Senator Craig M. Johnson announces that the New York State Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing Thursday, Sept. 20 on a rail-freight project that is expected to have a real impact on the Metropolitan Transit Authority's (MTA) controversial third track expansion.

According to the MTA, the Long Island Truck - Rail Inter Modal Facility (LITRIM) project at the former Pilgrim State Hospital site in Kings Park, will make it easier to transfer freight from tractor trailers to rail beds.

Johnson said that while the project is located in Suffolk County, it, coupled with the third track, "could have a real impact on the quality of life in Bellerose, Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Garden City Park, Garden City, Westbury, Carle Place, Mineola, Hicksville and the surrounding communities."

"This and the third track are among a series of interconnected rail expansion projects in the region," Johnson said. "What happens in Kings Park can very well affect what happens in our own communities. I urge anyone who can make it to this hearing to attend and make sure that your voice is heard."

The hearing is slated to be held from 4 to 10 p.m. at Suffolk Community College's Brentwood Campus, in the Sagtikos Arts and Science Building/Van Nostrand Theater. The campus is situated between Wicks and Crooked Hill Roads.

Recently, Johnson was able to secure a 61-day extension for written public comments on the LITRIM project amid concerns that Nassau residents were not properly informed of the proposal's ramifications. The New Hyde Park Save Our Village Association first brought this issue to Johnson's attention.

The new deadline for written comments on this project is Sept. 24. Comments can be mailed to: The LITRIM Project Team, NYS Department of Transportation, Region 10 Long Island, 250 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge, NY 11788. Comments can also be emailed to longislandintermodal@jacplanning.com. Use Project Identification Number is 0339.12 and 0339.13. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Inter Modal Facility is available online at www.longislandintermodal.com.