Commuters on edge as LIRR strike looms

Dave Francis, front, of Bellmore, said on Monday that he’s starting to worry that there will be a Long Island Rail Road strike on Sunday.

Scott Brinton/Herald

Commuters at the Bellmore-Merrick train stations, stations also used by East Meadow residents, said on Monday that they were growing increasingly anxious as salary and benefit negotiations between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Long Island Rail Road’s eight unions stalled without an agreement to stave off a planned strike, which could take effect Sunday.

At press time at 2 p.m. on Monday, the Herald received word that a Monday morning negotiating session had “collapsed,” and that the unions were proceeding with plans to strike.

A strike would be disastrous for the region’s economy, said commuters interviewed by the Herald during July 14’s morning rush hour. “I wasn’t that worried about it until now,” said Dave Francis, of Bellmore, a three-year LIRR commuter, as he awaited the train in Bellmore. Francis said that he recently bought a motorcycle. “Maybe that will come in handy,” he joked.

Karen Tiefelcer, of East Meadow, said she commutes daily to Amityville, and she takes the LIRR to Mets games, which she said “is quicker and safer” than driving to Citi Field. “How are you going to go to the Mets game?” she asked. “I understand about money and all that, but be fair.”

Emma Augustyn, of East Meadow, a vice president of administration for an investment bank in Manhattan, said she is not as deeply concerned as others because she is able to work from home. “If it goes on for a while,” she added, “I will be concerned. I do need to have a presence in the office.”

At the Merrick train station, Merokean Angela Oliveri said a strike would “be an overall nightmare.” Oliveri, who works in the apparel business in Manhattan, said she would stay with her mother in Queens and take the subway to work in the event of a strike. Her employer, she said, would not allow her work from home.

Twenty-year-old Brittany Mascaro, of Merrick, is interning at a New York City hospital. If there were a strike, she said, she would likely have to reduce or possibly end her internship. “I expect they’ll tell me not to work,” she said. “I’d be disappointed. It’s good experience, and I wouldn’t get the hours I need.”