Volunteers Needed for April 30th - Keep America Beautiful Planting in Farmers Oval, Glendale, Queens

On Saturday, April 30th, volunteers will come together starting at 10 AM at the corner of Shaler Ave. & 65th adjacent to NYC's Mafera Park to complete the second phase of a community beautification project in Farmers Oval. The project will transform this neglected NYC DOT property into a green streets project.


The April 30th event involves planting trees, shrubs, and other plants. Tools will be provided. individual volunteers and groups are cordially invited to participate. Volunteers are still needed. Scouts and students can earn volunteer service hours through their participation.

Volunteers should call CURES Co-Chair Mary Parisen at 718-772-6563.

There will be a third event on May 14th (rain date May 15th) when volunteers will complete any remaining cleaning and planting and celebrate the completion of the project adjacent to Mafera Park. Additional cleanup and planting later this spring will beautify the corner of Cypress Hills and Shaler. $6,000 in grant funds has been received for these projects: $1,000 from LOVE YOUR BLOCK/Citizens Committee for NYC, and $5,000 from Keep America Beautiful/Waste Management. The funding received is being used mainly for plantings that will permanently beautify the area.

The public-private partnership that is making these improvements possible includes the following individuals and organizations:

• CURES (Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions)
• FOCA (Farmer's Oval Civic Association)
• Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corp.
• Harry Muller (Master Gardner)
• Citizens Committee for NYC/LOVE YOUR BLOCK grant program
• NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
• NYC Department of Transportation
• NYC Department of Sanitation
• Grow NYC
• Waste Management/Keep America Beautiful grant program
• Glendale Volunteer Ambulance
• Anthony Tranchina Contracting Corp.
• LIRR/ MTA New York & Atlantic Railway
• NYPD
• Hunter College School of Social Work internship program

Diesel Trains May Go Green by Joe Anuta - YourNabe.com

Read original...

EPA grant could cut pollution from two Glendale-bound locomotives

Glendale residents Abignew Marczak and his wife Barbara have complained about the pollution from trains in the neighborhood.

Two antiquated diesel trains that belch out clouds of pollution as they haul waste through Queens may get an environmentally friendly makeover if a federal grant is approved in the spring.

Several organizations partnered with the city and applied for a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to outfit the two locomotives with more fuel-efficient engines that will reduce the emissions and pollution that are inhaled by Queens residents.

“We are just so thrilled, and it’s very gratifying that people have latched on to this idea of having a cleaner and greener neighborhood,” said Mary Parisen, co-chair of Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions, a collection of civic associations around the borough.

“This is a small step, but it’s in the right direction,” she said.

But the grants must still be approved by the EPA for its 2011 budget, and if actually selected in March, the outlays are scheduled to begin in May and be completed in October 2012.

“We’re really hoping that this grant does come through in March,” Parisen said.

The first grant would be used to refurbish a 1980s locomotive owned by CSX Transportation. The train now transports garbage from a station in the Bronx through Astoria, Jackson Heights, Woodside, Elmhurst, Maspeth, Middle Village and Ridgewood before terminating in Glendale.

The new engine will actually be comprised of three smaller engines, which will allow the locomotive to use them in stages and thus conserve fuel and curb emissions..

Nitrogen oxide, a pollutant released into the atmosphere by the locomotive, will be reduced by 20 tons annually, which is 76 percent. And particulate matter will be reduced by 0.21 tons.

The total grant will cost about $1.8 million, with $1 million coming from the EPA and the rest from CSX Transportation.

The second grant will be used to rebuild a 1973 New York & Atlantic Railway locomotive using a similar technique. That train carries waste from its Fresh Pond base in Glendale through Middle Village, Ridgewood, Maspeth, Blissville and Long Island City and also goes into Brooklyn.

The refurbished locomotive will cut fuel usage by 50 percent, and cut 1.1 tons of nitrogen oxide annually, but 20 tons over the project’s 18-year lifetime. It will reduce particulate matter by 0.44 tons.

The project will cost about $2.5 million, with $1 million coming from the EPA and a majority of the remaining funds from Waste Management Inc., the company employed by the city to move garbage into landfills.

