Thompson's Audit Finds 'Troublesome Conditions'
BY JOHN TOSCANO

Broken steps, missing sleeves on third rail and holes in the ceiling are some of the problems found in Thompson audit.

Auditors from city Comptroller William Thompson's office found "troublesome... and poor and hazardous conditions" at the Shea Stadium and Belmont Park stations of the Long Island Rail Road and problems at other stations in Queens, Thompson announced last week.

Thompson recommended to the railroad and to the MTA, which operates the stations, to correct all unsafe conditions immediately, to repair platforms and stairways and other deteriorating structures, remove graffiti and insure that conditions identified during inspections are promptly corrected.

LIRR officials responded that they concurred with Thompson's findings and will take action to remedy the conditions cited.

Besides the Shea Stadium and Belmont Park stations, the others inspected were in Auburndale, Bayside, Douglaston, Far Rockaway, Flushing Main Street, Forest Hills, Hollis, Kew Gardens, Laurelton, Little Neck, Queens Village, St. Albans and Woodside.

Fair or good conditions and minor problems were found at these 13 stations, Thompson said in a release. "The most common conditions identified at the stations were chipped and broken staircases, crumbling concrete, graffiti, uncollected litter, broken railroad tracks, deteriorating platform edges, peeling paint, rotted wood, rusted metal and water leaks," he stated.

At Shea Stadium, auditors found exposed electrical wiring, rotting canopies, rust, and peeling paint and corrosion "which may be potentially dangerous to LIRR riders.

"This is simply unacceptable," New York City's chief fiscal watchdog added.

Many of the same conditions were found at Belmont Park, the auditors said.

Other problems uncovered at the Shea Stadium stop, they said, were pieces of concrete falling from staircases onto the platforms; the eastbound platform edge had broken concrete; two lampposts were missing cover plates and had exposed electrical wiring; a section of the fiberglass covering over the west end staircase canopy was missing; paint was peeling from beams of the platform canopy; and the overhead of the pedestrian ramp leaked and was rusted.

No problems were reported at the Hunters Point Avenue and Long Island City stations.

Additionally, Thompson's audit found that the LIRR neglected its own service guidelines regarding station painting, failing to paint 14 of 26 stations since 2001. The overlooked stations in past years were Bayside, Belmont Park, Douglaston, Far Rockaway, Flushing Main Street, Hunters Point Avenue, Laurelton, Little Neck, Locust Manor, Queens Village, Shea Stadium and Woodside.

Painting is required once every two to five years, depending on daily ridership.

The MTA operates 26 LIRR stations within New York City boundaries. Thompson's audit, which covered Apr. 1, 2004 to Mar. 7, 2006, showed that the MTA billed the city $73,879,843 for operations, maintenance and use of commuter passenger stations for the LIRR and Metro North Railroad from April 2004 to March 2005.

New York state law requires that the city reimburse the MTA for the cost of maintenance, use and operation of passenger stations.