Nassau County officials want a full audit of Long Island Rail Road – saying taxpayers are forking $36.5 million a year to prop up the transit system with questionable results.
County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Comptroller Elaine Phillips said Thursday the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has failed to maintain the 58 LIRR stations throughout Nassau — leaving them literally falling apart.
“It is time to ask the hard questions. Where is our money going?” Phillips told reporters at a press conference at the Long Beach LIRR station.
Phillips estimates Nassau taxpayers fork over $36.5 million per year to keep the LIRR up and running — roughly $100,000 a day, or $1,700 per day per station — with another $100 million in revenue the MTA pulls in from other sources.
“By our estimate, we are paying over $137 million to the MTA per year, and that doesn’t count the fare,” Phillips said. “With the money spent on this upkeep, you would think the MTA stations would be five-star hotels — not five-alarm safety hazards.”
She pointed to examples like aging and “crumbling infrastructure” that has fallen on top of and injured riders, water leaks, rusted pipes and deteriorating steel beams — as well as an overall “neglect” of maintenance throughout the county’s stations by the MTA.
Phillips said that nearly 30% of Nassau’s stations do not have a bathroom and that the MTA “treats a fresh coat of paint like a luxury,” pointing to the deteriorating walls of the platform behind her.
Blakeman said all Nassau stations need immediate repairs and upgrades.
“This has to end — we have got to get a return on the investment that we make each and every day to the MTA,” Blakeman, a Republican, said.
The pair announced that they have sent a formal letter to the MTA requesting an audit of each Nassau station.
The Democratic county legislator running against Blakeman agreed it was time for a breakdown on local spending – both from the MTA and his opponent’s administration.
“Transparency and accountability are crucial, and I agree that the MTA should provide a clear breakdown of how these funds are spent on Long Island,” Legislator Seth Koslow told The Post.
“At the same time, Nassau County residents deserve the same level of transparency when it comes to how their local tax dollars are managed. Accountability should be a priority at every level of government.”
The LIRR transports almost 300,000 passengers a day, and despite the complaints from local leaders, has an overall satisfaction rate of 76%, according to the most recent MTA data.
Some riders believe there is room for improvement through the county’s stations, but think that Blakeman and Phillip’s actions are “anti-transit” and merely a “distraction.”
“Nassau County is trying to distract from its real agenda of avoiding paying its fair share of the bill,” said Danny Pearlstein, a spokesperson for Rider’s Alliance, a public transit-focused nonprofit that has supported Manhattan’s congestion pricing toll.
“Riders need Gov. Hochul and legislative leaders to pull together and make the investments we need to maintain the recent progress founded on congestion relief. New York can afford to keep fixing the subway and restoring aging infrastructure across the region. We can’t afford to disinvest,” Pearlstein continued.
The MTA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