The grant from the EPA is part of the agency’s National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program, which aims to make rail travel more green.

The project is especially pertinent for Queens, according to the grant, which said the borough has child asthma rates well above the national average.

That is exactly why CURES had been advocating for reform on how railroads operate in urban neighborhoods in the borough, according to Parisen, and they still have a long way to go. People in the Glendale neighborhood complain that the smell of diesel fuel and the pollution are so strong that they have trouble staying outside for extended periods of time.

But Parisen also recognizes it as a positive development.

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” Parisen said. “We’re grateful that it’s a start.”

And it is a start for the city as well.

“Repowering the entire NY&A locomotive fleet is the ultimate goal of the city of New York,” the grant said.

But the one NY&A locomotive that is included in the grant is only one of 10 total trains. The other nine are owned by the Long Island Rail Road and were not given permission for this particular upgrade.

The grants enjoyed the support of a gaggle of politicians, nonprofits and even Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It was written by the city Economic Development Corp.

For Cross Harbor EIS Scope, Public Officials & Port Authority say NYC Freight Rail Needs Fixing - CURES

Public officials went to bat for CURES' communities in their comments on the proposed Scope of study for the Cross Harbor Environmental Impact Statement.

CURES Co-Chair Laura Zimmer stated, "CURES members and our public officials have given the Port Authority and Federal Highway Administration a road map for studying and solving local social and environmental problems caused by freight transport." Zimmer added, "CURES and CB-5 gave Laura Shabe (Manager, Cross Harbor Freight Program, Port Commerce Department, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey) a tour. There is an opportunity here for more objective and open investigation to take place. It is in everyone's best interests for focused, practical solutions to be devised and implemented by private and public stakeholders."

Laura Shabe, was quoted in a recent timesnewsweekly article:

http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/news/2010-11-04/Local_News/Port_Authority_Harbor_Study_____Isnt_Limited_To_Tu.html

about local rail problems. Shabe stated: “If we can’t make freight rail work here now, we can’t make it work in the future.”

In response to Shabe's remarks, CURES Co-Chair Mary Parisen said, "Laura Shabe is exactly right. Transportation solutions for the 21st C will come out of solving today's problems.

Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions (CURES) -- The “Dirty Dozen”: 12 Things Everyone Should Know About Freight Rail in NYC...

Recent CURES News Coverage - CURES 'Dirty Dozen' Lists Blasts Railroads by Daniel Bush - Glendale Register

1. CURES is in favor of freight rail, and we want to see it become a genuinely "green" mode of transportation (see our mission statement below). No communities have suffered more from trucks, highways, and congestion than we have.
   
   2. Freight rail as it exists today is not "green" or “sustainable” in Queens. Freight rail is trashing our communities 365 days a year because of:
   
   - Air and water borne pollution coming from open gondolas of solid waste.
   
   - Noxious odors from gondolas and vented containers of solid waste that come into our neighborhoods by train and are routinely parked by homes -- sometimes for days. These odors limit use and enjoyment of adjacent properties, and attract flies and vermin.
   
   - Noxious fumes, noise, and air pollution from idling and switching trains -- including 1978-vintage locomotive engines operated by Providence & Worcester and NY & Atlantic. NY & Atlantic is a franchisee of the MTA/LIRR, which has a large fleet of these old freight locomotives and collects fees from freight rail operations.
   
   - Filthy and unsightly properties in and around the rail corridor that degrade better-kept private industrial properties and our well-kept residential neighborhoods with dumping, dead trees, litter, graffiti, and habitat for disease vectors.
   
   - Toxic and flammable chemicals that are everpresent in the rail corridor running through our neighborhoods. These include rail tankers of non-odorized liquefied petroleum gas and the Buckeye Pipeline that supplies airline fuel.
   
   
   3. Problems created by current freight rail/solid waste transport operations already are at intolerable levels in our communities.
   
   4. Today our communities effectively are subsidizing the profits of freight railroads and their customers. This is because they are being allowed to use old technology and operations that create burdens for our communities. As a result, current freight rail operations are needlessly draining health and value out of our communities.
   
