By Andrew Coen
After the accident, which happened when Berman was getting off a Far Rockaway-bound train at around 4 p.m., she was transported to St. John's Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway for treatment of a broken left ankle and injured ribs, and eventually transferred to the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, where she underwent surgery on Tuesday morning.
"I went to step off the train and I stepped into the infamous gap," Berman said before her operation. "I went down and yelled for help and everybody came running."
LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto said that a preliminary Metropolitan Transportation Authority investigation indicated that sun glare blinded Berman as she exited the train, leading to the fall. Zambuto said that MTA officials assisted Berman while the train remained at the station. The train, which was scheduled to arrive in Far Rockaway at 4:08 p.m., was 40 minutes late, but service on the other side of the tracks was not affected, according to Zambuto. Lawrence is the third-to-last stop on the Far Rockaway branch, which also includes stops in Inwood, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, Hewlett, Gibson and Valley Stream.
Berman's fall came just over a month after a Minnesota teen, Natalie Smead, was killed in a gap-related accident at the Woodside LIRR station in Queens, prompting the MTA and elected officials to investigate the safety of all LIRR station platforms. Lawrence Mayor Dr. Jack Levenbrown said he has been in contact with railroad officials since Berman's accident about improvements that could be made at the village's station to avoid such incidents in the future. Levenbrown said that LIRR engineers visited the Lawrence station last Friday to study possible ways to improve the gap situation. He said he is hopeful that both short- and long-term solutions can be implemented by the MTA at the station, where the gap from train to platform was measured by the Herald to be about 10 inches.
Berman said she is very upset that transportation officials have not done more to improve gap safety at LIRR stations. "I am extremely angry about the fact that no positive action has been taken by the MTA to fix this problem," she said.
Zambuto said that in addition to the recent implementation of stepped-up customer education measures, such as train and station announcements to increase riders' awareness of the gap, the agency is working on such measures as engineering adjustments. He also said that in an LIRR pilot program, officials have improved signage and stenciling to warn passengers of the gap at the Shea Stadium station and are in the process of making similar improvements at other LIRR stations.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ms. Berman for a full recovery," Zambuto said.
Berman served as a state senator from 1978 to 1984 and has remained active in civic affairs over the past two decades, getting involved with the Lawrence Association, serving on the New York State Elections Commission for the past 13 years and urging support for Democratic candidates. She lost her seat in Albany in November 1984 to current state Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre). Skelos is facing a challenge in next month's election from Lawrence resident Odelia Goldberg, who has been endorsed by Berman.
Goldberg said that given Skelos's influence as deputy majority leader and his membership on the MTA board's Capital Campaign Committee, he should have done more to improve train platform safety. "This gap situation is something he has known about since being in office," said Goldberg, adding that Skelos has concentrated on improving aesthetics at LIRR stations rather than safety measures. "If we don't have the money," she said, "don't spend it beautifying stations."
Skelos spokesman Tom Dunham said that after learning about the accident in Lawrence, the senator called Berman to wish her well, and contacted state Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Madison, who also serves as chairman of the Public Transportation Safety Board, to get an update on the board's review of the Smead tragedy and the gaps at all LIRR and Metro-North stations. Dunham said the review is being conducted jointly by the PTSB and the federal National Transportation Safety Board, and that more than half of the LIRR and Metro-North platforms have been manually investigated by a team of investigators. At the urging of Skelos, the MTA is retrofitting a geometry car to take measurements of the remaining platforms, according to Dunham.
"The review is being expedited," Dunham said, adding that the PTSB is calling a special October meeting to release its report. "At Senator Skelos's request, the PTSB will include formal recommendations to address the gap problem in its final review of the LIRR and Metro-North gaps."
Lawrence Deputy Mayor Simon Felder, who lives across the street from Berman, said a day after the accident that since the village has a large senior citizen population riding the trains, it is vital to make improvements at the station to meet their needs. "It's really incumbent to take into consideration the needs and ability of older people to safely use those trains," Felder said.
Berman's husband, Jerry, said she was scheduled for surgery on Tuesday, and that he hopes his wife will be able to return home on Thursday. There she will begin the rehabilitation process. "It's been a tough week," Jerry Berman said. "It's been hectic."
"We think the long-term prognosis is good, but it's a difficult operation, and it's certainly going to be tough for her to go through all that rehab," said the Bermans' son, Charlie. "The important thing is to get her rehabilitated as soon as possible."
Comments about this story? Call Andrew Coen, (516) 569-4000, x210, or e-mail acoen@liherald.com.
