Daily News from New York, New York • 393

ANTHONY PCSCATORE DAILY NEWS BOROUGH HALL Station was slated to be one of four to receive modernization funds before a TA policy shift. ofoway job Red lights fflasWhmg ffoir Transit officials maintain that this program will pay for itself very quickly. "Our capital funds are not unlimited," Garden said. "They are not a bottomless Most fare-beating is done by people who slip through back-cocked turnstiles or jump over low gates. Third program not set up When will these Downtown Brooklyn stations be upgraded to reflect changes in the neighborhoods they serve? That's anybody's guess.

TA. officials said they will request funds for the projects during a much-needed third capital program. But that isn't even in place yet The proposal will go before the MTA board Dec. 15 and, if it passes that hurdle, before the Capital Review Program Board in Albany during the next session of the Legislature. tions but the finest in order to support the current revitalization in and of this area." Transit Authority spokesman Ter-maine Garden said the decision to defer the station modernizations was made before it was known that the courts would allow work to resume.

"We just didn't know what was going to happen," he said. What Transit officials said they did know, however, was the need to improve fare-collection techniques. Revenue losses cited Garden explained that the program would help the TA collect more revenue by reducing the number of fare-beaters. "We are losing approximately $60 million a year to fare abuse," Garden said. "Part of this project calls for the elimination of slam gates and the installation of floor-to-ceiling railings." nomic development for Consolidated Edison's Brooklyn Division, also serves as president of "Destination Brooklyn," a coalition of marketing and communications professionals established to promote Brooklyn as a tourist attraction.

"That particular terminus is vital to the development of the area," Leffler said. "It seems self-evident that the renovation of this station is vital to the Atlantic Terminal area and Downtown Brooklyn. "In order to encourage tenants, we need a modern, safe, and secure station here," he added. "It is an important factor in the marketing of the complex." Area needs 'the finest' In a letter to Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Robert Kiley, Lefller said, "Downtown Brooklyn needs not just good transit sta STATIONS FROM PAGE ONE that it's a case of priorities; and that, at this time, upgrading the appearance and systems in the stations are not as important as some newer projects. 'Serious setback When he first learned of it, Golden bristled at the proposal to drop the Atlantic Ave.

modernization project from the budget He called the postponement "a serious setback to the continued development of Downtown Brooklyn." At a $26.6 million cost, the Atlantic Avenue Station modernizing would have been the largest chunk of the program. The project would have completely upgraded the IRT station, which serves thousands of commuters each day including those who use the Long Island Railroad at that point Station upgrading includes new electrical service, lighting, signage, and tile work, along with the replacement of stairways and escalators. The modernized Atlantic Avenue Station could have been an attractive gateway to the planned Atlantic Terminal urban-renewal project to reshape the streets above. $2B development in area "The area served by this station is undergoing an economic resurgence, which includes more than $2 billion of development," Golden said. "Adequate transportation via three subway lines and the Long Island Railroad is a key component of this rejuvenation," he added.

Transit officials may have agreed at first, but they gambled that the Atlantic Terminal project would be bogged down for the next several years while tenants' groups fought the urban-renewal project in the courts. They were wrong. The case was settled Nov. 22, when a state appeals court dismissed a challenge to the Atlantic Terminal urban-renewal project The decision lifted an injunction that had held up work on the $500 mil-' lion project for more than a year. Ill-timed decision Now, with work back on track, the decision to defer the station's refurbishment seems particularly ill-timed.

Stuart Leffler, the manager of eco mmnimwin 'mmrinmmimm WIT. jun V. -i 1 4 St LARGEST chunk of station rnodemizatjon funds, $26.6 million, was to be spent on Atlantic Ave, hub, aktkony pcscatore daily news.