   
   5. Many people are unaware that ALL rail freight that travels into or out of Brooklyn or Long Island must pass through Fresh Pond rail Terminal in Glendale, Queens. This small rail yard already is an overcrowded bottleneck. Even current levels of traffic have pushed expanded railroad operations into residential areas where 50-year residents have never experienced anything like this before. 
   
   
   6. Because of the way rail problems already are trashing our communities, regional transportation plans to increase the number of freight portals that rely on rail -- like the Cross Harbor tunnel and Long Island Intermodal truck-to-rail terminal projects -- simply cannot be planned and implemented without first: 1. upgrading freight rail and solid waste equipment and operations, and 2. including alternatives to Fresh Pond Terminal. 
   
   
   7. The freight rail problems we are experiencing are city, state, and nationwide problems that railroads and their customers are "greenwashing" with advertising, PR, and lobbying. In 2010, the railroad lobby opposed modest, palliative state legislation to tarp open gondolas of waste. 
   
   
   8. In NY State and NYC, all major federal rail funding is going into passenger rail -- with almost nothing for freight rail. This is not true in other states. If the LIRR/MTA put back into service the same passenger rail technologies they employed in 1978, the public would be outraged. Yet, this is the outmoded state of freight rail that our communities are forced to live with. 
   
   
   9. The problems that communities along the rail line are experiencing with solid waste were only anticipated for areas in and around solid waste transfer stations when Environmental Impact Studies were done. Rail was assumed to be "green." Studies for railroad expansions by the Surface Transportation Board take a similar myopic view. This is the New York City metropolitan area, not the middle of Nebraska. The city, state, and federal governments need to go back to the drawing board. 
   
   
   10. If other boroughs and Long Island are allowed to export their garbage to Queens, the city's Solid Waste Management Plan concept of "fair share" is not fulfilled. If garbage seems to "disappear" into Queens there is less motivation to "reduce, re-use, recycle."
   
   
   11. Queens is being treated as a dumping ground for regional environmental, transportation, and solid waste burdens. This is an unjust and short-sighted way to deal with serious, long-term public health and economic development issues.
   
   
   12. Find more information on the CURES Facebook page

Contact: civicsunited@gmail.com 

Mary Parisen,  Co-Chair 718-877-6563 

Laura Zimmer, Co-Chair 718-386-7132

Waste Transfer Stations Worry Queens Leaders by Ivan Pereira - YourNabe.com

Read original...

The city unveiled its updated plans for its new waste transfer stations near LaGuardia Airport and Newtown Creek.

The city Sanitation Department updated Borough President Helen Marshall and community leaders Monday on its plans to build two new transfer stations in Queens, but Marshall said she is still concerned over the facilities’ im pact on the surrounding neighborhoods.

Harry Szarpanksi, a deputy commissioner for the department, showed off a presentation on its construction of the North Shore marine transfer station in College Point and a waste transfer facility in Sunnyside during the Borough Board meeting.

The facilities, which are still years from full operation, were designed to decrease costs and end the use of long-haul trucks that transport waste in the city, according to the commissioner.

“Once these facilities are up and running, there will be no truck trafficking routes out of the city,” he said.

The College Point marine transfer station will collect trash from neighborhoods east of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, load the waste into specially designed containers and ship it off to another facility via a barge, Szarpanksi said.

The facility has sparked concerns from residents and elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside), over the ecological effects it could place on the surrounding area, especially LaGuardia Airport. Critics have said the facility’s garbage could attract more birds to the area, which could pose a threat to flights coming in and out of the airport.

Szarpanksi reassured Marshall and various members of the borough’s community boards that when the facility begins operation sometime in 2013, it will be safe and not disturb the community. He showed diagrams and plans of the station, including its high-tech loading and container machinery, and said all operations would be done in an enclosed space to prevent the escape of odors.

The second waste station, located near Review Avenue in Sunnyside, will be using the rail system near Newtown Creek to get the waste out of Queens and leaders have expressed their doubts about the project.

The facility, slated to begin construction sometime in November, would manage, store and transport roughly 2,100 tons of waste a day from western Queens , according to Szarpanksi.

