Support legislators Muscarella and Nicolello

[Noone wants Suoz's vision]

Support Republican legislators Vincent T. Muscarella and Richard J. Nicolella in opposing the MTA and County Executive Suozzi in the LIRR third rail project by showing your support in individual letters sent to Peter Palamaro. The following is a letter sent by Legislators Muscarella and Nicolella on taxpayers behalf, while they also urged the MTA/LIRR to proceed with the grade crossing eliminations in NHP at Covert Avenue, in Westbury at School Street and to address numerous safety and sanitary problems in the local stations, including crumbling cement pillars, pigeon feces, lack of accessibility for the disabled, garbage and debris along the rails and into the backyards of adjoing homes and other matters that residents actually want to have happen.
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July 25, 2005
Peter Palamaro LIRR Public Affairs Jamaica Station 1131 Jamaica, New York 11435
Dear Mr. Palamaro:
At the recent "scoping" meetings on the proposed third track along an 11.5-mile corridor of the "Main Line" between Queens Village and Hicksville, we expressed our strong opposition to the proposed project. We are writing to expand upon our comments and provide additional details as to why we think the proposal would have a devastating impact on the communities we represent.
The message from the recent scoping meetings should be loud and clear: The communities that are directly affected by the project are united in opposition. The third track project would damage each of these communities and would cause serious harm to the quality of life of thousands of local residents. As you know, the "Main Line" goes through the backyards of homes, schoolst businesses, and public facilities. The project, both during construction and afterwards, would have negative consequences for the local communities, including the following:
• The loss of homes, businesses and public property through condemnation.
• Damage to public facilities such as recreation centers, public works buildings, schools,
and libraries. ® The devaluation of residential home values.
• The loss of business with the corresponding loss of tax revenues to our schools and local government.
• The debris, noise, vibrations and other negative impacts caused by years of major construction in the hearts of the communities.
• Hundreds more trains per day causing more noise, vibrations, and pollution, along with the increased possibility of derailments from freight trains hauling garbage, hazardous waste, chemicals and fuel.
For all of these reasons and more, we strongly urge you to withdraw the proposed third track.


The letter is signed by Legislators Nicolello and Muscarello.

Support Republican legislators Vincent T. Muscarella and Richard J. Nicolella in opposing the MTA and County Executive Suozzi in the LIRR third rail project by showing your support in individual letters sent to Peter Palamaro. The following is a letter sent by Legislators Muscarella and Nicolella on taxpayers behalf, while they also urged the MTA/LIRR to proceed with the grade crossing eliminations in NHP at Covert Avenue, in Westbury at School Street and to address numerous safety and sanitary problems in the local stations, including crumbling cement pillars, pigeon feces, lack of accessibility for the disabled, garbage and debris along the rails and into the backyards of adjoing homes and other matters that residents actually want to have happen.
========================
July 25, 2005
Peter Palamaro LIRR Public Affairs Jamaica Station 1131 Jamaica, New York 11435
Dear Mr. Palamaro:
At the recent "scoping" meetings on the proposed third track along an 11.5-mile corridor of the "Main Line" between Queens Village and Hicksville, we expressed our strong opposition to the proposed project. We are writing to expand upon our comments and provide additional details as to why we think the proposal would have a devastating impact on the communities we represent.
The message from the recent scoping meetings should be loud and clear: The communities that are directly affected by the project are united in opposition. The third track project would damage each of these communities and would cause serious harm to the quality of life of thousands of local residents. As you know, the "Main Line" goes through the backyards of homes, schoolst businesses, and public facilities. The project, both during construction and afterwards, would have negative consequences for the local communities, including the following:
• The loss of homes, businesses and public property through condemnation.
• Damage to public facilities such as recreation centers, public works buildings, schools,
and libraries. ® The devaluation of residential home values.
• The loss of business with the corresponding loss of tax revenues to our schools and local government.
• The debris, noise, vibrations and other negative impacts caused by years of major construction in the hearts of the communities.
• Hundreds more trains per day causing more noise, vibrations, and pollution, along with the increased possibility of derailments from freight trains hauling garbage, hazardous waste, chemicals and fuel.
For all of these reasons and more, we strongly urge you to withdraw the proposed third track.


