Huntington Station LIRR elevator replaced, back in service

The Huntington Long Island Rail Road station’s south parking garage elevator is back in service.

It was taken out of service in July and was expected to be out of operation for four months. Replacing the 30-year-old elevator was undertaken by the town to increase reliability, safety and comfort for commuters, officials have said.

The new elevator was returned to service in time for the morning rush hour Monday, about two weeks ahead of the construction schedule.

“We put a priority on this,” Town Supervisor Frank Petrone said. “To climb up three flights of steps, that’s an impossibility to many, so we’re happy the project was completed ahead of schedule.” The work was completed by Westbury-based Benchmark Construction Group and Ozone Park-based Unitec Elevator Company. The budgeted cost was $421,000, town officials said, with about 55 percent funded by the town, and the remainder from the federal government and the state.

“Everyone worked cooperatively on all levels from funding sources to the contractors,” Petrone said. “We will now have for a number of years a reliable elevator.”

Parking areas at the Huntington Station are owned and managed by the town.

In anticipation of the inconvenience the project would cause commuters, town officials made Public Safety Department vehicles available during peak commuting times to transport people with disabilities from one side of the tracks to the other. That service was sparsely used and ended with the elevator reopening, Petrone said. Additional handicapped parking spaces were added on both sides of the tracks before the project started. Those spaces will remain, at least temporarily, as town officials appraise the continued need for them.

By Deborah S. Morris

deborah.morris@newsday.comdsvmorris

Deborah Morris is a native Long Islander and covers the town of Huntington.