Lydon Sleeper, chief of staff for City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), said he was worried about the logistics of the station — especially its use of the non-public railroads in the area.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We need to have a conversation on what it means to put it on rail and rail it through neighborhoods,” he said. “You wouldn’t want a [garbage] truck and put it next to someone’s home.”

Szarpanksi said preliminary plans include installing a treatment system to neutralize the odor in the building’s exhaust air and the use of airtight containers.

Marshall said she was frustrated by the foot-dragging in getting the facilities up and running since the idea of the transfer stations was in the planning stages when she was a councilwoman.

“What’s taking so long?” she asked.

The sanitation commissioner said several delays and long planning have contributed to the late opening of the facilities, but reassured the borough president that the agency was committed to making them a reality soon.

The Stink Train by Robert Pozarycki - www.timesnewsweekly.com - Times Newsweekly

Read original...

Civic Coalition Calls For End To Rail Noise, Odors

More than 100 residents and civic activists took part in a march through Glendale and Ridgewood last Saturday, Apr. 24, organized by Civics United for Railroad and Environmental Solutions (CURES) in an effort to call attention to quality-of-life problems caused by local freight rail traffic. The march started at the corner of 69th Street and Otto Road and proceeded to Mafera Park in Ridgewood, where a press conference was held regarding legislation aimed at forcing rail companies to seal container cars filled with rotting trash.

Fed up with loud noise and noxious fumes emanated by local freight rail traffic, scores of residents took to the streets of Ridgewood and Glendale last Saturday morning, Apr. 24, calling for train reforms which they hope will improve their quality of life.

More than 100 residents, civic leaders and elected officials turned out for the event organized by Civics United for Railroad and Environmental Solutions (CURES) to support efforts to reform freight operations along rail lines running through both neighborhoods as well as Maspeth and Middle Village.

Starting with a march from the intersection of 69th Street and Otto Road in Glendale to Mafera Park in Ridgewood and ending with a press conference and cleanup, participants carried banners and offered chants urging local rail companies to change the way they operate in the area, including ending noisy overnight operations, sealing container cars full of rotting garbage and retrofitting diesel locomotives with fuel-efficient hybrid engines.

The CURES coalition, which is comprised of more than a dozen community groups in the Community Board 5 area, was formed late last year in response to numerous complaints that arose from residents around Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village regarding local train lines in each neighborhood.

Among the civic groups taking part in CURES which were represented at the rally include the Citizens for a Better Ridgewood, Farmers Oval Civic Association, Glendale Civic Association, Glendale Property Owners Association, Juniper Park Civic Association, Liberty Park Home Owners Association and the Maspeth West End Block Association.

Leading the charge was Glendale resident Mary Parisen, who co-chairs CURES along with her neighbor Mary Arnold. Parisen spoke of a host of problems related to the hauling of container cars full of rotting household garbage through local communities along lines operated by the New York and Atlantic Railway (NYA) and CSX.

As previously reported in this newspaper, local residents have complained over recent months about the unpleasant aroma of putrefying garbage in cars stored—sometimes for many hours—along the CSX line heading northbound from the Fresh Pond Railyard in Glendale through Middle Village. The noxious odors, neighbors living near the tracks claimed, have made it nearly impossible to leave their windows open during warm weather or stand outside without feeling nauseated.

Arnold told the Times Newsweekly the quality of life problems related to train traffic are also forcing residents to leave the community. She noted that some landlords have a difficult time renting their properties to prospective tenants since they are located close to local rail lines.

Changing the locomotives

Following last Saturday’s rally, CURES members were informed by the New York and Atlantic Railway (NYA), which operates out of the Fresh Pond Railyard in Glendale, will upgrade its fleet of 11 locomotives with equipment designed to reduce their emissions. The $1 million effort will reportedly be funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program.

“It’s an improvement,” according to a CURES statement regarding the NYA plan, which noted that the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) “has gone on record to say that locomotive repowering is what we need to reduce diesel emissions.” Locomotive repowering would require the current diesel engines used by each locomotive to be replaced with engine designs that are more fuel efficient.

Click on images to enlarge...

