A platform plunge

A former state senator became the latest victim of a

Long Island Rail Road gap yesterday, breaking her ankle in a fall between a

train and platform at Lawrence station.

"I went to step off the train and I stepped into that notorious gap," said

Carol Berman, 82 [CORRECTION: Carol Berman, a former state senator, is 83. Her

age was incorrect in a story Friday about injuries she suffered Thursday when

she fell through a gap at the Long Island Rail Road station in Lawrence. See

related story on A4. PG. A11 ALL 9/30/06], in a phone interview from her Far

Rockaway hospital room. "I went down and yelled for help and everybody came

running."

Berman, who was in stable condition last night at St. John's Episcopal

Hospital South Shore, is scheduled for surgery today on her ankle, which she

said was broken in two places. Her ribs also were hurt but she said last night

she did not know if they were broken.

Berman, of Lawrence, said railroad staff responded immediately and held her

hand until she was pulled to safety, but she had harsh words for LIRR

officials, who recently have come under fire for wide platform gaps: "You

better get this thing fixed before more people get hurt," Berman said. "It's

outrageous."

The LIRR, as well as state and federal officials, are investigating the

LIRR's wide gaps after a gap-related death last month and a Newsday

investigation that found gaps as wide as 15 inches - twice the railroad's

standard.

The gap on the platform where Berman fell is about 10 inches, according to

a Newsday measurement.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ms. Berman for a full recovery," said

LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto. "We are working very closely with [investigators]

on their review of the gap concerns and we are working on both short- and

long-term solutions to the gap issue."

Berman fell 4 feet onto the tracks while stepping off a Far Rockaway-bound

train at about 4 p.m., Zambuto said. The sun blinded her as she stepped off,

Berman said.

The train from Flatbush, which had been scheduled to arrive in Far Rockaway

at 4:06 p.m., remained stationary until she was pulled to safety, LIRR

spokesman Sam Zambuto said.

Natalie Smead, 18, of Minnesota, was struck and killed by a train at

Woodside station on Aug. 5 after she fell through a gap and crawled underneath

the platform to the tracks on the other side, where she was hit by a train. On

Sept. 6, 4-year-old Brittany Walker fell through a gap as she tried to step

onto an LIRR train at Penn Station. She was not seriously hurt.

Berman, a Democrat, represented the 9th District in the state Senate from

1978 to 1984. She is known for her leadership of the Anti-Jet Noise coalition,

which opposed the operation of supersonic aircraft at Kennedy Airport. She also

served as commissioner of the state board of elections.

Berman, who rides the LIRR into the city about twice a week, said she has

never had trouble stepping over a gap before. "I always step very carefully to

avoid it but the sun was so blinding," she said.

At Lawrence station yesterday evening, passengers said the gap poses a risk

to children and the elderly.

"The few times that I take my kids to work with me, I'm very careful," said

commuter Joshua Wanderer, 41, of Lawrence. Staff writer Denise M. Bonilla

contributed to this report.