Newsday from New York, New York • 44

AA MTA'S PLANS LIRR feeling the pain too PHOTO BY JASON DECIIOW Shut-down booths will become far more commonplace under the 164 token booths slated for closure unlimited ride MetroCards could jump to between $76 and $84 and seven-day unlimited ride cards could rise to as much as $24 Currently a seven-day Unlimited Ride MetroCard costs $21 and 30-day unlimited Metxocard is $70 In the URR fore proposals the MTA is calling fin: price hikes on the monthly railroad ticket the bulk of URR rider-ship of 5 percent to 10 percent A one-way off peak fore could jump 20 percent and a one-way rush hour ticket could rise up to 11 percent LIRR officials backed off cutting the zone discount that would have raised prices up to 22 percent far some Suffolk County commuters who traveled from Ronkonkoma Port Jefferson Bay Shore and eastward and purchased joint LIRR Met-rocard tickets Still all riders who hold such combination tickets face increases of 5 percent to 15 percent Dorothy DeMarco of Islandia is one of them She now pays $299 a month and even a lOper-cent increase would raise it by nearly $30 she said The MTA is calling for even more draconian cuts in 2006 if their budget woes continue For example they are looking at dos- ing the Oyster Bay Green-port-Ronkonkoma and West Hempstead branches and removing the tracks BY JOIE TYRRELL STAFF WRITER Long Island Rail Road riders still reeling from a 25 percent fore hike just a year ago may soon be paying even more for less The railroad's parent agency the Metropolitan Transportation Authority published a fore proposal overview yesterday revealing that fore hike increases could range from 4 percent to 20 percent next year for commuters Also in a budget presentation yesterday morning URR President James Dermody said the railroad is considering whether to cut more than 360 positions including car cleaners station cleaners and ticket sellers all part of the debt-ridden way to plug a multi-million-doliar deficit that is expected to expand beyond $1 billion in 2006l The MTA board is expected to vote on its 2005 budget in December and the hikes could come after the new year whole thing is getting just worse and worse by the minute It is like they are targeting Long said Peter Haynes president of the LIRR Commuter's Campaign a rider advocacy group But the pain will be shared by city transit users too For riders of New York subways and buses as well as Long Island Bus passengers the price of 30-day On the MTA's BRONX 161 St-Yankee Stadium (4) 161 St-Yankee Stadium (BD) 170 St(BD) 174 St (BD25) 205 St (D) Brook Avenue (6) Cypress Avenue (6) East 143 St (6) East 149 St (6) Freeman Street (25) Kings-bridge Road (BD) Long-wood Avenue (6) Prospect Avenue (25) Simpson Street (25) BROOKLYN 25 Street (MR) Bergen Street (FG23) Borough Hall (45) Brighton Beach (BQ) Carroll Street (FG) Church Avenue (BQ) Clintorr-Washington Avenues (C) Court Street 1 1 (MR) Flatbush Ave-nue-Brooklyn College (25) Flushing Avenue (G) Franklin Avenue (C) Graham Avenue (L) Grand Street (L) Halsey Street (L) High Street (AC) Hoyt Street (23) Jay Street-Borough -Hall (ACF) Kings Highway Last stops ahead? plan endangered list St-Herald Sq(NRQWBDFV) 34 St-Penn Station (ACE12A9)42 St-Times Sq (ACENRQW12379S) 42 St-Bryant Park (BDFV) 47-50 Sts-Rock-efeller Center (BDFV) 49 St (NRW) 51 St (6): 57 St (NRQW) 59 St-Lex-ington Ave(456) 66 St' (19) 72 St (1239) 79 St (19) 81 St-Museum of Natural History (BC) 86 St (19) 96 St (BC 19) 110 St (BC196) 116 St (BC623) 125 St (ABCD23) 135 St (BC23) 137 St 09) 145 St (19) 157 St 0) 168 St (19) Bowling Green (45) Broad St (JMZ)) Brooklyn Bridge (456) Canal St (ACE19) Chambers St (ArCEJMZ) Christopher St (19) Cortiandt St (RW) Delancey St (F) East Broadway (F) Franklin St (19) Fulton St (2345JMZ) 42 St-Grand Central (4567S) Houston St 09) Lexington Ave (NRWEV) Prince