“The NYA announcement is a very small step in addressing the quality of life problems of people living near the railroad tracks,” added Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, which is part of the CURES coalition. “Lowering emissions on NYA locomotives by one-third is fine, but what about CSX locomotives which are the ones causing the problems in Middle Village? CSX and NYA are currently using the railroad track area in Middle Village as a rail yard and crews work on trains at 4 and 5 a.m.”

“Finding a quick solution to this unbearable air and noise pollution problem is our number one concern,” Holden concluded. “Middle Village residents finally getting a good night’s sleep would be a cause for a celebration.”

Sealing the stink train

Among those in attendance were Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, who informed residents during the press conference that he has introduced several bills in the state legislature aimed at requiring freight operators to put hard lids atop cars containing putrescible waste, which would block foul odors from spreading to nearby homes.

Joining Hevesi at the conference were several other elected officials including Assemblyman Mike Miller, State Sen. Joseph Addabbo and City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley.

Hevesi touted the legislation he introduced into the State Assembly as a possible solution to the problem. In addition to a bill requiring all train companies to apply hard, impenetrable seals atop cars containing putrescible waste, he also authored a bill that would increase penalties against companies which ignore this requirement.

The assemblyman previously described the legislation at the JPCA’s Mar. 25 meeting in Middle Village. During the session, he informed residents that the proposed bills would force shipping companies to install the solid lids at waste management facilities, which are under state jurisdiction. Train yards and tracks fall under federal oversight and are exempt from state regulation under the Interstate Commerce Clause in the Constitution.

Arnold noted that the proposed legislation is “a step in the right direction,” adding that CURES would continue to work with local lawmakers and railroad operators to ensure that other reforms are implemented in the weeks and months ahead.

CURES Press Release - For Immediate Release May 5, 2010...

CURES received some good news about emissions & idling reduction action this morning from Raymond Hessinger, (Acting) Director, Freight & Passenger Rail Bureau, NYS Department of Transportation "... I do have some good news to report to you on idling at Fresh Pond. Last week, CSX and Canadian Pacific (CP) announced an agreement ...on joint operations in New York. Once facet of the transaction includes CSX's agreement to carry CP's traffic between Albany and Fresh Pond on their existing trains. By doing so, it will allow CP to discontinue running their own trains to Fresh Pond. While CP only operates 2 round trips per week to Fresh Pond, their locomotives idle for at least 8 hours in Fresh Pond during each trip as their train crews take their federally mandated rest. More information on the broader statewide agreement can be found in their joint filings with the Surface Transportation Board at this link:

One of CURES major requests has been that the railroads reduce idling and emissions. This action is welcome as it takes a step in that direction. This action demonstrates how the railroads and the agencies can get together on issues CURES has been raising. They can change operations in ways that reduce community burdens and current adverse impacts of trains on public health, safety, welfare, and property values. Citizens experience the effects, however we are on the outside looking in. It is the railroads and agencies that know the rules and have the power and discretion to make changes that can reduce community burdens and make "green" freight rail operations and equipment in NYC a reality. CURES wants all levels of government working together with the railroads in NYC to accelerate the pace of change.

Change is needed now because today, for CURES communities, freight rail is not "green." People are suffering from adverse health effects, noxious odors, noise and emissions from vintage 1978 LIRR locomotives at Fresh Pond Terminal, and other impacts from rail at all hours of the day and night. The transport of city garbage by rail has made a historically bad situation exponentially worse, and for many more people. Here is a quote from Mary Parisen about her experiences this week at her house and her sister's house on 69th St., near the intersection with Otto Rd., across the street from Fresh Pond Terminal: "Last night they (the trains in Fresh Pond Terminal) were going from 7-12 pm. I was sitting on my sister's porch with her and my neighbor and at one point I had to cover my mouth because of the diesel fumes. It was horrible."

Join CURES Facebook page...

Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions
69-06 69th St., Glendale, NY 11385 Phone # 347-482-1962

New York & Atlantic Railway to Spend $1 Million to Curb Train Emissions in Glendale by Lisa L. Colangelo - NY Daily News

Read original...

Glendale residents living next to the Otto Road rail yards got some good news Tuesday when New York & Atlantic Railway announced it will spend $1 million to cut emissions on its 11-unit fleet.

