By Andrew Coen
While the June 28 meeting, hosted by Nassau County Legislator Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside) at the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, was called to discuss alternatives to the loud LIRR horns, the topic quickly turned to what local residents referred to as poor discretion demonstrated by "inconsiderate" LIRR conductors, who keep them awake late at night. During the meeting, State Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) addressed a large crowd of residents from the Five Towns, Oceanside, Island Park and East Rockaway.
The residents complained about train noise both on the Far Rockaway branch, which services Inwood, Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, Hewlett, Gibson and Valley Stream, and the Long Beach line, which has stops in Lynbrook, East Rockaway, Oceanside, Island Park and Long Beach.
"I personally believe it is on the inconsiderate nature of the conductors and engineers," Ronnie Baker Stein yelled during the forum, voicing her disgust about the noise she hears living a few feet from the railroad tracks in Cedarhurst. "Something needs to be done."
LIRR President James Dermody, who attended the forum and was the recipient of the brunt of complaints, said the conductors are required to blast the horn for 20 seconds (two long blasts, a short one followed by a long) for safety reasons in case anyone is walking along the tracks or between crossings. "I can't tell them not to obey the law," said Dermody, drawing groans from the large crowd.
Dermody said train noise is a problem all over Long Island but it is particularly bad on the Far Rockaway branch since the stations are located so close to each other and thus the vehicles are forced to travel slower creating longer instances of horn sound.
The complaints from residents come on the heels of recently introduced federal mandates stating that horns now used by the LIRR must operate at between 96 and 110 decibels at a distance of 100 feet. The Federal Railroad Administration also passed regulations a year ago that require longer, more frequent use of the train horn to alert the public to potential danger and prevent accidents.
Two days prior to the meeting, LIRR officials visited Cedarhurst to test wayside horns, which operate at 92 decibels, at 100 feet, and only travel vertically down the track, thus directing the noise toward the commercial area, according to transportation officials. However, numerous residents and local business owners complained that the wayside horn sounded even worse. If village officials decided to install wayside horns, Cedarhurst would be the first community on Long Island to use the devices, which have been used in Chicago and Nebraska, according to LIRR officials. Skelos said if the wayside horns are implemented in Cedarhurst and are successful, they could also be installed in other areas along the Far Rockaway branch.
Robert Albritton, president of Railroad Controls Limited, which designs wayside horns, said in a phone interview that he did not feel the Far Rockaway branch would be well suited for the device since the stations are located so close together and the horns would still have to be blasted many times. He said the only way a wayside horn would work in the Five Towns would be if the existing wiring of the warning devices near the stations were redesigned. Albritton also stated that the device the LIRR tested was not a "true wayside horn" since it was an older horn that he feels skews the test results.
Mona Garofalo of Hewlett said that while the train noise is bad, residents should learn to deal with it for safety reasons. "Have sex and you won't hear the horns," joked Garofalo, using some comic relief during the forum and sparking laughter from the crowd in what was otherwise an intense atmosphere.
Skelos urged residents to press local federal officials to adjust federal regulations to accommodate the Far Rockaway branch, along which the stations sit close to one another in a densely populated area. The day before the June 28 meeting, Skelos sent a letter to Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) seeking help in adjusting the regulations, which have been designed mainly for rural areas. Toback also suggested that Train Noise Abatement Association (TNAA) members and concerned residents take a trip to Washington D.C. with him and other elected officials to lobby Congress and the new Secretary of Transportation, who will replace Norman J. Minetta when he steps down this month. A replacement has not been named.
TNAA founder Jack Mevorach, who lives in an apartment adjacent to the Cedarhurst station, said the wayside horns were worse and he would prefer that the LIRR lower the decibel level to 98, which would still meet federal standards. He also said with the newer M7 LIRR trains for every three-decibel increase the sound doubles creating an unbearable situation. "This is simply the type of issue you don't get used to," Mevorach said during the meeting, adding that he recently has had to go to bed with earplugs.
"It seems to me [98 decibels] could be a comfortable level for the Long Island Rail Road," said Miriam Steinberg of Woodmere.
Installing wayside horns would cost roughly $65,000 for each crossing, according to a recent FRA report. Skelos said that if Cedarhurst residents prefer the wayside horn, he and the LIRR will work to secure funding for these new devices at the village's six crossings. Installation of the horns would take roughly eight months to a year to complete since signals along the track would need to be changed, according to Dermody.
Scot Mathison of Cedarhurst, an active TNAA member, said he has estimated there are 1,200 train blasts a day in the Five Towns and that at age 42 he has already started to suffer adverse health from the lack of sleep because of the noise. "This is definitely a health emergency," said Mathison.
Late last year, TNAA representatives pressed Skelos and Cedarhurst Mayor Andrew Parise to create a quiet zone in Cedarhurst, meaning trains would be allowed to operate without blasting their horns in the required sequence if it could be proven that the designation did not create a safety risk. However, LIRR officials estimated it would cost roughly $400,000 for each of Cedarhurst's six crossings to implement such a plan, making the proposal too expensive, according to Parise. In Skelos's letter to Rep. McCarthy, he also asked for federal help in seeking ways to create a quiet zone in Cedarhurst. Another option that would reduce train noise is to create a one-way gate at the various crossings in the village. LIRR officials have said such a project would be costly with complications in some of the areas.
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