By George Tsai
Last week, I went there to pick up a friend. It was the first time I had set foot on that area between 40th Road and 41st Avenue. Though my stay was brief, I got a terrible impression about the sanitary conditions on both sides near the track. A couple of days later I revisited it so I could take a closer look at both sides. The result? The sight and smell turned my stomach.Let's put this in perspective. Nobody has ever complained about the environmental flaws over there. Apparently, passengers just couldn't care less about the condition because it's not in their backyard. In fact, some careless passengers are to blame for littering areas surrounding the stop.The entrance side is much worse than the exit. Rubbish is strewn over both sides of the two dozen concrete steps leading to the platform. And not far from the track is a narrow yet long stretch of dumping ground behind a wall of several stores on 40th Road and Main Street.Shopping carts, rusty gas tanks, worn-out clothing, shoes as well as numerous empty beverage bottles and cans have been piled up over there for years, perhaps. It will inevitably become a breeding ground for bacteria and a bad smell is likely to permeate the air over 40th Road, which bristles with eateries and travel agencies.Town officials, local politicians and especially the business improvement district ought to do something to get rid of that environmental eyesore. That means hiring people to clean up the area, letting LIRR and storeowners along the track foot the bill. Or the BID could extend its regular cleanup services to that area.In the meantime, warning signs prohibiting littering should be put up in the designated areas and heavy fines should be imposed on violators.For the sake of its own business and Flushing's image, LIRR should spruce up its entrance and exit areas and erect big signs and post service schedules on both sides. By doing so it can attract more middle-class riders from Flushing to Manhattan or to Long Island.According to my friend, the LIRR is almost trouble-free and by far cleaner, roomier and faster than its subway counterpart. It takes less than 20 minutes to get here from Manhattan's Penn Station. Moreover, it's punctual. Every passenger has a comfortable seat. No wonder it costs a little more than subway trains.Still, there is a better alternative. You can take the mini-bus at 41st Road to Lower Manhattan at a cost of $2. It sometimes makes one stop along the way. The return trip is $1. Good deal!The No. 7 line more often than not suspends its direct Flushing-Manhattan service on weekends in the name of track reconstructions or repairs. Riders have to get off at Queensboro Plaza and take another train to the city, much to the inconvenience of the riders.This is not publicity for LIRR. I am writing to call on the public to come up with a solution to this problem that has apparently eluded the attention of local authorities.Ironically, the LIRR entrance is on the side of 40th Road, which has been under fire for its gooey sidewalk, dirty street and traffic jams.I have called on local officials time and again to direct their attention to those problems plaguing 40th Road. That street is an unofficial stop for tourist buses taking fun-seekers to Foxwoods in Connecticut. Worse, trucks sometimes unload cargoes in the middle of the road. As a result, motorists often get stuck on that short street.As far as I can recall, state Assemblyman Jimmy Meng promised during his campaign that he would try to do something to ease the downtown gridlock and persuade more merchants to join the business improvement district if elected. I am hopeful that he will also take note of this controversial road.Cleanliness must be the top priority of that street so that more people would patronize its restaurants. To that end, the street should be cleared of all types of vehicles.On a positive note, downtown Flushing is getting cleaner than before. The other day I saw men in dark-blue uniform pick up snippets of trash in the busy section. Unquestionably, the BID deserve the credit for that.