Neighborhood and environmental activists have long complained about noise and pollution from diesel engines idling there.

Railway officials said the work, which will "lower its carbon footprint by 35%," should be completed by the end of the year.

Most of the funds will come from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant through its Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program. The railway will kick in about 20% of the cost.

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall said the change will "dramatically reduce emissions and lower noise related to idling engines."

Railway officials said the trains will be retrofitted with devices that monitor the temperature of the water in the engines. They will also ensure the water is heated, reducing the need to keep the engines idling. Currently, they are kept running so their temperature does not drop below 38 degrees.

Residents of Glendale, Middle Village and Maspeth - neighborhoods bisected by the railroad tracks - have said the CSX and New York & Atlantic Railway trains are a ongoing source of problems in their areas.

They formed a group called CURES - Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions - to address the issues.

Some Middle Village residents have said the noise and stench from trains carrying trash in the early morning hours make it impossible to get a good night's sleep.

And Glendale homeowners who live alongside New York & Atlantic's Otto Road facility said noise and pollution are a constant headache.

Railway officials said they have worked hard to improve air quality along its 269-mile freight route.

"This is a step in the right direction," said Mary Parisen, a founding member of CURES. "But we want them to address other issues, such as scheduling of these trains. People are hearing trains banging [from trains coupled] at all hours of the night."

Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association and a member of CURES, hailed the latest effort, but noted it "doesn't solve the quality of life problems for people living near the tracks."

CURES - Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions Earth Day Event at Mafera Park...

Click here to view these pictures larger

CURES (Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solitions) Earth Day Event included a march from Middle Village to 69th St. and Otto in Glendale to Mafera Park. After the march there was a press conference with local elected officials, Senator Joe Addabbo, Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, Assemblyman Michael Miller, Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley and community leaders. The electeds and and civic association leaders spoke about solid waste legislation that closes loopholes in state environmental law, education and outreach followed by a public lands cleanup in Mafera Park.

CURES Mission Statement

Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions -- CURES -- is a coalition of 13 civic associations from Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Glendale, Elmhurst, Woodside, Forest Hills, and Woodhaven -- all communities along the local railroad corridor. CURES believes that increased railroad traffic is coming as both a cost-saving and environmentally sound measure.

However, our organization is dedicated to ensuring that this increase in railroad traffic does not come at a cost of increased environmental burdens for our communities. Our communities already are suffering from noise, the stench of garbage left sitting on sidings for long periods of time, health-threatening diesel emissions from outdated locomotives, and security threats from easy access to rail yards that store dangerous cargo, such as liquefied petroleum gas.

Therefore, we pledge to work with federal, state, and local agencies, our elected officials, and the railroads themselves to lobby for funding to retrofit old diesel locomotives to reduce their polluting emissions and cut back on idling; to ensure that the rail yards themselves are free of hazards and threats to neighborhood health and security; and that the railroads are proactively utilizing cleaner technologies and new controls in an efficient and responsible manner for the good of their own businesses as well as the health and welfare of our neighborhoods and NYC.

CURES Members - February 2010

Citizens for a Better Ridgewood - COMET - Farmers Oval Civic Association – Forest Hills Cooperatives

Glendale Civic Association - Glendale Clean & Green – Glendale Property Owners Association

Juniper Park Civic Association - Liberty Park Home Owners – Maspeth/Middle Village Task Force

Maspeth West End Civic Association - New Ivanhoe Civic Association – Ridgewood Property Owners Association

LIRR Old Montauk Line Blocked by Downed Trees in Forest Park...

The Old Montauk Branch of the Long Island Railroad is currently blocked by downed trees in Forest Park. The attached photos were taken this evening.


Neither the Long Island Railroad nor the New York & Atlantic Railway have any notice of this condition on their websites. Passenger traffic is scheduled on this section of track tomorrow morning.



The New York & Atlantic Railway moves all the freight for Long Island through Forest Park, approximately 20,000 carloads per year.


Click on photos to enlarge...

Photos by Manny...

Updated:

Tracks cleared...

Monday Morning June 16th