express service to Citi Field as well as Grand Central Terminal once the railroad’s long-delayed East Side Access project is completed. The LIRR also says the expansion will improve service in Manhasset and Port Washington, but at the cost of parking around the Port Washington train station.
De Giorgio, who is seeking to succeed Kaiman who has announced that he is not running for re-election, recently sent out a flyer to constituents accusing Kaiman of wanting “to turn Main Street into a railroad siding.”
“I estimate that we will lose almost 200 parking spaces at our station during the two years of construction, an indeterminate number of spaces permanently,” De Giorgio wrote. “Jon Kaiman and the town attorney have failed to turn over information necessary to fully evaluate the LIRR plan, and obviously plans to keep us all in the dark – until it’s too late.”
De Giorgio also wrote that the project would create a depot for trains that would depart to the city from Great Neck, and that trains would sit idle on Main Street, blocking adjacent businesses.
According to a press release from the LIRR and Kaiman, a Democrat from Great Neck, the town is considering whether to sell land to the rail road for the expansion.
But, Kaiman said, the goal of that sale would be to save parking. The LIRR estimates, he said, that it would permanently cost the station 140 spaces if the expansion was built on its own land, while 40 spaces would be lost if it builds on town land.
Kaiman also disputed De Giorgio’s claim that the plan was kept secret, saying that the town would hold public meetings with LIRR representatives before any decision would be made on the sale of land. De Giorgio was present at meetings in 2012 and April of this year where the plan was discussed, according to both Kaiman and the LIRR.
“[The letter] is meant to incite fear and anger,” Kaiman said.
De Giorgio responded to Kaiman’s comments in an interview with Blank Slate Media, saying that while she attended part of the 2012 meeting she found about it last minute and did not see any formal plans for the expansion until last month.
“My whole point is that this plan could have serious negative consequences for Port Washington,” De Giorgrio said.
The councilwoman said she had repeatedly tried to set up additional meetings with the LIRR, but none were forthcoming until April. She also dismissed the LIRR’s alternative plan to build the expansion on its own property as a “scare tactic” designed to make the purchase of town land seem more palatable, and said she was not convinced that the railroad could unilaterally begin the project if the town does not sell its land.
“Can we stop the rail road? I don’t know,” De Giorgio said.
Kaiman said the LIRR project would cause some disruption to Main Street in Port Washington, and said the town would work to minimize the impacts.
“Construction is always disruptive while it’s going on, but it’s also temporary,” Kaiman said.
Kaiman and the LIRR also rejected the claim that the expansion was designed for Great Neck’s benefit.
The LIRR said that riders in Port Washington, Plandome and Manhasset would see the biggest service improvements.
“This track extension project at our existing yard will have immediate benefits for Port Washington customers,” said LIRR President Helena E. Williams in a statement. “We will be able to improve service with more express trains and more service to special events at Citi Field and the U.S. Open. Port Washington, Plandome and Manhasset customers in particular will see the improvements.”
“We are very excited about the opportunity to provide more and better service to our Port Washington customers,” Williams said. “This project will allow us the ability to deliver the kind of additional service we know they want.”
The LIRR emphasizes that it is trying to minimize parking impacts by working with the Town of North Hempstead on obtaining the town land.
“Under a preferred proposal, the LIRR would purchase a piece of property from the Town of North Hempstead at fair market value and also utilize a portion of the LIRR’s Haven Avenue lot, resulting in the loss of approximately 40 parking spaces,” wrote the LIRR in a press release. “If the LIRR uses only its own property for the track extensions, the entire LIRR Haven Avenue lot, including approximately 140 parking spaces would be needed for the track extensions.”
The rail road will open an information center this summer at the Port Washington station to explain its options to the community and seek input, according to the release.
“The LIRR is aware that parking is at a premium in Port Washington and is an important concern to our customers,” said Williams in the statement. “We are working to minimize the impact of this project on parking opportunities, which our customers need to access LIRR service.”
Though the entire Port Washington line, which includes Great Neck, is projected to see increased service, Port Washington, Plandome and Manhasset commuters are likely to see the greatest change, according to the release, as they are accessed by a single track over the Manhasset viaduct and would benefit from the LIRR’s ability to store trains for the morning rush on the extended track.
But De Giorgio argued that because of parking shortages – the LIRR wrote in a presentation explaining the proposal that the station’s parking is currently at 98 percent capacity – that Port Washington commuters may not be able to avail themselves of the extra service.
“It seemed to me that Port Washington would be the last area to benefit but we would suffer the most detriment.”
