LIRR commuters complain about snow cleanup near stations

Frustrated Long Island Rail Road commuters say they’re still dealing with the aftermath of the weekend’s snowstorm, in the form of station walkways and parking lots that still have not been properly shoveled or plowed.

In stories and images posted on social media, commuters have vented about the conditions at several stations, including at Central Islip, where a pedestrian path leading across the tracks wasn’t shoveled by Tuesday morning.

At Hicksville — the LIRR’s busiest station on Long Island — a trail of boot-tamped snow stretched a quarter-mile under the LIRR’s tracks from a commuter parking lot to the station Tuesday afternoon. LIRR commuter Jon Herman, who walked that path Tuesday morning, said the lot in which he parked also wasn’t plowed when he arrived.

"When I say it was bad, I’ve been commuting since '95 and never saw it this unplowed," Herman, 51, said in an interview. "I was walking with some people having trouble crossing [Route] 107 and other roads climbing over mounds of snow."

Commuters also singled out Wantagh, Babylon, Baldwin and Freeport as stations that still have not been adequately cleared of snow following the weekend storm.

LIRR spokesman David Steckel noted that many LIRR stations abut property maintained by local municipalities, including some walkways and parking lots. If a customer or employee encounters an area that requires attention, "we work to clean it up immediately, or work with the local municipality to ensure it’s taken care of," Steckel said.

"Battling a record snowfall like the one that buried Long Island on January 29th is a herculean effort for everyone involved," Steckel said. "We mobilized our forces and they were out there working before, during and after the storm, clearing massive snowdrifts, tracks, platforms across our territory in an effort to ensure travel is safe for customers and employees alike."

Marta Kane, spokeswoman for the Town of Oyster Bay, which maintains the Hicksville station parking lots, said that while the main lot nearest the station office was cleared, "there’s certainly a possibility that . . . there could be some that weren’t completed," in part because of the lower demand on parking during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kane noted that the walkways leading to the station are the responsibility of the LIRR.

Gerard Bringmann, chairman of the LIRR Commuter Council, suggested the fragmented jurisdiction at LIRR stations can make it "hard to tell who's been getting the job done, and who's got us on the bottom of their priority list."

Meanwhile, LIRR service was mostly back to normal Tuesday morning, following widespread disruptions during the Monday morning and evening rush hours related to the winter weather. The LIRR did report three canceled trains Tuesday morning, including because of "equipment" and "switch" trouble.

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.