East End officials protest MTA plan to cut service

Standing in the rain outside the Riverhead railroad station Monday morning, a dozen East End elected officials condemned the MTA's plans to eliminate all regular rail service between Greenport and Ronkonkoma, and some called for having the five East End towns form their own transportation authority.

Others said that the proposal to stop service might be illegal, because when the state originally condemned land for the rail line more than a century and a half ago, the railroad was required to maintain its service or give the land back.

"We're researching that now," said Suffolk Legis. Edward Romaine (R-Center Moriches).

A small but enthusiastic crowd of local business owners and civic groups supported the rally, during which State Assemb. Marc Alessi (D-Wading River) promised to investigate the MTA's spending and use of consultants, to reduce its costs and lower taxes. "Five years ago, people didn't think we could get LIPA under control," he said. "We need to go into their books."

They and several other elected officials, including Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter and Southold Supervisor Scott Russell, called for the five East End towns to pull out of the MTA and form a separate transportation authority, using the money raised from local taxes to provide their own transportation network.

Romaine complained that all the taxes and hidden fees charged for the MTA - everything from a petroleum business tax estimated at $92 million to an estimated $8 million telecom surcharge - raises $520 million.

State Assemb. Fred Thiele Jr.(I-Sag Harbor), who was not at the rally, said Monday morning that the issue of pulling out of the MTA and forming an independent Peconic Bay Transportation Authority has been studied for several years, and that he introduced a bill in the Assembly to do just that. "The MTA is just too large, inefficient and unaccountable," he said in a prepared statement. "The only way we will ever get cost effective mass transit and end our role in subsidizing the New York City transit system is by breaking away."

Walter noted that the MTA recently renovated the Riverhead railroad station - replacing a damaged roof and doing other work - but never opened the building. He said it symbolized the way the agency fails to serve the north fork. "We're standing here at a train station that was renovated and closed by the MTA. People use the back wall for what they should not be doing {using it as a toilet]. It is an affront to the people of the East End," the supervisor said.

The elimination of regular service between Ronkonkoma and Greenport was one of several planned cutbacks announced last week by the MTA to deal with it says is a half billion dollar shortfall. While the state approved a rescue package for the MTA last Spring, it discovered an additional $400 million shortfall in December, which was blamed in state aid cuts and lower-than-anticipated revenue from a new payroll tax. Then, when Gov. Patterson released his proposed budget, it included what MTA officials said would add up to another $104 million cut.

The MTA has scheduled several public hearings on the proposed service cuts, including one on March 10 in Carle Place.