Chairman Crowley and Councilman Constantinides Demand Answers from Amtrak on Public Safety Risks

Chairman Crowley and Councilman Constantinides Demand Answers from Amtrak on Public Safety Risks

(Queens, N.Y.) – House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx) and NYC Council Member Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) are demanding answers from Amtrak on its failure to properly maintain its properties and address significant public safety risks.

Residents in Queens have long-expressed alarm over Amtrak’s refusal to adequately manage its properties and mitigate the environmental and infrastructural concerns of the community. In a letter sent Tuesday, Chairman Crowley and Councilman Constantinides call on Amtrak to uphold their obligations to the public by repaving and reconstructing the public right of way surrounding 23rd Avenue between 36th and 35th Streets.

“It is shameful that a federal agency has such a concerted disregard for the communities it most directly affects and touches,” wrote the lawmakers. “The residents of Astoria deserve to be able to walk on the sidewalk without fear of tripping into a gaping hole. It is a basic expectation that, unfortunately, Amtrak has failed to deliver on. Beyond that, the lack of care and concern for the neighborhoods Amtrak does business in is not limited to this location alone. In fact, Queens is replete with glaring examples of Amtrak’s abdication of their responsibility to maintain their properties.”

The letter was sent to Amtrak Vice President of Government Affairs and Corporate Communications Caroline Decker.

The full text of the letter can be read here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email