Will North Hempstead miss the train?

Daily Point

Town holds key to service solution

What will the Town of North Hempstead do?

That’s the question after a three-hour virtual public comment session this week, during which hundreds of Port Washington and Great Neck residents pushed back against schedule changes associated with the Long Island Rail Road’s planned service to the new Grand Central Madison terminal.

Residents want more trains, more express service, and fewer stops in Queens.

While attendees focused their ire on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the real question is whether North Hempstead Town officials will do what their predecessors were unwilling to do for more than a decade: Agree to an expansion of the Port Washington rail yard, even if it means giving up some nearby parking.

The town’s previous rejections of such an expansion are one key reason Port Washington did not receive significant service increases, while other branches did. It is unclear how much service can increase without the rail yard expansion.

So, while State Sen. Anna Kaplan has been in talks with the MTA, hoping to find ways to tweak the schedule, Kaplan spokesman Sean Ross Collins-Sweeney told The Point on Thursday that the spotlight now must move to North Hempstead.

“The conversation has to now switch to pressuring the town,” Collins-Sweeney said. “The MTA has always wanted this. We have always wanted this. Now we have to strike while the iron is hot … We will do whatever we have to do to find the money. We need the town to say, ‘We bless this.’”

But in conversations with The Point Friday, town officials were less definitive.

“I am going to need input from the board members and the community … so we’re going to sit down and talk,” North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena first told The Point.

When asked specifically whether she’d support an expanded rail yard even if it meant sacrificing parking, she said: “I think we should look at the amount of parking spots that we need to give up so that the whole community will benefit from this new opportunity.”

And when pressed further, DeSena added: “I think we need to explore giving up some of the parking so we can … have better opportunities for expanded rail service.”

Meanwhile, town council member Mariann Dalimonte, who represents Port Washington, told The Point: “I am open to discussions with them,” referring to the MTA.

DeSena and Dalimonte participated in a virtual meeting with LIRR interim president Catherine Rinaldi on Thursday. Dalimonte told The Point the meeting went “very, very well.”

And the conversation won’t end there. While this week’s public comment session was the only one scheduled, it apparently won’t be the last opportunity for riders to weigh in.

“I want to remind everyone that this is really just the beginning,” the MTA’s Nicholas Fasano said as the session came to a close. “After this, we’re going to have a number of other public meetings over the coming months. Please stay tuned for more info on that.”

MTA officials told The Point they’ll now review the comments they received and determine whether any changes can be made in advance of Grand Central Madison service, which is set to open at the start of next year.

Few other LIRR lines were represented in the chorus of criticism during Wednesday’s meeting, although some riders did focus on changes to service to Brooklyn, which will more often require changing in Jamaica.

And MTA officials took note, saying those who were in favor of the LIRR schedule changes likely wouldn’t speak up during a public session.

“The people who are happy about the service are not necessarily going to be the ones who stay on the phone for three hours expressing concern about the service,” Rinaldi said during a news conference Thursday morning.

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall

Pencil Point

Broken

For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons

Puzzle Point

In the news

Welcome to this week’s news quiz, based on recent events. As usual, provide the answer for each clue, one letter per blank. The first letter of each answer, taken in order, spells the name of the woman who became the first Black person to have a state-commissioned statue in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall. Her statue, unveiled this week, is one of the two representing Florida.

A link to the answers appears below.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Leaders of this LI Indian nation met with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office to ask her to sign legislation restoring the tribe’s state recognition.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _      _ _ _ _ Workers at five casinos in this city ratified new contracts that give them significant raises.

_ _ _ _ _ _ Janet DiFiore, the state’s top judge, announced this week that she would do this at the end of August.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Famed national park in which a wildfire threatened its largest grove of giant sequoia trees.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ An open house was held for a $2.8 billion development in Ronkonkoma that includes a new terminal for this airport.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Russian President Vladimir Putin offered this to all residents of Ukraine to try to strengthen Moscow’s influence over Ukraine.

_ _ _ _ _     _ _ _ _ _ _ The Suffolk County Legislature approved $20,000 to appraise 160 acres of a seminary in this North Shore community for open space preservation.

_ _ _ _ The price of this ovoid food staple rose 33.1% from June 2021 to June 2022, according to Consumer Price Index statistics released this week.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The first Amazon Fresh store in New York State opened in this Long Island community.

_ _ _ _ _ _     _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was added to the new ownership group of this NFL team.

_ _ _ _ _      _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A pharmaceutical company is seeking FDA approval to sell this kind of pill over the counter for the first time in the U.S.

_ _ _ _ The value of this declining currency fell to rough parity with the U.S. dollar for the first time in nearly 20 years.

_ _ _ _ _ North Hempstead Town released 100 quails into parkland to help control the growing population of these pests.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Major European airport that apologized to passengers whose travels were disrupted by staff shortages, then capped its daily number of passengers to minimize further chaos.

_ _ _ _ Ride-hail company being sued by more than 500 women across the U.S. who say they were assaulted by drivers on the platform.

_ _ _ _ Federal agency that revealed stunning photographs of outer space taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.

_ _ _ _ _ _     _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Former Long Island politician who was ordered by a judge to pay $10.6 million in restitution in connection with his corruption conviction.

Click here for the answers to the clued words and to the identity of the honoree.

— Michael Dobie @mwdobie

Correction

An item in The Point on Thursday misstated the overall structure of the state’s new ethics panel. It will have 11 members, not five, nominated by state elected officials, and they will initially serve staggered terms of differing lengths.