Newsday from New York, New York • 12

Jh 'x A13 COULDN'T PROVE HE SETS DISCOUNT Disabled man forced off train APCNOIO fied die crew member who escorted Conley off the train and are interviewing crew members The railroad offers discount service for individuals 65 years of age or older or people who are disabled as evidenced by a 1 Medicare card or an MTA Reduced-Fare MetroCard presented at time of ticket purchase or use "We are aware of the situation: it is highly unusual" Dolan said yAnae Conley said she to Manhattan from Selden two months ago and she had established a routine with her brother who takes the train by himself from Ronkonkoma every Friday She told him to always sit in the first car where the engineer is so he isn't alone in the cah He had forgotten his Medicaid card but Conley said other conductors had not asked to see it in past trips is the first time anyone ever asked him for identification" she said "It couldn't be any more obvious that this kid is After he finally arrived Conley said she went to the customer service window at Penn Station and was met with a rude response She get BY JOIE TYRRELL STAFF WRITER -A man with cerebral palsy was forced off a Long Island Rail Road train Friday bee he have a Medicaid card to prove he deserved i half-far ticket a difference of $2251 An LIRR crew member escorted Christopher Conley who had no money or cell phone off the ldl pm westbound train he was riding from Ronhonhnma to Penn Station at Woodside a station he didn't know He was one stop away from his destination Conley's sister Mary Anne Conley said she was waiting for him at Penn Station and worried when he didn't arrive "He was said Conley who said her brother 44 got to Penn Station boarding a later train at Wc side and arrived about 40 minutes later Tm dumbfounded that they could do this has cerebral palsy this kid is not trying to beat them out of two she said Brian Dolan spokesman for the LIRR said he called Mary-Anne Conley and apologised LIRR officials have not identi SOUTH FERRY SUBWAY NtMOiMLY PNU10HUMKI MilLA Christopher Conley was thrown off a Long Island Rail Road train for lacking proof he was entitled to a disabled-rider fare any relief from calling either "I tried to explain the situation at customer service and had two women roll their eyes at me and tell me to take a customer comment card off of the she said "I had walked my brother in Dolan said the railroad is going to help Conley acquire Olympk torch More than 100 athletes celebrities and everyday New Yorkers will carry the Olympic torch over 34 miles through the five boroughs Saturday as part of the worldwide relay The event In preparation for the 2004 Summer Games in Athens will begin In Athens Square Park in Astoria at 10:30 am and finish at Times Square after 10 pm Sweden Day The 64th Annual Sweden Day celebration will take place at 11 am Saturday at Manhem Beach Club 658 Clarence Avenue in Throgs Neck This festival of the summer solstice will feature the -raising of the maypole traditional Swedish food music folk dancing kids games and more See wwwswedendayxom for details Solstice events The American Museum of Natural History will host special solstice activities Sunday From 11 am to 130 pm at the Arthur Ross Terrace Calder Lab and Leonhardt People Center museum educators will lead children in sun-related activities such as cooking with solar ovens and printing pictures with sunlight At 2 pm and 430 pm4 in the Kaufmann Theater theater troupe Quillas will perform music and dance from the Ecuadorean and Peruvian solstice festival Inti Raymi ProfcsstoneisB I $400M deal would cut commute time an MTA Reduced-Fare Metro-Card photo identification that can assist him cm future trips The experience has been her brother Conley "He didn't understand why they did it to she said "Why they put him off the train" way riders will get desperately needed enhancements to the South Ferry Station and our downtown riders will get a host of improvements to Battery Construction on the 98-year-old station is expected to begin in the fall and be completed within three to five years officials said The park improvements are expected to be completed by next summer officials said City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said beautiful new subway terminal will help make the Battery a premier destination for residents and visitors to New York o)o EXPANSION paths and handicap accessible exits The capacity for the No 1 and 9 subway lines will be increased by adding two tracks to die one-track station The improvements will allow doors on 10 cars to open for exiting passengers The changes should cut the 21-minute travel time from Penn Station to lower Manhattan to 11 minutes officials said The deal marked the culmination of months of contentious negotiations in which Silver had argued that the project would cause traffic noise and other problems for the lower Manhattan commupity he rep resents said officials familiar with the negotiations But critics of Silver accused him iff needlessly stalling the deal while seeking better financial enhancements for the community "Addressing community concerns has been my top priority throughout this entire negotiation" Silver said at the Battery Park news conference "With our agreement this important transportation project will move forward and the residents of lower Manhattan will continue to enjoy this beautiful and historic space in a new and improved Bloomberg said sub BY CURTIS TAYLOR STAFF WRITER Commute times to lower Manhattan from Penn Station will be dramatically reduced under a $400-million agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the state to renovate and expand the South Ferry subway station Under the deal announced Friday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) another $15 million will be allocated for improvements in Battery Park including expanding bicycle s- 0 un cuaesr vhuumh vuur mug leuscsgsu war jaratoa Mwiaa Tfie Mattress ALEEHIPS SUNDAY 7PM RAIQIORiSHINENNI -r -iT-ai.