(rshsdepot) Valley Stream, NY

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From today's Daily News.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Green light for makeover 

4M rehab for train  station

BY MICHAEL WHITE
DAILY NEWS WRITER 

The  Valley Stream train station was built in 1933, the same year 
construction began  on the Golden Gate bridge.

Nassau County's population has since swelled from 300,000 to 1.5  million, 
but the station was never upgraded.
 
Officials yesterday announced Long Island Rail Road funding for a new, $4.3  
million station in Valley Stream.
 
The improvements come as part of a larger effort to revitalize the county's  
downtown area.
 
"We're going to make this truly a gathering place for the people of Valley  
Stream, similar to some of the other stations we have done," LIRR President  
James Dermoday said. "We decided that because the building is so old, it will  
have to be completely redone."
 
The 2,000-square-foot building, which will be modeled after the  
four-year-old Seaford and Wantaugh stations, will hav waiting rooms, rest rooms  and 
ticket offices.
 
The Long Island Rail Road is entering an eight-month long design phase for  
the site. Dermoday said construction could start in May and last a year.
 
"We want the train station to be a focal area of the downtown, and to  
encourage people to come to Valley Stream," said state Sen. Dean Skelos  
(R-Rockville Centre).
 
Marilyn Mubarak of Woodside, who rides the train regularly to visit her mom  
in Valley Stream, agreed that the station is overdue for a makeover.
 
"It's really old," she said. "It needs some renovations to look nicer, more  
appealing."
 
The new station also will be handicapped-accessible. Commuters now must  trek 
up steep stairs to the elevated platform.
 
During construction, a temporary trailer on the site will serve as a ticket  
office.
 
"We will look to obviously work with the community to make it as  comfortable 
as possible during the construction of this new station," Sen. Dean  Skelos 
(R-Rockville Centre) said. "The railroad has done a good job as far as  
temporary structures.
 
"It's not perfect, but the end result is that there will be a place where  
people will go if there's inclement weather."

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1234
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org