Arena: Mangano Wants Light Rail To Coliseum?

According to the Garden City Patch, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano is currently going over plans to add a Long Island Rail Road station behind the Stop & Shop on Old Country Road. The stop would fall in between the Mineola and Carle Place stations and would not pass through Garden City at all. There would then be a shuttle bus service to the Nassau Coliseum and it's surrounding areas.

CH: This is fantastic news. Apparently the track and line is already set up and all they would need to create is the platform. The station would most likely be on the Hicksville/Huntington/Ronkonkoma line, as they all run through Mineola and Carle Place. There are two great things about this: 1) Mangano is trying to solve the public transportation issue to the Coliseum without infringing on Garden City and their NIMBYism. 2) Mangano is trying to get all groups and civic leaders on board with the referendum by appeasing those that need to be appeased. Potentially, having an LIRR station would be great for those commuting from Manhattan and the NYC area for attending shows, which would increase foot traffic at the HUB. We'll see if this story gains any traction over the next few weeks.

AT: Absolutely awesome. Let's hope this gets through. One of the biggest things for the Rangers, IMO, is being right above Penn Station. Such easy access for everyone from Westchester/Metro-North areas, New Jersey and Long Island. Having a really convenient LIRR stop with shuttle access would be HUGE in a revitalization of the Islanders and getting fans back to the NVMC (and new arena if it happens). Create easy access to the Coliseum and I bet you'd see attendance rise even if the team doesn't do as well as we expect it to. Really hoping this goes through.

External Link: Islandermania