By Mike Schnitzel
All-Island Taxi is looking to build a new taxi stand at the station, and one of the sites the company has proposed is on the north side of the station. Deputy Mayor Tom Miccio said the proposal calls for a permanent structure to be built next to the LIRR ticket office. It would be near the door facing north toward the rear of the ticket office, between the stanchions.
Andrew Trevers, president of Temple Emanu-el's religious school on Saperstein Plaza, across the street from the proposed site, said he is seriously concerned about the proposal. "Having a taxi stand on the north side of the station creates a dangerous situation for children at this school," said Trevers. "It would also cause traffic problems when parents are coming to pick up or drop off their children."
Village Trustee David Penso, the village board's liaison to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, agrees. "I don't see any reason why the taxi stand can't stay where it is," said Penso. "To bring increased traffic, with people waiting around for taxis, across from a pre-school - I don't think it's a good environment for the pre-school."
Mayor Eugene Scarpato said that the taxis would not cause traffic problems on Saperstein Plaza, because they would still line up on the south side of the station, and that only when a taxi was needed would it then proceed to a waiting patron at the stand. "If anyone stood there and watched the traffic, they would see that [the taxi stand] would not affect the school at all," said Scarpato. "The taxis won't even reach where the school is."
Scarpato said he believed the station's north side would be the best location for the taxi stand, because it is the most convenient for plumbing work that would be needed for a restroom at the stand. Scarpato also said that the decision was up to the MTA, and that the village cannot prevent the agency from building a taxi stand on the station's north side, because the MTA owns that property.
Parents who were picking up or dropping off their children at Temple Emanu-el on Tuesday were not happy with the idea of a taxi stand so close to the school. "What's wrong with where they have it now?" said Mike Guglielmo, whose grandchild attends school at the temple. "I'm not against the business expanding, but I'm not pleased that they're going to put cabs near a child care center."
Lori McGuinness, who was picking up her son Michael from the school, agreed. "It would create too much traffic," she said. "It's dangerous for a child coming out of school."
All-Island Taxi currently operates out of a trailer on the south side of the station, at the corner of Sunrise Highway and Broadway. The company moved to that building after its permanent office a few blocks away was demolished, Miccio said. "Clearly they wanted something more permanent and more professional," he said.
Miccio said that current plans for the new permanent structure include a restroom, a small waiting room and room for a dispatcher.
Larry Blessinger, owner of All-Island Taxi, said he could not yet comment because it was too early in the proposal process.
Penso said that a decision on the matter from the MTA could take anywhere from one month to several months, depending on the LIRR's approval of architectural plans submitted by All-Island Taxi.
LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto said that the plan for the taxi dispatch office is "under review."
Comments about this story? MSchnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
