Serving Port Washington, Manorhaven, Flower Hill, Baxter Estates, Port Washington North, Sands Point
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Friday, October 27, 2023
Vol. 9, No. 43
PortWashingtonTimes Washington LIVING 50 PLUS
DALIMONTE TOUTS RECORD IN INTERVIEW
KAIMAN, De DeSENA TRADE BLOWS AT DEBATE
PAGES 25-28
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Port gets more express trains to Penn MTA adds service after cuts due to opening of Grand Central station BY C A M E RY N O A K ES Service along the Long Island Rail Road’s Port Washington Branch will change starting Nov. 13 to provide additional express trains to Penn Station, a request that many residents and local officials have advocated for since the opening of Grand Central Madison. Most of the changes will be to the morning rush hour service, notably providing additional express trains from Port Washington to Penn Station. The MTA said the changes are geared to the ridership data they have sourced. Councilmember Mariann Dalimonte of Port Washington has been active in advocating for more express trains to and from Port Washington and Penn Station. Dalimonte previously told Blank Slate that the LIRR service changes to accommodate trains running to and from Grand Central Madison immediately posed problems when all express trains to Penn Station were initially supposed to be eliminated when service to Grand Central began. She, along with other government officials, fought to get the express trains reinstated. Six express trains were reinstated: three in the morning and three in the evening. Dalimonte said the main need of
Port Washington Branch riders is reinstating all express trains running to and from Penn Station, a service that commuters previously had. Now, all five trains departing Port Washington between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. will go to Penn Station. Four of the five westbound trains will be express after leaving Great Neck. Under the new schedule, morning rush hour trains on the Port Washington Branch will mostly be going to Penn Station. Five trains between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. will arrive in Grand Central, compared to 10 trains arriving in Penn Station between that same time frame. Currently, six trains arrive at Grand Central Station and nine at Penn Station during the morning rush on the Port Washington branch. Here are the new morning rush hour train times and routes: The 6:47 a.m. train now leaves Port Washington at 6:42 a.m. It will not stop at Little Neck, Douglaston or Bayside, as it had previously, and will now end at Penn Station instead of Grand Central. It arrives at Penn Station at 7:22 a.m. The 7:19 a.m. train will now run non-stop from Great Neck to Penn Station. It arrives at Penn Station at 7:54 Continued on Page 42
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PORT WASHINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
Students form a sea of orange as they parade around the track to celebrate Unity Day, an event to stand against bullying and promote inclusivity. See story on page 2.
Police say migrant drop-off report bogus BY C A M E RY N O A K ES A recent news report claimed that more than 15 migrants were dropped off at various local Long Island Rail Road stations in late September, but the Port Washington Police Department say they have received no report that supports this claim. The North Shore Leader published a story this week claiming that a charter bus transported migrants from New York City and dropped
them off at the Port Washington, Roslyn and Manhasset stations early in the morning on Sept. 27. The publication cited information for its story was provided by witnesses and residents. Port Washington Police Chief Robert Del Muro released a statement on Tuesday saying that they had not garnered any complaints or official record from either citizens or police officers that support this incident, what they referred to as a “rumor,” occurred.
Del Muro said the department also does not have any evidence to support these claims. He said they have also not noted any increase in the homeless population, which he said they are “generally aware of.” The story from the North Shore Leader questioned whether this supposed incident was a part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to relocate migrants for job opportunities. The governor announced on Oct. 2 that the Department of Labor Continued on Page 43