Oceanside, Island Park residents react to East Side Access project

Hundreds of residents from Oceanside and Island Park commute to and from Manhattan for work, play and studies and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s almost-finished expansion has the potential make their trips easier, but many say are weary.

Both Oceanside and Island Park have train stations connecting them to New York City. The Oceanside station, located at Weidner Avenue and Lawson Boulevard, has been around since at least 1897, and the Island Park station, originally known as “The Dykes” when the area was still called Jekyl Island, has been in use since 1898.

The $11.1 billion East Side Access project is the MTA’s nearly 30-year-old proposal to connect the Long Island Rail Road service to Grand Central Station by the end of 2022, and if all goes according to plan it has the potential to cut commute times by an average of 40 minutes a day, according to the MTA, and up rider capacity from 300,000 to 435,000 daily commuters — a 45 percent increase — by adding 24 new trains, and bringing its total fleet of cars up to 288.

Oceansider Bayo Gbowu, who works in Midtown, said he knows about the ESA project, adding with a laugh, “It’s been going on for quite a bit of time, and we’re still not close.”

Gbowu, who referred to himself as a “jaded commuter” said he has been let down by the LIRR and MTA too many times to be hopeful about improvements. He said what he really wants to see are trains arriving on time, but agreed that commuting would improve with the completion of the ESA project.

“Yeah, it would help,” Gbowu said. “If it happens, it happens … If it doesn’t happen, I won’t be surprised.”

On the other hand, Ryan Davenport — who also knew about the ESA project, works in Midtown and hails from Oceanside — is looking forward to it. “I’m excited to see the trains work better, but it’s still too expensive,” he said.

Davenport added that although the service lately has been “better,” it is still “pretty bad.”

And Debbie Rothman from Island Park, said that while the project would not directly affect her commute — she works near the World Trade Center — she said she is looking forward to less congestion at Penn Station that the project purports to relieve.

"This project has the potential to be game changing for commuters because additional tunnels under the East River and additional options for getting to and from New York City will relieve the awful congestion that plagues the LIRR,” Senator Todd Kaminsky said in a statement. He said he believes the LIRR must be “held accountable” for ensuring the project is completed on time, without going over budget.

However, the LIRR must be held accountable to keep the project on schedule and on budget over the next several years," Kaminsky said.

“It’s still quite a few years away,” Assemblywoman Melissa Miller said, “But certainly I think it’s a good idea … anything that will offer more options will be an improvement.” She said that many residents work on the east side of Manhattan, so a more streamlined way to get there (through Grand Central) would be more efficient and would ease up congestion at Penn Station.