LIRR recovering ridership with more growth expected

Long Island Morning Edition

Customers are returning to the Long Island Rail Road, with ridership up 17% in the first half of 2024 compared with the same period last year and expected to climb even higher now that the summer season is concluding, the LIRR’s president said.

Though still below pre-pandemic levels, MTA officials and experts attributed the railroad’s recovery to the increased capacity and service that came with the completion of two major capacity-expansion projects, the Third Track in Nassau County, and the LIRR’s new Manhattan terminal, Grand Central Madison. Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that the 35.8 million passengers transported by the LIRR in the first half of 2024 was well ahead of its forecasts and about 80% of the total for the first half of 2019 — a year in which the railroad went on to set a modern annual ridership record.

The recovery of the LIRR, whose ridership plummeted to just 3% of 2019 levels at the height of the pandemic, is outpacing all Metropolitan Transportation Authority agencies, including New York City subways, which are around 70% of pre-COVID levels. Metro-North has recovered about 76% of its riders, according to MTA statistics.

LIRR President Robert Free said the railroad’s numbers remained strong even through the summer months, when ridership tends to dip. The 271,784 customers carried by the LIRR on June 25 was the most for any day since the start of the pandemic in 2020. For the month of June, LIRR ridership reached 83% of pre-COVID levels.

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This past weekend, Southampton Village officials sought to set the record straight about the decision to open drainage pipes from Lake Agawam and Old Town Pond that lead into the ocean after record-breaking rainfall and flash flooding that occurred August 18 and 19.

Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that the Village of Southampton defended its decision to drain the overflowing water from the lake and pond into the ocean, acknowledging that while it is not ideal to drain that water — which has been polluted by harmful algae blooms — into the ocean, it is the only option for preventing flooding, and has also been standard practice for years after large rain events that produce the type of flooding seen last month. “While this is not the best solution, it has been done for decades to prevent flooding of these bodies of water into parking lots and roads,” a press release sent out by village officials on Saturday stated. “In the aftermath of the record rainfall, the Lake Agawam parking lot and several roads were flooded, creating stagnant pools of water where people walk, bike and walk their pets. Because of this public safety issue, there was no alternative than to drain the lake and pond through a pipe into the ocean and temporarily close the beaches.” Before taking that step, the village notified the Southampton Town Trustees and the Lake Agawam Conservancy, a nonprofit that raises money and puts together initiatives to help clean up the lake, and posted it on the village website and social media channels, while also putting up signs near the beaches to alert beachgoers that they should not swim in the ocean while the draining was occurring.

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The East Hampton Trails Preservation Society has organized “A Springs Celebration: Pollock-Krasner, Springs Historical Society and Curator’s Tour of Arts and Archives 2024,” a 1.5-mile walk, to take place this coming Saturday, September 7, at 9:30 a.m. Starting at the Pollock-Krasner House, where Director Matt Ward will discuss its mission, the walk will continue to the Springs Library for a talk about the building’s history and to view a “Small Works” show curated by John Haubrich. The walk will conclude at Ashawagh Hall, with a tour of Springs Arts and Archives 2024 with curator Teri Kennedy. Meet walk leader Irwin Levy at Talmage Farm Lane, just off Springs Fireplace Road.

For more information, call Irwin Levy at 516-456-1337 or email [e-mail].

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Riverhead’s comprehensive plan update was unanimously adopted by the Town Board yesterday at a meeting that drew a standing room-only crowd. Alek Lewis and Denise Civiletti report on Riverheadlocal.com that the plan as adopted does not contain the controversial recommendation to allow agritourism resorts and spas on lands north of Sound Avenue zoned for residential use.

The previously scheduled Sept. 18 public forum on the concept of agritourism has now been canceled.

Removal of the agritourism recommendation was not without contention, with board members arguing that the resort development would increase the town’s tax base and provide much-needed property tax revenue to support the town and school district.

The recommendation was removed after it drew vocal opposition from community residents and farmers.

That was the only change to the plan since the final draft was circulated in July.

