FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 • THE COURIER SUN 3 New platform part of Jamaica LIRR station renovations BY ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected]/@robbpoz The steel-laden Jamaica Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station is about to become more colorful, and hopefully more convenient, for the millions of passengers who pass through there each year. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this week that the LIRR approved a $64.9 million renovation contract that will include the creation of a new platform and additional passenger service tracks at the heart of the LIRR system. The new platform will be closer to the Jamaica AirTrain station, located immediately adjacent to the LIRR stop, and would service tracks normally used for freight. Bringing passenger service to these tracks would allow the LIRR to easily reroute trains and support additional service on the Atlantic Terminal line to and from Downtown Brooklyn. Ridership on this line has grown since the opening of the Barclays Center, which is now home to the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Islanders. “More tracks and platforms mean fewer delays,” MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast said. “It will help speed up what LIRR customers have come to call ‘the Jamaica Crawl,’ introduce new services such as Wi-Fi and USB charging stations and build on our ongoing commitment to renew, enhance and expand every aspect of the MTA.” The new platform will also have glass-enclosed, heated waiting areas and colorful stained glass installations on the station’s westerly bridge and staircase created by artist James Little. Customers waiting at the new platform will also be able to utilize charging stations for their phones and have access to free Wi-Fi. The MTA is currently in the process of streamlining track configurations at Jamaica, a project that began in 2010, to also reduce delays and make it easier for trains to switch between lines. This project, and the renovations to Jamaica station, are expected to be completed in 2019. “The Jamaica station project, in particular, will help make traveling easier and more convenient for both Queens residents and for the many visitors who transfer to the Long Island Rail Road at Jamaica after they take the AirTrain from JFK Airport,” Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said. “Important transportation projects like these will help guarantee that Queens will enjoy prosperity and an increased quality of life for many decades to come.” Cuomo also announced a $121 million project to renovate the Hicksville LIRR station in Nassau County, which is the busiest station east of Jamaica. “Revamping these two heavily trafficked transportation hubs will provide better, faster and more reliable train service for LIRR riders,” Cuomo said. “Time and time again, transportation investment has a ripple effect of progress and economic growth on the surrounding community.” Photo: Wikimedia Commons Jamaica station at night Calls to boost security near Howard Beach park where Karina died By Liam Baker [email protected]/@QNS On the heels of Howard Beach resident Karina Vetrano’s tragic and brutal murder last month, a local state Assembly candidate has called on the National Park Service (NPS) to improve security measures in and around the park where Vetrano was murdered so that similar tragedies don’t occur in the future. In a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, local Democratic District leader and candidate for the state Assembly’s 23rd District Stacey Pheffer Amato urged that the NPS install permanent security cameras and blue light emergency call boxes across Gateway National Recreational Area, the 26,000-acre NPS stretching across coastal New York and New Jersey. Pheffer Amato went on to echo the voices of local residents, specifying that the safety infrastructure in the Jamaica Bay unit of the park was “inadequate” due to its location, high volume of visitors and seclusion from the rest of the area. “This area has long been an area of concern to local families, as its relative isolation, limited visibility due to overgrown grass and lack of safety infrastructure make it potentially dangerous for unaccompanied parkgoers,” Pheffer Amato wrote in her letter. The candidate also praised Queens Borough President Melinda Katz for allocating Howard Beach’s Karina Vetrano (inset) was found dead inside Gateway National Recreational Park after being reported missing on Tuesday. resources to place cameras along the edge of Spring Creek Park, where Vetrano was found raped and murdered on the night of Aug. Photo via Google Maps/Inset via Instagram 2. However, she points out that these cameras are most effective when used in tandem with safety measures inside the park.
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