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(rshsdepot) St. Albans, NY
Pol delights at station's $2.4M fixup
By WARREN WOODBERRY Jr.
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
A little more than three years ago, the Long Island Rail Road's St. Albans
station was a decrepit eyesore. Yesterday, after a $2.4 million renovation,
it was a gleaming showpiece.
Bright yellow edges gleamed in the sunlight along a newly installed central
concrete platform; when the sun sets, a row of new lights will make the
platform brighter and safer.
Proudly presiding at a small ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday was state
Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans), who began calling for a major renovation
of the station just months after he was elected a little more than three
years ago.
Smith complained that conditions at the station, on Linden Blvd., west of
Farmers Blvd., were so deplorable that the 200 daily riders who used it to
catch LIRR trains to Jamaica, Brooklyn and Manhattan were actually in danger
of being hurt.
Back then, Smith took a reporter on a tour that revealed gaping holes along
the platform, as well as a number of chipped edges. In fact, one hole in the
platform was so large an average-size office desk could fit through it.
He blasted the LIRR's parent agency, the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority, for neglecting stations like St. Albans in his district while
spending millions to rehabilitate stations in other parts of the borough.
Smith's criticism ultimately moved the MTA to invest $10 million in
rehabilitation work at stations in his district.
"Now that this is done, and that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
has done its part, the neighborhood has to do its part in maintaining it and
keeping it clean," said Smith. "This is what happens when people come
together and they cooperate. It was a very quick turnaround, and it shows
how government works."
LIRR President James Dermody said the St. Albans station renovation was "No.
2 in the projects we took on with the senator - and we have one more to take
on, and that's Rosedale." Previously, the Hollis station was renovated.
The rebirth of the St. Albans station has spawned other improvements; an
LIRR right-of-way between Linden and Baisley Blvds., which had been used as
a construction storage lot, will soon be transformed into a parking area for
commuters.
In addition, a second station entrance was constructed from the lot to the
end of the platform, and a new sidewalk now runs through the parking lot
from the boulevards to the station.
Gwendolyn Anthony, a local senior citizen, said she usually travels to
Manhattan by car, but said yesterday that the new parking lot looks so
inviting that she'll now take the train.
"Before, a lot of us would not ride the train because of the conditions,"
said Anthony, a member of the St. Albans Civic Improvement Association. "I'm
sure now that the ridership will increase."
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
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