Community members gathered by the Long Island Rail Road train tracks in Hunters Point to protest idling locomotives on June 15.
The trains idle on the tracks parallel to the One Hunters Point condo building for hours and have done so since 2009, said residents of the neighborhood and specifically of the condo. They say they are woken up by the sound early in the morning and often their homes shake from the vibrating vehicles.
In 2009 a working group was formed to address noise issues. Based on the group’s findings, the LIRR changed schedules, switched to electric power only on dual-mode locomotives, shut down at least one locomotive on two-engine train sets and moved idling trains “as far away from Borden Avenue as possible,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority Spokesman Salvatore Arena said.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) said the trains have since gone back to their noisy ways.
“It’s loud enough that I can’t talk on the phone,” One Hunters Point resident Amanda Miller said.
“It feels like someone is shaking the building,” Community Board 2 member Al Vargas added.
Air pollution is an issue along with noise pollution, One Hunters Point resident Alex Zimmerman pointed out.
“I’m worried about the toxicity of fumes running all day long. I don’t want to breathe this in,” he said, adding that he is also worried about how the diesel fumes could affect his daughter.
CB 2 member and The Chocolate Factory Executive Director Sheila Lewandowski said the neighborhood used to have packs of wild dogs and didn’t have nearly the amount of residential buildings.
However, the neighborhood is no longer home to roaming dogs.
Hunters Point South has 950 affordable housing units on the way. The waterfront in Long Island City has several new luxury buildings and Vernon Boulevard now houses several restaurants.
“The Long Island Railroad needs to change along with the neighborhood,” Lewandowski said. “They should be a partner in progress.”
Arena said the LIRR is sensitive to quality-of-life issues for its neighbors, but the Federal Railroad Administration rules make it impractical to stop idling completely. It can take up to two hours to restart a train and an hour to turn it off, he said.
The FRA requires a train’s brake system to be fully inspected when it is off for four hours or more.
“They live next to an active rail yard in operation for more than 100 years, a station that services 10,000 customers every day and a transit center that plays a crucial role in the service we provide to our 80,000 daily customers,” Arena added.
“It’s not fair to say they were here first,” said Van Bramer. “They are making life hell for those who live in the building across the street.”
A couple leaving the building who didn’t want to give their names said the noise doesn’t bother them. However, they added that their apartment is on the opposite side of the building, on the end farthest away from the tracks.
