“People have to get into their cars, the roads are not safe — I mean, they’re difficult to maneuver — to go into either Lynbrook or Valley Stream, and it’s very frustrating,” McDonald said.

Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Community Support and Civic Association, said that the absence of West Hempstead weekend service has negatively affected local businesses, including National Wholesale Liquidators, behind the station, which she said plans to expand and improve its property in the coming months. Also heavily dependent on the LIRR, Norton said, is West 130 — an apartment complex a quarter of a mile from the West Hempstead station with 150 units, which has reached about 89 percent of its occupancy, she said — but potential renters have backed out of signing leases due to the infrequent train service.

“We need that weekend service, and if you think about it, we pay as much taxes as anybody else and we’re really not getting our fair share of that,” Norton said.

Larry Hoppenhauer, a Malverne resident who serves on a Town of Hempstead committee that focuses on mitigating airplane noise in the village, added that the West Hempstead branch’s fares, which are the same as other lines, are inequitable because of the much less frequent service, manifesting a “total lack of respect” to commuters who take the West Hempstead line.

Brennan said he did not know exactly when the LIRR would restore weekend service on the West Hempstead branch, but he said that officials are currently working to rectify the problem.

Curran said he intends to urge LIRR officials to restore the service, first by convening a joint meeting with McDonald and State Sen. Dean Skelos to discuss a plan of action.

“The fact that ridership has increased on the West Hempstead line renders everything else irrelevant,” Curran said. “The fact of the matter is that in the last three years, we’ve seen an increase on the West Hempstead line that justifies the institution of the weekend service, period.”