Huntington Long Island Rail Road elevator back in service

An elevator out of service for 10 months at the Huntington Long Island Railroad station is back on track.

Town of Huntington authorities officially reopened the elevator in the north parking garage on Dec. 29, three months ahead of schedule. The town celebrated with a ribbon cutting on Jan. 5.

The elevator, which leads to a landing that connects the north and south platforms, was taken out of service in February 2023.

Marianne Iannaccone, chair of the town of Huntington’s Citizens Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities, said for seniors, people who have a disability or use a wheelchair or cane, not having an elevator was a real challenge.

“This was not an easy task to be completed because government and money is involved,” she said. “The town was very cooperative and the fact that this got done ahead of time is really, really wonderful.”

Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said after years of spotty service, an inspector with the elevator service company advised the town that the elevator had to be taken out of service because it was not safe.

“This wasn’t just a maintenance issue anymore. The elevator was not serviceable,” Smyth said.

The town provided shuttle service between the north and south sides of the station to accommodate riders.

Work to repair the elevator began in May 2023, but soon issues with getting parts arose, Huntington Councilman Sal Ferro said. Once the parts issue was resolved, the citizens advisory committee told the town a late March reopening would extend a hardship on those who need the elevator.

The committee comprises residents from the town interested in accessibility issues.

Ferro, the town board’s liaison to the advisory committee, said he pushed the elevator contractor to get the job completed sooner. He said extra overtime shifts for the contractor and several town departments, including general services and building, were approved to get the elevator installed.

“The extra three months just wasn’t acceptable,” Ferro said. “The amount of people we were inconveniencing was just ridiculous, so we had to put some pressure on this.”