Say It Means More Freight Trains In Queens
Glendale and Middle Village residents are heading to Suffolk County this morning, Thursday, Sept. 13, to voice their opposition to the county’s proposed sale of 250 acres of public land adjacent to the Brookhaven Rail Terminal, fearing that an expansion of that facility would bring more freight traffic to the Fresh Pond Railyard and connecting rail lines.
The full Suffolk County Legislature is scheduled to debate and vote on legislation this morning authorizing the sale of vacant land at the Yaphank County Center to Oakland Transportation LLC, which operates the adjacent Brookhaven Rail Terminal, for $20,000,001.
Opened last September by the U.S. Rail Corporation, the Brookhaven Rail Terminal links to the Greenport branch of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). Reportedly, the facility was developed to more additional freight (namely crushed stone aggregate) by rail in order to reduce the amount of truck traffic on the Long Island Expressway and other roads in the county.
When the terminal opened last year, community activists in Queens such as CURES (Civics United for Railroad and Environmental Solutions) expressed concern that the new facility would bring additional train traffic westward into the Fresh Pond Railyard in Glendale and connecting lines. Residents of the Fresh Pond yard and area freight lines have been battling noise and air pollution, among other quality of life problems, for years and have been seeking action to alleviate these issues.
Mary Parisen, co-chair of CURES, noted that the Brookhaven Rail Terminal-which operates a 30 acre rail spur and holds 90 acres of adjacent land-would grow to nearly 400 acres in total size should the land sale be approved by the legislature. This would give the operators ample room to expand their facility to accommodate more trains that would eventually be shipped through Glendale and Middle Village, according to a CURES press release issued last Wednesday, Sept. 5.
Parisen noted that representatives of State Sen. Joseph Addabbo and Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, along with Middle Village resident Edward Cataldo, attended a hearing last Wednesday of the Suffolk County Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee to voice their opposition to the plan. The committee members- whom, she said, claimed to be unaware of the problems experienced in Queens-reportedly voted 3-2 not to make a recommendation for or against the deal. Nevertheless, they moved the bill to the legislature for a full vote scheduled for today.
Vincent Arcuri, chairperson of Community Board 5, sent a letter to William J. Lindsay, the Suffolk legislator’s presiding officer, on Sept. 7 urging that action on the sale be postponed “until Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo and the New York State legislators successfully address the need for repowering of polluting locomotive engines currently transporting municipal putrescible waste, construction and demolition debris and other materials in Long Island.”
“Our communities are already overwhelmed with polluting locomotives and more rail traffic than can reasonably be handled through the Fresh Pond Terminal in Glendale,” Arcuri wrote. “All the freight rail traffic coming into or being transported from all counties on Long Island comes through the Fresh Pond Terminal.”
Letters against the rail sale plan were also sent by other elected officials in Queens, including Assemby members Hevesi, Mike Miller and Margaret Markey, as well as Senator Addabbo.
At last Thursday’s (Sept. 6) Glendale Property Owners Association meeting, Parisen stated that the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) previously found violations of operation rules at the Brookhaven Rail Terminal, including mining of sand and the burial of construction and demolition debris.
Some freight rail companies have also been found to mix household waste with construction and demolition debris in cars shipped out of the Brookhaven terminal, she added.
Parisen previously stated in the Sept. 5 press release that “what we have here is a disturbing combination of railroad privileges, solid waste violations and a 400-acre, truck-rail terminal.”
“It looks like more garbage trains for Queens without any community benefits or freight rail upgrades at Fresh Pond Terminal,” she added.
Concerns about a larger freight rail terminal have also been raised by communities in Nassau and Suffolk counties through which freight traffic runs, Parisen added. She noted that CURES is working with advocates in Suffolk County in banding together to seek reforms such as capping container cars.
Parisen implored Glendale residents to attend the Suffolk County Legislature meeting today and voice their opposition to the rail land deal.
The Times Newsweekly is scheduled to attend today’s legislative session in Suffolk County and will have a follow-up report in next week’s issue.
In addition to reaching out to Suffolk
County lawmakers, Arcuri also wrote to Governor Cuomo on July 30 asking for his help to resolve quality of life problems caused by increased freight rail operations in the area.
“The attempt to reduce truck traffic, and associated pollution, through increased rail transport in” New York City and Long Island “has placed an undue burden on the communities of District 5, Queens,” Arcuri wrote. He urged “through the implementation of an all agency conference led by” Cuomo’s office find a resolution to “this crisis and effectively plan for a future based on efficient, safe and healthy rail transport.
