Lynbrook Long Island Rail Road station construction chugging along

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Construction is continuing on the $17.9 million Lynbrook Station Enhancement Project, which will see upgrades made to the village’s Long Island Rail Road station.

According to the MTA, the west end platform and western staircase are now open, but the east end platform and staircase are now closed as the project’s first phase shifts to the east side of the station. The staircase adjacent to the station’s waiting room will remain open during peak hours, however, while the platform waiting room will remain closed.

The LIRR’s Capital Program is funding the project. Its first phase began in September 2019 and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2020.  The work comprises platform and station improvements, including an upgrade of the existing drainage system; replacement of both platform canopies; installation of two new glass platform waiting rooms; repair of station platforms and rehabilitation of the platform structure; new signage; LED lighting; installation of closed circuit security cameras and free Wi-Fi. Upgrades and new amenities will greatly improve the experience of the more than 5,000 customers who use station each weekday.

“We in the Village of Lynbrook are all very excited to finally be getting upgrades to our train station,” Mayor Alan Beach told the Herald after the funding was announced in 2018. “We would like to thank all those whose hard work and dedication helped to make this happen for the village.”

The renovations mark the first major upgrade to station, which was built in 1936, in about three decades, and will address many of its issues. The problems include small craters in the platform floors, a dilapidated waiting room, dingy wooden boards that support concrete overhangs above escalators and staircases, and chipped paint on walls. Additionally, rain often pours through the light fixtures in the platform overhangs.

The LIRR announced a planned $10 million overhaul of the station back in April 2016, but after Phillip Eng took over as president of the LIRR in April 2018, he paused all planned projects in order to give them a thorough review. After several meetings with Beach, State Sen. Todd Kaminsky and other elected officials, he announced a $17.9 million upgrade in September 2018.

“Lynbrook commuters have long deserved a modern LIRR station,” Kaminsky said. “That’s why by working on the village and state levels together, we helped secure over $17 million to address the much needed infrastructure improvements that will bring this pre-war station into the 21st century.” 

The second phase of the project will start in late 2020, and is devoted to street level upgrades. The bridge from Broadway to Atlantic Avenue will be painted and the sidewalks will be repaired during the phase, as will asphalt and concrete curbs, and the entire station will be renovated. The floors and walls will be replaced, bathrooms will be installed and the station interior will be painted; new signage will be installed, lighting and benches will be replaced, the station exterior — including its columns — will be power-washed, and the bird deterrent netting will be replaced. New amenities such as bike racks, interactive displays, a new technology counter desk and an information totem will be installed.