Sunday, April 29, 2007

Reopening the Rockaway rail line

People in CB6 were upset at the thought of a bike path running through their backyards... can you imagine instead reactivating the train line?

LIRR Line’s Reopening Debated

Photo from Queens Chronicle

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can't have it both ways - bitching about the lack of transportation but opposing reactivating this LIRR line. I have personal experience living next to the Port Washington line in Flushing. The train ran right behind our house on 41st Ave. It's not deafening. After awhile we stopped even noticing it. It's not like trains come along every few minutes or all night long, people. I hope a few noisy activists don't block this useful line.

Anonymous said...

Actually Queens can have it both ways. Rego Park is not bitching about public transportation, Rockaway is. Maybe they should offer ferry service to the peninsula.

Anonymous said...

"it's not like trains come along every few minutes"

Actually, the LIRR schedules trains every 20 minutes or so during rush hours and since Bloomie is calling for more frequent service, it could soon be every 10.

Anonymous said...

I don't think the rail line is a good idea because the LIRR is notorious for poor maintenance of its Queens stations. They are targets of vandals and are never patrolled, so these poor people would have to deal with that as well in their backyards.

Anonymous said...

Notice how talk of reactivating the LIRR line only comes after plans to gentrify Arverne are put in motion. Of course, they are the only ones who can afford the ride. Yes, please spend my tax dollars to help them while I am stuck with no train and shitty bus service where I live.

Anonymous said...

I think that a lot of the opposition stems from the fact that a lot of the buildings next to the right of way were built after the line was already abanoned. The original Queens Crap contractors made under the table deals to expand these buildings as close to the ROW as possible believing that the line would never be reactivated.
Well, Boo-Hoo. The line was never abandoned - only deactivated. Not only could the LIRR reactivate the line but they could go to court and force the building owners to make any adjustments to the buildings to remove them from the ROW.
In my opinion, if the city is ever going to ween itself away from the car culture this is a step in the right direction and one that would be easiest to institute.

Russ

Anonymous said...

Yet anther example of the negative side of development slipping out of the bag.

What we need is someone to do an extensive essay on all the bad things that could happen to NYC with another million people.

Circulate that and raise blood pressure. Any of you students listening? Certainly will get your budding careers off the ground with public notice.

Anonymous said...

Much worse than the LIRR noise behind our house was the screaming jets coming from LaGuardia. It was well worth any noise from the LIRR to have the train service within walking distance (Murray Hill Station, all aboard!)

Anonymous said...

I have the LIE running through my backyard, and I can take it. The highway is a valuable part of the economy and transportation network.

These spoiled NIMBYs have never lived next to a highway, under elevated tracks, or other things that are needed to keep the city moving. I live in Forest Hills, and I support reopening the Rockaway rail line.