The Stewart Manor railroad station is 0.50 miles from the New Hyde Park railroad station. The Nassau Boulevard railroad station is 0.80 miles from the Merillon Avenue railroad station. There is plenty of platform space and drop off and pick up areas at the Stewart Manor and Nassau Boulevard railroad stations to handle commuters from the New Hyde Park and Merillon Avenue railroad stations. If this already in place infrastructure is utilized to its full potential, there would be no need for a mainline third track in New Hyde Park, Floral Park and Garden City.

During the weekday morning and evening peak rush hours a total of 15 trains stop at New Hyde Park and Merillon Avenue. During the same time frames, a total of 20 trains stop at Stewart Manor and Nassau Boulevard. Three more trains stop in the morning and two more trains stop in the evening at the Stewart Manor and Nassau Boulevard stations. Trains stopping at all four stations end up in the same place. That place is called Jamaica Station, the biggest bottleneck of any commuter railroad in this country. The LIRR has plans to clear up this bottleneck, allowing commuters of Stewart Manor and Nassau Boulevard a one seat ride to Penn Station on the hour, to Brooklyn 20 minutes after the hour, and to Grand Central (East Side access) 40 minutes after the hour. MTA Bus Shuttle service to and from both stations could be provided during peak hours to drop off commuters and pick up "reverse commuters." In addition, the MTA Midtown Manhattan x68 Express Bus service that begins at Hillside Avenue and 267th Street could be expanded into North New Hyde Park, with stops in the vicinity of Hillside Avenue and Marcus Avenue, Hillside Avenue and New Hyde Park Road, and Hillside Avenue and Lakeville Road. A similar express bus route could be created on Jericho Turnpike with stops in the vicinity of Jericho Turnpike and Nassau Boulevard, Jericho Turnpike and Leonard Boulevard, Jericho Turnpike and New Hyde Park Road, Jericho Turnpike and Lakeville Road and Jericho Turnpike and North 2nd Street. A multi-mode approach is required. All the parts are in place or can easily be put in place to achieve this alternative.

This alternative negates the need for a giant third track concrete retaining wall to be built from South Tyson Avenue in Floral Park to Premier Boulevard in New Hyde Park. The LIRR would not be 20 feet closer to hundreds of homes in Floral Park and New Hyde Park. At-grade crossing elimination would be less damaging to the community because the rail bridges over the roadways will be 20 feet narrower without a third track. The MTA has admitted it does not have all the money for all of its projects now under construction. Not building miles of the third track in Garden City, New Hyde Park and Floral Park would save tens of millions of dollars that the MTA does not have. This is a viable option for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to look at in the context of environmental impact and overall cost. This is an alternative that has benefits and costs to various sectors of our community. But all plausible options must be considered. The residents of the Village of New Hyde Park must have a constructive dialogue with regard to all viable options so that we can formulate a unified message as to how we feel about each component of this decade long mega project. My motives in this discourse are centered around, "New Hyde Park first and New Hyde Park always."

Edward W. Powers