By Jeff Lipton
That's the thinking of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority police, who set up a checkpoint at the Cedarhurst railroad crossing on Cedarhurst Avenue at 6:30 a.m. last Friday. MTA police officers handed out eight summonses to pedestrians who disobeyed the red flashing lights and bells of the warning gates. Those who were issued summonses will be required to appear in court in Hempstead on Sept. 15, officials said.
"The MTA police go around to all the [street-level] crossings on Long Island to do this," said an MTA spokeswoman. "We do this to ensure the safety of the public."
Jack Mevorach, founder of Train Noise Abatement Association which has been battling the LIRR in an effort to lower the decibel levels on the train horns as the trains pass through Cedarhurst, said he was thrilled with the ticket-writing campaign. LIRR officials said the horns have to be loud for safety reasons to alert pedestrians and motorists to stand clear of the tracks.
"If these summonses result in less people crossing the tracks illegally [when the gates are down], and this in turn causes [LIRR President] James Dermody to feel more comfortable about lowering the horns, then it's a good thing," said Mevorach, who is a prosecutor for Justice Court in Cedarhurst. "As a prosecutor for Cedarhurst, I'm interested in having these people comply with the law.
"At the Cedarhurst crossing, the safety devices seem to mean very little to pedestrians," he said. "I want to prosecute these people right here in the court in Cedarhurst."
Inspector Richard McCarrick, commanding officer of the Fourth Precinct, said he has instructed his supervisors and patrol officers to be alert for anyone who ignores the warning devices at the five railroad crossings in the Five Towns and tries to make it across the tracks as the gates are being lowered.
"Just like a traffic light that turns red, cars [and pedestrians] are supposed to stop for this [warning device], and we are stepping up enforcement of this," McCarrick said. "It's a safety issue. Often times, an express train doesn't stop [at the station] and it will be impossible for it to stop when a car or person is crossing the tracks."
He said he has received some complaints about motorists who try to beat the gates or pedestrians who walk around the gates. "That's why we're paying particular attention to it," he said.
Mevorach said there have been a few new developments in his campaign to lower the decibel level of Cedarhurst train noise, which he described as unbearable. He said it's untrue that making horns louder and longer will make it safer for all. "It's not so," he said. "No matter what kids are going to walk on the tracks."
Mevorach said a bell was added on the north side of the tracks, which he described as "a torture device" because of the loud sound it produces. Combined with the train horns, it has resulted in many sleepless nights for Cedarhurst residents. Working with Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), Cedarhurst village officials are crafting a letter asking the LIRR to remove the bell on the north side, which would help lower the noise level in the area.
"I'm not unsympathetic to where the LIRR is coming from," Mevorach said. "They don't want people to get killed."
In a meeting in Skelos's office last week, the senator told Mevorach he would do everything in his power to have the decibel level of the horns lowered from around 110 to 98. Each time the decibel level jumps three notches, the sound doubles, Mevorach said.
In addition, Mevorach said, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) is working on behalf of the community on the federal level. She will ask the Federal Railroad Administration and the secretary of transportation for an exemption and a waiver to the law that states how loud the horns must be blown. The regulations will be amended to read that when a residence is within 250 yards of a crossing, the train horns will be no louder than 96 decibels.
"You can't be closer than we are," Mevorach said. "This is a bedroom community. Some buildings are 20 yards from the tracks. Hopefully, these measures will provide some relief."
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