The letter is signed by Legislators Nicolello and Muscarello.

According to that logic, shouldn't we just dismantle the LIRR entirely and remove the tracks? Don't the tracks that are already there and the trains that run along them cause the value of nearby properties to be lower than they would otherwise be? Wouldn't getting rid of them reduce the "noise, debris, and vibrations?

[Logic? Are you that dumb?]

Pal - give up the crack. We're talking about digging up and condemning properties throughout Nassau County from Hicksville to Queens, primarily to help the NYC people commute into Suozzi's HUB, where they have found gainful employment at our expense. They want to put an entirely NEW train line in - are you sober yet? Guess how long that'll take the MTA - if they don't run out of money - and who will bear the costs? Please stop posting because your stupidity is just shining through. Maybe you should get a job on Tom Suozzi's team - if you don't already have one in economic development or on some transportation committee.

Yes...I'm sure THE MAJORITY of people riding the new line will be County employees from NYC hired by Suozzi. How many of them are there total...a few hundred maybe?

Nobody who lives in Nassau County and works in the City ever takes the train do they? All the commutings in the other direction, right?

Nassau County employees living in NYC represent maybe .00001 percent of people riding the LIRR on a daily basis.

I know you hate Suozzi...that's fine. But you really think he's trying to build an entire new railroad line so a couple hundred county employees can ride it to work? You're delusional...your conspiracy theories rival the ones about alien abductions.

Is the new train line definitely a good idea? I'm not sure. I'd need to see the statistics. I'm not sure if the benefits are worth the costs or not. But I'm not about to condemn the idea because of few thousand of Nicolello and Muscarella's NIMBY constituents won't benefit. Look at how many people benefit from the new line, look at how many are negatively impacted...whichever number is greater, that's the answer to the question of whether or not to build.

[DUMP MUSCARELLA AND PALS]

Newsday should have added those to panderers( Muscarella and Nicolello) to their editorial below


The third rail of LI transit
Don’t give in to NIMBYism on expansion of the Main Line


August 1, 2005


No other construction project could benefit the Nassau-Suffolk economy more than a third track on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line. The additional track would cut commuting time in both directions and bring more workers and their companies to Long Island. It is a key to growth.

That's why the NIMBY games being played by three members of Nassau's Republican state Senate delegation are so dangerous to the economic health of the entire region. That they are being played by three senators known for being serious lawmakers, often unafraid to take on angry constituencies, makes their pandering tactics especially disappointing.


Deputy Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) decided to use his clout as a member of a powerful board that reviews mass transit projects to require additional approvals even after millions will be spent preparing for construction. He did this to placate Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City) and Sen. Michael Balboni (R-East Williston), through whose districts the Main Line traverses. Many home and business owners are concerned about the impact. So the lawmakers are under political pressure to slow down or even scrap the project. That would be terrible.

There's no question that the people who live along the existing tracks should be heard. The quality of their lives and possibly their property values could be affected. So the Metropolitan Transportation Authority must do everything reasonable to mitigate the impact. And it must make sure their legitimate concerns are addressed openly.

But this project is hugely important for the entire region and the MTA may not be able to make everyone happy. Too many times projects that could benefit hundreds of thousands are held up or altered in unsuitable ways because hundreds, period, managed to frighten lawmakers into adopting their cause. The lack of a service road the entire length of the Long Island Expressway is only one such example of how one powerful senator can change a project so that thousands are inconvenienced every day.

Skelos, Balboni and Hannon don't mind being excoriated for their actions. After all, their motive is to score political points with their constituents. We hope these guys realize how desperately Long Island needs to attract new workers and companies - and to find leaders willing to do what's right for the greater good, not pander for their own good.