Nassau leaders urge MTA to pick up pace on repairs to Long Island Rail Road

Leaders in Nassau on Thursday urged the MTA to step up efforts to maintain deteriorating Long Island Rail Road stations and infrastructure throughout the county.

Standing in front of the paint-peeled LIRR station at Long Beach, Nassau Comptroller Elaine Phillips calculated that county taxpayers send $137.1 million annually to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, including $36.5 million paid by the county for the "maintenance, use and operation" of the 58 LIRR stations in Nassau.

"That amounts to over $100,000 a day, or a little more than $1,700 per day, per station," said Phillips, who was joined by County Executive Bruce Blakeman and other elected officials from various Nassau municipalities.

In response, LIRR President Robert Free called the criticism "quite baffling," given the billions of dollars invested by the MTA in Nassau County in recent years, including for the construction of the $2.5 billion Third Track between Floral Park and Hicksville. The MTA is doing its best to upkeep its Nassau assets, Free said, and has plans to do more, including in Valley Stream and Long Beach — two stations that lawmakers said are in especially rough shape.

"We recognize that more investment needs to be made in our system," Free said. "I hope this is Nassau County’s way of saying, ‘Hey, look, the MTA needs more money so they can upgrade our stations more.' "

Other improvement projects are also planned or already underway, Free said, including a $32 million project in Valley Stream that includes replacing the station’s escalators. The railroad will also soon put out a contract for painting several bridges in Nassau, and has earmarked an unspecified amount of money for improvements in Long Beach, Free said.

Further LIRR infrastructure improvements are proposed in the MTA’s $68.4 billion 2025-2029 capital program, which is yet to be approved or funded by the state.

At the news conference Thursday, county officials highlighted photos of what they described as infrastructure in "poor condition" throughout Nassau, including crumbling concrete at Valley Stream, leaking pipes in Floral Park, and chipped paint at Long Beach.

"With the money spent on this upkeep," Phillips said, "you would think the MTA stations would be five-star hotels, not five-alarm safety hazards."

Phillips also criticized the lack of bathrooms and indoor waiting rooms at some stations. She added that at stations where there are waiting rooms, the operating hours are insufficient.

"Millions go into station maintenance, and yet somehow the MTA still treats a fresh coat of paint like a luxury item," she said.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.