North Fork Legislators Urge State to Restore and Expand LIRR Service

Suffolk County Legislator Greg Doroski this week led a renewed campaign urging the New York State Legislature to expand Long Island Rail Road service on the Greenport Branch, a move local leaders say is long overdue given there are currently just three weekday trains from Ronkonkoma to Greenport. Southold Town Board agreed to sign onto the letter to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie on Feb. 26 as officials pressed the state to match regional tax contributions with greater service.

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski framed the demand in stark terms at the Town Board meeting, quipping, "Taxation without transportation is tyranny." Krupski added, "If there were more trains people could rely on, people would use the train," linking the limited schedule to ridership and commuting choices on the North Fork.

Greenport officials joined the push. Councilwoman Alexa Suess warned that "typically when we hear about more service on the East End, it goes to the South Fork" and argued that "more service would be better for the environment, and for the local economy." Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi said he has "long been an advocate for adding additional rail service to Greenport and have brought this up many times in East End Mayors and Supervisors meetings, together with state representatives," and cited the state's 2019 climate justice law as part of the funding case, noting that the law directs 35 to 40 percent of certain funding to disadvantaged communities, of which he said Greenport is one.

Leaders pressed a fiscal equity argument: businesses on the North Fork with large payrolls contribute to the MTA Payroll Tax that funds the LIRR, yet local officials say the Greenport Branch returns little service for those taxes. The letter to Speaker Carl Heastie seeks state action to restore and expand weekday and regional connectivity along the branch that runs to Greenport.

Separately, Corinne Donahue, identified as a project manager for transportation consultant Olsson and leader of the state's mobility management team, described a longer-running transit planning effort tied to area service providers. Donahue said an area transit study began in 2019 and that "our team, since 2020, has actually been up here working with the transit agencies, both North Fork Area Transit and Ponca Express, for over two years." She said community open houses and that study determined more transit services were needed and recommended options including flex route service.

Donahue provided ridership context for local bus systems, saying transit ridership "had increased to more than 70,000 trips in 2021-22" and that "overall, ridership has increased by more than 250% since 2017." She also defended agency processes amid public concern, stating, "that is incorrect. There were processes and procedures in place at the agency. I want to be crystal clear about that," and saying "through the investigation, more information will be released that will answer many of the questions and speculation that have been circulating in the community."

With Southold's Feb. 26 sign-on and Greenport officials publicly aligned, local leaders are awaiting a response from Speaker Carl Heastie and state officials on whether the Greenport Branch will receive additional weekday runs and funding to match the North Fork's payroll-tax contributions.