Far Rockers want LIRR weekend fare break

Standing outside the boarded up waiting room of the Far Rockaway Long Island Rail Road station last Thursday, state Senator James Sanders, Assemblywoman Michele Titus and representatives of local civic organizations called for Far Rockaway, which is part of New York City’s borough of Queens, to be included in the LIRR’S CityTicket weekend discount program.

The program would lower the cost of a weekend ticket for Far Rockaway riders heading to Manhattan or Brooklyn by $4, from the current off-peak price of $8.25 to $4.25. The reduced fare is available at all other stations in Queens and Brooklyn.

Sanders introduced the Long Island Rail Road Fare Act to advance that idea. Titus is sponsoring a companion bill in the Assembly. 

“There is something about the Rockaways that irritates the transportation system,” Sanders said, ticking off past insults such as having Rockaway passengers pay a double fare and once having the MTA leave the peninsula off its maps entirely. “Why is CityTicket good for everyone but the Rockaways?” he asked.

LIRR officials said that tickets to Far Rockaway cost the same as to all the Nassau stations on the line: Inwood, Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, Hewlett, Gibson and Valley Stream. To give Far Rockaway a break would alter the fare structure since it would be possible for passengers to go to the Far Rockaway station, purchase the CityTicket with its accompanying discount, and then board a train from their home community.

Sanders suggested that Far Rockaway patrons be asked to show identification, documenting they are residents of the Rockaways. 

“How can we not be afforded the same benefit as all New Yorkers?” Titus asked rhetorically. 

Danny Ruscillo, co-chair of Community Board 14’s Transportation Committee, called the situation “preposterous.”

“Far Rockaway residents including visitors from different parts of our city should have this reduced fare put in place immediately,” he said.