LIRR riders can unmask once TSA ends rule, MTA chief says

The head of the MTA said he’s ready to do away with masks on trains, including the Long Island Rail Road, as soon as the federal government gives the green light to do so. 

Speaking to the Long Island Association at a Thursday morning meeting, Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said the agency will not require riders to cover their faces once the Transportation Security Administration drops its mask mandate for all indoor transportation facilities. The TSA recently extended the rule through April 18.

Even as mask requirements have been dropped in most indoor settings in New York, the TSA rule makes masks mandatory in trains, enclosed stations, buses, airports and planes.

“The MTA will not be initiating a separate mask initiative if the feds remove it,” Lieber said. “Mask mandates have come off in the rest of society. I don’t want people getting into arguments on the railroad and on the subway. … So we’re hoping that [the federal government] will remove it.” 

MTA and labor officials have said the agency’s mask requirement has led to an increase in confrontations on trains involving riders and transit employees. Felony assaults on the LIRR more than doubled between 2020 and 2021, from 10 to 21, according to MTA Police. 

Lieber on Thursday also revealed the likely name of the LIRR’s second Manhattan station: “Grand Central-Madison.” 

The name is expected to replace most references to “East Side Access” — the $11.2 billion megaproject that has been riddled with delays and budget overruns since construction began 15 years ago. 

“We’re still playing with the words, but the idea is that ‘East Side Access’ is the term for a project that struggled to get done over many moons,” Lieber said. “The ‘East Side Access’ name is going away. We’re building a branding identity around Grand Central, because that’s what people know and understand. That’s the landmark they all want to go to.” 

Also coming in December is the LIRR’s new $2.6 billion Third Track, spanning Floral Park to Hicksville. Despite a lengthy legal battle with the Village of Garden City that held up construction, Lieber said the project remains “on schedule, and it’s under budget.” 

And, Lieber revealed, an ongoing effort to widen the walkway and raise the ceiling along the LIRR’s customer concourse in Penn Station could be complete by the end of 2022 — sooner than the original forecast of early next year. 

“This is a big year for Long Island. … These are game changers. This is going to increase property values, spur economic growth, create new jobs, and have a multiplier effect on our economy,” said Long Island Association president Matthew Cohen, who also welcomed renaming the LIRR’s new link to Grand Central Terminal.

“East Side Access has been what it’s been called for decades," Cohen said. "But it’s time to give this stop a real identity, so people can relate to it more … I think a fresh name, a fresh look, a fresh start — it’s all good stuff.” 

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.