St (RW) Rector St (RW) Spring St (6) Wall St (23 4 5) Whitehall St (RW) World Trade Center' (E) QUEENS 36 St (GRV) 46 St (GRV) 71 Ave-Forest Hills (EFGRV) 74 St-Broad-way (7) 169 St (F) 179 St (F) Jamaica Center-Par-sons Archer (EJZ) North-ern Blvd (GRV) Queens Plaza (EGRV) Roosevelt Ave (EFGRV) Steinway St (GRV): Union Tpke (EF) Vernon Blvd-Jackson Ave (7)' i Sl v- BOOTHS from A2 booths were closed last year and earlier this year Lawrence Reuter NYC president has said crime has not increased at those stops In each location to lose a booth a talk-back intercom system would be installed Additionally a full-time booth would remain open in each station slated to lose a booth officials say While that is technically true only one platform may be staffed at some stations with separate entrances for trains going in opposite directions Paul Fleuranges a spokesman for NYC Transit said in a written Transit has examined the subject carefully and does not believe the closing of select part-time and fulltime booths will jeopardize the safety or security of our ridership or lead to an increase in He added that usage at star tions where booths had previously closed has increased Since it was proposed earlier this year the premise of more closed booths has been met with rising anger amo passengers transit group members of the city's largest transit uninn like unpeopled unstaffed said David Katzman a spokesman for Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union Katzman said that in 2000 clerks alerted authorities 60000 times to report medical emergencies or crimes Additionally he said closing booths affects people in wheelchairs or carting a stroller Because no employee is around to open the gate those unable to go through the turnstile will not be able to enter he said to get a stroller through a Katzman said yy" MTA from A3 riding the subway or having no mass transit options Waits for the subway would jump by up to two minutes during the day and 10 minutes at night Three branches of the Long Island Rail Road would dose affecting about 10000 people For the past two weeks Katherine Lapp executive director of the state-run MTA has been calling attention to the financial woes by asking Albany and City Hall to boost contributions an infusion of revenue we will have to make those difficult she said Wednesday before a state Assembly committee that oversees the MTA The chair As-semb Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester) said in an interview yesterday that when Gov George Pataki releases the state budget in January New Yorkers will get a better- idea whether the proposals will be enacted Its fiscal problems stem largely from increasing debt service amid decreased levels of state and city assistance to the capital program In a written statement Lynn Rasic a Pataki spokeswoman said governor has dene more to support our transit system than Governor PatakL We are looking at the plan in the context of the entire five-year transportation plan and we will be reviewing a variety of options with the City and MTA to help support the transit Beginning Nov 8 the MTA will hold meetings on next cuts Outraged passengers are expected to rail against the cuts slated both for next year and following years In the meantime Lapp is expected to continue calling for more help people may diamiaa this as a scare off said take it NEWSDAY FRIDAY OCTOBER 15 2004 wwwjiynewidayxom (BQ) Kingston-Throop Avenues (C) Lorimer St (L) Marcy Ave (JMZ) Myrtle-Wyckoff Aves (LM) Nevins St (2 345) Newkirk Ave (25) Nostrand Ave (AC) Prospect Ave (MR) Prospect Park (BQ) Sheepshead Bay (BQ) Stillwell Ave-Coney -Island (DFQ) Union St (MR) Utica Ave (AC34) MANHATTAN Second Ave-Lower East Side (FV) Third Ave (L) Fifth Ave- 53 St (EV)Sixth i Ave (L)r Seventh Ave 1 (BDE) 14 St (1239FV) 14 St-Uriion Sq (NQRW) 18 St (19 23 St (CE6RW19) 28 St (19RW) 33 SU6) 34 it.