Despite their vote to adopt the document and praise for the planning consultants who worked to develop the plan with town staff, committees and members of the comprehensive plan steering committee, board members expressed reservations about how effective the plan will be to provide a blueprint and “financial way forward” for the future.

Riverhead Town Council Member Denise Merrifield said the agritourism resort use was a measure that would have preserved farmland even as it generated substantial tax revenues to fund town and school budgets. More than 6,300 acres of farmland in town are unprotected and the town does not have the resources to protect them, especially with the town’s lagging transfer of development rights program.

Rejecting commercial development ignores “immense tax problems that are coming,” she said.

More residential development is going to add to the problem, Merrifield said. “Keep an open mind” about alternative types of development, the council member advised.

Council members Ken Rothwell and Bob Kern, as well as Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard agreed.

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Historic preservationists and residents of Southampton’s famed Art Village are lamenting the apparently illegal destruction of one of the cluster of cottages built in the late 19th century and very early 20th century around William Merritt Chase’s studio, and the art classes he taught there, and is credited with having sparked the rush of wealthy Gothamists to the South Fork. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the home at 13 Ochre Lane just west of Southampton Village was demolished in early July, neighbors said, when they thought the construction work at the site was only going to be a renovation and expansion of the original structure. A town stop-work order posted on the property has halted any work there and says that the project was in violation of Southampton Town code for not having had a demolition permit, as is required for the tearing down of any structure. The building permit issued on April 24 said that the construction work to take place at the property was for additions to the existing two-story house, extending the existing first and second floors and a rear porch. The house owner Chang Ge told 27east.com this week that the project had all the required permits and that the house was going to be rebuilt. “We are rebuilding the house,” she said. The cottages of the Art Village are all that remain of what was, essentially, the campus of the Shinnecock Summer School of Art, a plein air art school lead by William Merritt Chase that sprang up around Chase’s studio from 1891 to 1902.

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Shelter Island Friends of Music welcomes back award-winning pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner this coming Saturday, September 7 at 6 pm in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Sanchez-Werner previously played for Shelter Island Friends of Music to a standing-room only crowd at the Presbyterian Church in February 2023. The brilliant virtuoso will perform the music of Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven and Gershwin.

Admission is free; donations are appreciated.

A reception with the musician follows the concert.

That’s this coming Saturday at 6:00 PM in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church

32 North Ferry Rd.

Shelter Island, NY

11964

For more info visit shelterislandfriendsofmusic.org

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They won’t even talk to him until they’ve had their coffee.

Jeanette Settembre in THE NY POST reports that fed up workers for the Village of Southampton fought back against the village’s mayor and his associates after their cost saving became so dramatic they stopped supplying hot beverages.

“The straw that broke the camel’s back was that the Mayor, William Manger Jr., and his staff had the bright idea to remove the coffee, plates and utensils from the lunchroom. “These are all the employees that take care of the beaches, the parks, the boats,” an anonymous source close to the situation told The Post.

The coffee-cutting move prompted unionized workers to appear at Southampton Village Hall last month with “show some respect!” signs. They were also protesting against cutbacks on overtime and hold ups which prevented them from signing their 2023 contracts, which they said were worded incorrectly. “You have a Mayor who lives in a multi-million dollar beach front home and he’s taking the coffee and vacation days away from the employees,” a source close to the situation told The NY Post. Manger Jr. was sworn in as the mayor of Southampton Village last July, and at the time vowed to lead the administration with a “balanced approach” that would “respect our cherished traditions while embracing progress.” A representative for Manger referred The Post to Manger’s recent “Letter to the Editor,” titled “False Claims,” he penned for the Southampton Press last month. “Under my administration, the village makes every effort to address employee concerns and treats all employees with respect,” Manger wrote. “The mayor and trustees have a fiduciary responsibility to protect taxpayer dollars and eliminate unnecessary expenditures. We provide our employees with fair compensation and generous benefits, and we are grateful for their efforts in providing great services to our residents.” In an emailed statement to The Post this week, Manger added: “The village has not broken the Taylor Law. The Village of Southampton honors its contracts with the unions in the Village. All Union employees receive their salary raises as outlined in the contracts. All necessary overtime is provided to employees.”