(rshsdepot) Rosedale (Queens), NY

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From the Queens Chronicle.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Rosedale Station Gets A Facelift  
by Matt Hampton , Editor  

Long Island Rail Road passengers in Rosedale have  something to celebrate 
this week, after Friday’s ribbon-cutting on the newly  renovated LIRR station in 
their neighborhood. 

On Friday afternoon, Assemblyman William Scarborough and  state Sen. Malcolm 
Smith helped open a train station that has undergone a  drastic transformation 
into one of the premier stops on the way to and from New  York City. 

Politicians in the area agreed it was time for the station  to get an intense 
facelift. 

“The Rosedale station is over 130 years old, and in that  time it has been a 
vital part of the economic growth of the neighboring  communities,” Smith 
said. “This is a project that will benefit our community for  many years to come.”
 

A host of renovations were applied to the new station, all  in the interest 
of making the LIRR services in the area more hospitable to the  residents who 
live in the Rosedale community. 

A new elevator, constructed in Germany, was installed in  the station. It 
will allow handicap access to patrons who don’t wish to use  ramps, and will help 
some of Rosedale’s senior citizens get to the platform  easily and safely. 

A new train platform was built, as well, which will  accommodate 10 train 
cars. The track platform that had been in place at the site  was only able to 
handle eight cars, requiring many patrons to move during the  course of their 
trip. 

The waiting room on the platform level was refurbished, as  well as the 
tunnels that run underneath the station for passing traffic. A new  restroom was 
added, as well, for rider convenience, and the ticket office was  given a 
facelift. Some of the existing structures, including the benches inside  the waiting 
area, were refurbished rather than being replaced. 

A brand new tile mosaic, boasting Rosedale’s name, was  added to the wall 
inside the ticket booth area. 

Scarborough, who led the effort to turn Rosedale’s  formerly grungy station 
into a LIRR masterpiece, was pleased with the overall  renovation, and honored 
to cut the ribbon on an initiative that he had helped  oversee. 

“I applaud the renovation of the Rosedale Long Island  Railroad station that 
we celebrate on this occasion,” he said. “Upgrades at this  station are long 
overdue and this brings us closer to the day when all the LIRR  stations in 
our community are safe, clean and modernized.” 

The renovation of the Rosedale station was approved as a  part of the 
MTA/LIRR capital improvement program, which allowed the necessary  funds — roughly 
$8.5 million — to be taken from the railroad’s operating budget. 

Ron Kim, a representative of Gov. David Paterson, arrived  to show the 
governor’s support of the project, and added that public transit  improvements of 
all kinds are a boon to the community that Paterson will always  get behind, no 
matter how large or how small.  



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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1740
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org