Rep. D'Esposito: LIRR Schedule Issues 'Should Have Been Part Of Plan'

WANTAGH, NY —The excitement of the Long Island Rail Road's first new station in a century quickly soured on many commuters.

In the wake of full service to Grand Central Madison, many Long Islanders found their ride to the city became more cramped, leading to a "redo" of sorts for week two.

Several rush hour trains to Penn Station will have more cars, and additional trains to Brooklyn have been added.

"These are issues that should have been part of the plan from jump street," Congressman Anthony D'Esposito told Patch. "We shouldn't have riders miss their trains."

D'Esposito (R-Island Park), in his first months as a representative for the 4th Congressional District, is on three House committees, including Transportation and Infrastructure.

In that capacity, he has a pair of meetings planned with senior MTA management this week.

"I want to discuss the issue that the constituents are facing," he said. "We need to advocate for solutions based on their experiences."

D'Esposito's offices in Garden City and Washington received numerous calls and emails, along with getting tagged on social media about the difficult travel conditions on the LIRR last week.

The congressman wants oversight and analysis into the initial changes that were made.

Missed connections at Jamaica are another of the commuters' nightmares since the LIRR made its debut on the East Side.

"We've seen videos of rush hour where people are running from one train to another," D'Esposito said. "Our seniors and those who are disabled are not going to be able to continue on this pattern."

He also suggested that sprinting across platforms would not be beneficial for pregnant women.

"The Long Island Rail Road has been in this business for a long time," D'Esposito said. "They should have the ability to look at their schedules, look at the resources that they have and execute a plan in order for the riders to be happy."

Gov. Hochul directed the MTA to make modifications to the LIRR system-wide.

"We are committed to continuing to listen, monitor and make changes," Hochul said.

While additional tweaks attempt to keep major delays at a minimum, D'Esposito said time is of the essence to get this corrected.

"It's a work in progress, so to speak," he said. "But, one that needs to progress quickly for the sake of the ridership."