Commuters’ E. Side Access pros, cons

BY CAMERYN OAKES

After much anticipation and more than a decade in delays, Grand Central Madison Terminal opened for full-service Feb. 27 and the Long Island Rail Road finally brought commuters to Manhattan’s East Side.

While commuters who work closer to Grand Central rejoiced, many Penn Station commuters have spoken out against the schedule changes, which many say have negatively impacted their commute, an essential aspect of their day.

Blank Slate Media’s Cameryn Oakes rode the LIRR Port Washington line for the Monday morning commute into Grand Central Madison to speak to commuters about how the new schedule had affected their trip and experience it for herself, the second part of a series on riding the LIRR.

Grand Central began full LIRR service Feb. 27 with a revised schedule that added trains running into Grand Central to its regular Penn Station service, which was also changed.

Andrew Scandalios, a Port Washington commuter for 20 years, said he works near Grand Central and that the additional station has made his commute better by diminishing travel times. While he said commute times have been shorter, they are still longer than those going to Penn Sta- tion. The partially express train running to Grand Central is about a 43-minute ride. The express trains running to Penn Station are about 36