New Hyde Park village officials want more time for the public to comment on the environmental study of the Long Island Rail Road’s proposed third track project.
The LIRR released the draft environmental impact statement, or DEIS, last week for its $2 billion plan for a third track on its Main Line between Floral Park and Hicksville. There are six public hearings on the project scheduled to take place next month on Jan. 17, 18 and 19. The public can submit comments until Jan. 31.
Village Mayor Robert Lofaro sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week asking for an extension of the public comment period and a delay in the public hearings so residents and the public can properly review the 800-page document.
“The DEIS is a project that took the LIRR six months to put together, but they’re giving us six weeks to comment on something that has a major impact on the village — a drastic impact,” Lawrence Montreuil, the village deputy mayor, said Tuesday.
Montreuil continued to voice worries about the project, saying he was “deeply concerned” about how construction will affect the community.
Village officials proposed that the LIRR install a sound barrier on the north side of the tracks in addition to the planned barrier on the south side, Montreuil said. They also asked that a planned parking garage be built near Jericho Turnpike, he said, farther from the tracks but closer to the village’s commercial district.
The DEIS says a second parking garage could be built north of the tracks in addition to the 95-space structure at the northwest corner of Second Avenue and New Hyde Park Road.
The LIRR plans to eliminate all seven street-level railroad crossings along the 9.8-mile project corridor, three of which are in New Hyde Park at New Hyde Park Road, South 12th Street and Covert Avenue.
South 12th Street could be closed while the roads would be sent underneath the tracks at the other two crossings, the DEIS says.
The whole project is expected to take three to four years, with railroad crossing eliminations expected to take six to nine months, the study says.
“It’s going to be a very long and arduous process,” Montreuil said.
In a statement, Shams Tarek, a project spokesman, said the public comment period for the DEIS is longer than for other much larger projects, including the new Tappan Zee Bridge and the Second Avenue subway line.
Pieces of the project such as parking garages, sound barriers and train station improvements — along with the commitment not to take any residential property — are “a reflection of the concerns and requests of our neighbors and of commuters,” Tarek said.
Planners will continue to meet with officials in New Hyde Park and other affected communities as the project proceeds, he said.
“We’ll continue to work with the public and welcome their input to make this the best project it can be,” Tarek said.
If the project proceeds as planned, the LIRR will evaluate public feedback and publish a final environmental impact statement in the spring.
The LIRR plans to use a “design-build” contract for the project, which officials have said will ensure it gets done on time and on budget.
Also on Tuesday, village officials said three seats on the village Board of Trustees will be up for election March 21.
Village residents will elect trustees to the positions currently held by Lofaro, Montreuil and Trustee Donald Barbieri, as well as Village Justice Chris Devane.
All of the offices have four-year terms. Although the trustee positions are currently held by long-term trustees and village residents, none have formally announced re-election bids, stating that these decisions are yet to be determined.
Lofaro is finishing his first term as mayor. He was a trustee for 14 years before winning the post in 2013. Montreuil was first elected in 2000 and is finishing his fourth term. Barbieri took office in 2001.
