Syosset
Westbound platform at the Syosset station, showing curve
General information
LocationJackson Avenue & Underhill Boulevard
Syosset, New York
Coordinates40°49′30″N 73°30′02″W / 40.824892°N 73.500492°W / 40.824892; -73.500492
Owned byLong Island Rail Road
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Construction
ParkingYes (permit required)
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone7
History
Opened1854
Rebuilt1872, 1877, 1944, 1948, 2018-19
ElectrifiedOctober 19, 1970[1]
750 V (DC) third rail
Passengers
20065,497[2]
Services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station
Hicksville
toward Penn Station, Grand Central or Long Island City
 Port Jefferson Branch Cold Spring Harbor
toward Port Jefferson
Former services
Preceding station Long Island
Rail Road		 Following station
Landia
toward Hicksville
 Wading River Branch Cold Spring Harbor
toward Wading River

Syosset is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Port Jefferson Branch located in Syosset, New York, at Jackson Avenue and Underhill Boulevard, south of New York State Route 25A, but north of Jericho Turnpike and the Long Island Expressway. Syosset's downtown was built around the station.[3] There are no public transportation connections at the station, but taxi service is available.

Location

Syosset station is in the hamlet of the same name in the Town of Oyster Bay. About 30.9 mi (50 km) east of New York Penn Station by rail, the station is at the southeast edge of the town center, on the east side of Jackson Avenue near its intersection with Underhill Boulevard.

History

Syosset station was originally built by the Hicksville and Syosset Railroad in 1854.[4][5] The station's former building was built in 1872. The building's first location was at Lockwood's Grove station, on the former Cedarhurst Cut-off. The LIRR moved the building to Syosset station in 1877, as the Far Rockaway – Lockwood's Grove station had since been abandoned. The building was renovated in 1944, then torn down and replaced in 1948.[6][7] In 1970 the station was electrified, along with the rest of the Port Jefferson Branch between Mineola and Huntington stations.[8]

The station was again renovated from October 2018 to June 2019. This renovation included a new station house and a sculpture known as "Sail", designed by Tom Fruin. Digital signage with real-time information was also added to the station.[9]

Transit-oriented development

The Town of Oyster Bay has designated Syosset station as one of its targets for transit-oriented development. Known as the "Syosset Downtown Redevelopment and Revitalization Plan," the project aims to re-create the hamlet's downtown through mixed-use development and improved, human-scale zoning regulations.[10] The master-plan includes suggestions such as removing the grade crossing at Jackson Avenue, creating a pedestrian plaza by eliminating road traffic on a portion of Cold Spring Road, parking reconfiguration, and the building of a community center as ways of focusing growth in the downtown area and reducing unnecessary trips by car.[10]

Station layout

Syosset has two high-level side platforms, each 12 cars long. The station is on a curve, necessitating a wider than normal gap between the platform and train. At places where train doors open, most of the gaps span ten inches or more;[11] some gaps measure 15 inches.[12] Black ice may cause commuters to fall into the gap. On January 30, 1996, in separate incidents, three commuters in a 90-minute period fell into the gap at the station due to icy platform conditions.[13]

To remedy the gap situation, the LIRR has installed platform gap lighting, camera surveillance systems, and new platform sections shifted from the current location. The LIRR has also added platform conductors to monitor train boarding, and is instructing crews to announce the gap at the station and to assist passengers.[11][12] Further improvements, including changing railroad operation standards and the viable use of retractable gap fillers (such as those used in a few New York City Subway stations) are being examined. The railroad has also retained a consultant to review train operations to suggest further changes.[11]

Some Syosset residents and politicians, such as former Nassau County Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs, insist the best solution to eliminate the gap problem is to force the LIRR to close the Syosset station and reopen the Landia station to the southwest. Landia is on straight track. A mall is being proposed near the Landia station site. Michael Pally, an MTA board member representing Suffolk County and who also works for a real estate firm that represents the company proposing construction of the mall, believes the Syosset station should be closed because more parking spaces would be available at Landia. Opponents of the mall believe that opening Landia while closing Syosset will just be a ruse to direct people to the mall. The Town of Oyster Bay, which controls the Landia station site, is still gathering information before it makes a decision to ask the LIRR to conduct a study.[14]

M Mezzanine Crossover between platforms
P
Platform level		 Platform A, side platform Disabled access
Track 1 ←      Port Jefferson Branch toward Grand Central Madison, Long Island City, or Penn Station (Hicksville)
Track 2      Port Jefferson Branch toward Huntington or Port Jefferson (Cold Spring Harbor) →
Platform B, side platform Disabled access
Ground level Exit/entrance and parking

References

  1. ↑ "Start New Timetable on Electrified Section". The New York Daily News. October 19, 1970. p. BQL1. Retrieved September 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ↑ Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study
  3. ↑ "Long Island History: Syosset". Newsday. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
  4. ↑ River Bob Emery's LIRR Branch Notes; Wading River (Port Jefferson) Branch (TrainAreFun.com)
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ LIRR station History (TrainsAreFun.com) Archived May 26, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "LIRR Port Jefferson Branch". Station Reporter. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  8. ↑ Bamberger, Werner (October 20, 1970). "Change at Jamaica Is Only a Memory For 12,000 Riders". The New York Times. p. 88. Retrieved September 17, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Syosset Station Enhancement (Completed 06/2019)". A Modern LI. December 5, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  10. 1 2 Syosset Downtown Redevelopment and Revitalization Plan Town of Oyster Bay Retrieved June 28, 2010
  11. 1 2 3 Kelly, Raymond P. (February 8, 2007). "Addressing the Gap: LIRR President's Raymond P. Kelly's Testimony" (PDF). MTA Long Island Rail Road. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2007. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
  12. 1 2 Melina, Remy (March 2, 2007). "Surveillance System Installed at Syosset Station". Long Island Press. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
  13. ↑ Lakin, Eden (January 20, 2007). "Three falls in Syosset within 90 minutes". Newsday. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
  14. ↑ Nash, Denise (November 17, 2006). "Jacobs Still Pressuring LIRR to Bridge the Gap in Syosset". Syosset-Jericho Tribune. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
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