By Anna Gustafson
After more than a year of loud noise from passing trains made Forest Hills resident Anna Guasto feel like her sanity was slowly slipping away, the Long Island Rail Road has become more receptive to individuals’ concerns about the decreased quality of life, Guasto reported at last week’s Community Board 6 meeting.
Guasto said the noise from trains had become unbearable since the LIRR cut down about 80 trees two years ago and removed a wall about one year ago.
“At first, the Long Island Rail Road was not responsive at all to our requests that they replace the wall and the trees,” Guasto said at the meeting June 10 in Forest Hills. “Now that the community board and legislators have become involved, they’re more receptive.”
Guasto urged community board members and CB 6 District Manager Frank Gulluscio to continue their support of the neighbors’ goal to get back the wall and foliage they say acted as barriers to the loud sounds and shaking that consistently awaken them at night.
“Nobody in Tennis View has gotten a good night’s sleep since they took out the wall,” Guasto said. “The noise is so overbearing I felt like I was losing my mind.”
Tennis View, located right next to the train tracks, is the 167-unit co-op where Guasto lives.
Guasto reported that a meeting organized by Gulluscio at the end of April and attended by Forest Hills residents, state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone), and representatives from the offices of U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills), state Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) and Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills) inspired legislators to jump on board with residents weary of the LIRR’s lack of communication.
Guasto said subsequent pressure from the lawmakers has gotten the LIRR to at least acknowledge neighbors’ complaints. Stavisky said she plans on meeting with Forest Hills residents and LIRR President Helena Williams soon after returning from Albany.
“Vegetation management efforts in Forest Hills brought to our attention a deteriorating, graffiti-covered, wood and stucco wall on railroad property near Tennis View apartments,” said Salvatore Arena, assistant director of media relations for the LIRR. “After an inspection determined it was unsafe, the wall was removed%u2026 There was no evidence that the wall had any structural significance or that it was designed or intended as an acoustical barrier. However, we understand the community’s concern about train noise and remain willing to meet with local public officials and community leaders to discuss the situation.
Guasto and fellow Forest Hills resident Russ Gundlach believe their homes, which are supposed to be their nest eggs, are quickly losing value without the trees and wall to shade the properties from the industrial landscape of the tracks.
“I wouldn’t buy my apartment now unless somebody gave me a really good deal,” said Gundlach, who lives in Tennis View. “I’ve lived here for 12 years, and I’ve never had a problem until they cut the trees down and then it was like, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t live with this. I can’t think with all this noise.’”
Gundlach and Guasto said Weiner is now looking into possible government funding for residents to replace the wall.
“If the funding is there, the LIRR would likely be a lot more receptive to putting a wall back,” said Gundlach, a photo digital retoucher who works from home. He has consistently been bothered as he works by the noise.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 174.
