NHP board says complaints received about MTA night work truck noise, COVID-19 protocols

Tom McCarthy
New Hyde Park Mayor Lawrence Montreuil said the village board has complained about truck noise coming from LIRR night workers at night and argued that not all work has to be done at night on a zoom call last Thursday. (Photo by Tom McCarthy)

The New Hyde Park village board is receiving complaints about LIRR third track night workers making too much truck noise and ignoring COVID-19 mandates, Trustee Rainer Burger said at a virtual meeting last Thursday.

“We’ve had some concerns, claims that say as well as me physically, I’ve seen it, where some construction workers are not following COVID-19 protocols,” Burger said.

“Unfortunately, we’ve been dealing with night work a lot again,” Burger continued. “We have received a number of complaints.”

Burger said that workers from Third Track Constructors (3TC), a firm hired by the MTA to work on the project, will be working along the railroad right of way from Covert Avenue to New Hyde Park Road and that this work will continue at least until late October.

There is a lot of work going in the area, Burger said. Power lines will start being relocated from their old poles to the new ones, platform work was done over the last weekend, and prep work is continuing to be done for the placement of the third track.

“We are in contact with the MTA as well as 3TC,” Burger said.

Burger said that the village has requested more information on what 3TC is doing day to day. Burger said the village is trying to see if some work can be done during the day.

New Hyde Park Mayor Lawrence Montreuil said the board has also complained about truck noise at night off the right of way and argued that this work does not have to be done at night.

Montreuil reported that in a phone call 3TC representatives said that these trucks are staging there and supporting work along the right of way.

“It still has the adverse impact of making noise, keeping people up at night and we told them we will not tolerate the continuing idling of work trucks,” Montreuil said.

New Hyde Park Road has been fully open again since August after a six-month partial closure from Plaza Avenue East to Clinch Avenue for a grade crossing elimination project.

A grade crossing was also eliminated at Covert Avenue for the project, causing road closures in the area from April to October 2019.

The MTA said in a news release describing the project that to avoid LIRR service interruptions during peak commuting hours, construction along the railroad right-of-way may take place overnight and on weekends.

The New Hyde Park Road grade crossing is one of eight street-level crossings along the LIRR Main Line being eliminated as part of the LIRR Expansion Project from Floral Park to Hicksville, the MTA said in a previous news release.

The New Hyde Park grade crossing was reconstructed to feature a new five-lane underpass with pedestrian sidewalks on the east and west sides of the underpass, the MTA said.

Project developers said a dedicated left-turn lane has been added from southbound New Hyde Park Road to Clinch Avenue and northbound from New Hyde Park Road to Plaza Avenue.

On Sept. 28, a pedestrian overpass at New Hyde Park Road opened for residents. This new pathway safely connects the east and west sides of the roadway, the MTA said.

This reconstructed grade crossing was designed in conjunction with the Village of New Hyde Park and will enhance safety and provide for “a quieter and more livable community” along the railroad, the MTA said.

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