Letter to Mr. Juan D. Reyes III, Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration - Inspection of Highway-Rail Crossings in Maspeth After Crossing Signals Failed to Activate

Letter

Dear Acting Deputy Administrator Reyes:

We write to express our grave concern about the safety of highway-rail crossings in the Maspeth neighborhood of Queens, New York. In particular, we write to request an inspection of the crossing signals located at the intersection of 56th Street and Flushing Avenue in Maspeth.

New York City Council Member Robert Holden relayed to us that Christina Wilkinson, the President of Citizens for a Better Maspeth, was walking down Flushing Avenue at 3:45pm yesterday afternoon when a train crossed the intersection of 56th Street and Flushing Avenue without the crossing signals activating or any rail personnel stopping traffic at the intersection. Ms. Wilkerson's experience is extremely concerning given the absence of crossing gates at the intersection, as well as the recent history of gate and signal malfunctions at Maspeth Avenue and Rust Street only a few blocks away.

Respectfully, we request that a Federal Railroad Administration Signal and Train Control Inspector inspect the highway-rail crossings in the Maspeth community immediately. We also ask that you relay the inspector's findings to us as quickly as possible. We thank you for your attention to this matter, and eagerly await your response.

Sincerely,

Source