Elmont and Belmont Park stations added to zone 4

At Wednesday's MTA Board meeting, officials confirmed that the $14.5 billion influx in funding from the Federal government will allow the agency to defer the proposed 4% fare hike for 2021.  While the MTA did not implement its across-the-board percentage increase it had proposed, it also did not take any action to address how its current fare structure is not at all conducive to the entirely new universe of "hybrid" commuters that the pandemic has created.

But the MTA did take one action related to the LIRR fare structure.  In an agenda item snuck onto the agenda for Wednesday's meeting, the MTA made changes to the LIRR's passenger tariff related to the new Elmont station on the Main Line and the existing Belmont Park station, in anticipation of the new UBS Arena for the Islanders opening at Belmont Park this fall.

With this change, both the new Elmont station and the existing Belmont Park station will be added to zone 4.

Construction at the new Elmont station last fall (Photo: MTA CD)

Elmont is a new station that is being built on the Main Line just north of Belmont Park, added late in the planning process for the Belmont Park Redevelopment program.  Long story short, the LIRR basically connived the arena developer and Empire State Development out of $106 million to build this new station—in a location that's less than 3,000 feet from three existing stations—as it repeatedly turned its nose at calls to make Belmont Park a full-time stop and committed to running only the very bare minimum service to the spur station for special events (2 shuttle trains in each direction). The new station is being built at a very high pricetag of $65 million, and will also require other modifications to track and switches in the area to allow it to be served by both Main Line and Hempstead Branch trains in both directions.

The new Elmont station will be built over and to the east of the Cross Island Parkway, and will be entirely within Nassau County—so the placement in zone 4 makes sense.  This in effect means that fares will be significantly cheaper for intra-Island travelers coming from points east on the Main Line ($7.50 one-way from Ronkonkoma vs. $11.00-$15.25 one-way if it were treated as a zone 3 station).  But on the other hand, it also makes fares markedly more expensive for fans coming from the city (a fanbase the Islanders have been trying to cultivate since they moved to Brooklyn).  A one-way ticket from zone 1 costs $9.25-$12.50 to zone 4, compared to $4.50-$10.75 if it were in zone 3.

The MTA is also adding the existing Belmont Park spur station to zone 4.  Historically, Belmont Park station has served only racetrack events, and it was treated separately in the passenger tariff, with special tickets and fares applying.  Officially, it was designated in zone 94.  Normal one-way and monthly/weekly tickets were not honored to and from Belmont Park—the only way to ride was to purchase the special Belmont Park fare.  This was always a silly practice and a huge insult to monthly ticket holders, who despite forking over hundreds of dollars to the railroad for an unlimited pass earlier in the month were still shaken down for an extra $8.00 to travel to the racetrack station.  With this change, it appears that Belmont Park will finally be treated as an ordinary station, with normal fares and tariff conditions.

But the placement of the spur station in zone 4 is suspect.  Under the LIRR's current zone structure:

• All of the stations west of Jamaica and Flushing are part of zone 1
• The rest of the stations within the city limits are in zone 3 (except for Far Rockaway, where trains pass through Nassau County then hook back around across the city line)
• Stations just across the border into Nassau County are in zone 4, and the rest of Nassau is in the very large zone 7.
• Suffolk County stations are organized into zones 9, 10, 12, and 14.

New York City's property tax maps clearly show the existing
spur station falls within the city limits

The MTA said in its staff summary for the change (page 34) that the Belmont Park station is located in Nassau County—but this is not true.  While the new arena and most of the racetrack is in Nassau County, the LIRR station and the west leg of the wye fall completely west of the city limits.  The city's property tax maps clearly show this—the station is spread across two tax lots that have Queens block and lot numbers.  If you look at the boundary, someone travelling on a LIRR train between the spur station and points west never crosses into Nassau County.  Under the current zone structure, this station should have instead been placed in zone 3.

The MTA says that many riders are expected to utilize one station for arrival and the other station for departure—especially during the first year or two, where the new Main Line station will be served only in the eastbound direction—and that putting it the same zone as Elmont "would promote consistency, equity, customer convenience and travel flexibility". It's not immediately clear how making Belmont Park riders pay more than they otherwise would is equitable or convenient, but this is just one of the many headaches that are bound to arise when building an otherwise unnecessary, duplicative station a stone's throw from an existing one.

There will be even more complication in the first months of the project, as the MTA is only planning on completing the first 8 cars of the eastbound platform for the arena's opening this fall.  They previously said that the westbound platform wouldn't be put into service until the completion of the Main Line Grade Crossing Elimination project and East Side Access in late 2022 or 2023.  This means that riders coming from points east will have to travel via Jamaica, which introduces additional fare complexities.  With the current fares, a direct trip from Ronkonkoma to a zone 4 station costs $7.50.  Travelling via Jamaica back to a zone 4 station costs $12.00 off-peak and $16.50 during rush hours—meaning those going to an weekday evening game will have to pay $9 more to travel via Jamaica.  If the spur station was in zone 3, the via fare would be about $0.75 cheaper.  Going home, direct service to points east will presumably be available, meaning riders will already have to buy two separate tickets, so it's not really clear how it is consistent or convenient, either.  

The need for "travel flexibility" also highlights how much of a headache post-event service is bound to be at the new arena.  If you are headed to an eastern station along the Main Line, then you would go to the eastbound platform of the new Elmont station—that part's not that complicated.  But if you'll be looking to get back to the city after a game, the LIRR will have westbound service leaving from two different places: two shuttle trains at the existing spur station, and added stops to Main Line and Hempstead trains at the new Elmont station.  This is bound to be confusing for riders—while the stations are close, it's not like waiting for an uptown train to Times Square at Penn Station where you can wait downstairs to listen for the first train to pull in and then run up to the correct platform—you have to pick one and hope a train shows up there.

For the least frustration and headache, the two stations should both be sufficiently served so they can each be geared towards the two different directions: those headed to/from points east on the Main Line use the Elmont station, those headed to/from Jamaica, other branches, and the western terminals travel through the existing spur station (realistically, this all could have been done at the existing spur station with much more minor track modifications—riders bound for Huntington and Ronkonkoma should ideally be served by dedicated trains that depart from the spur station after the event, similar to how extra service at the Barclays Center ran, that way they can get home in a timely manner, instead of getting to the platform just as a train pulls away and having to wait 59 minutes for the next one...).

By making this fare change for Belmont Park, the MTA is also subverting the legal procedures for fare changes required under New York State law.  The staff summary for the change states that this was included in the public notice for the originally planned 2021 fare hike issued last November—but this is not true.  The public notice did propose adding Elmont station to zone 4, but it did not mention anything about increasing fares for the existing Belmont Park station by placing it in zone 4.  So not only did the MTA misrepresent the location of Belmont Park station to get away with charging a higher fare, it also bypassed procedures required under state law to notify the public and give them an opportunity to comment.