Nassau communities to study environmental impact of LIRR 3rd track

Several Nassau communities along the Long Island Rail Road’s Main Line are joining forces to conduct their own environmental study on the LIRR’s proposal to build a third track between Floral Park and Hicksville. 

The Town of Hempstead and villages of New Hyde Park, Floral Park and Garden City have hired a pair of consultants to review the project and issue a report on its potential environmental effects on their communities.

“There is nothing more important than protecting the health of our residents,” Hempstead Town Supervisor Anthony Santino said in a statement. “A major proposal like the LIRR third track project includes a host of prospective environmental consequences that could profoundly and negatively affect people near the project area.”

The municipalities have hired the Vertex Companies, a Boston engineering firm, and Manhattan law firm Beveridge and Diamond to examine the project’s recently issued draft environmental impact statement. Hempstead spokesman Mike Deery said the municipalities are splitting the cost of the services, which he said are expected to be “a couple hundred thousand dollars.”

The $2 billion LIRR Expansion Project would construct a 9.8-mile track within the railroad’s property that officials say will provide needed capacity to recover from service disruptions and to provide extra service, including for reverse commuters. Project officials have said they are committed to minimizing the impact on neighboring communities.