Far Rockaway, New York- This week the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) is presenting a plan to the MTA Board that would implement a pilot program which would provide a 10% discount on daily LIRR tickets and a 20% discount on monthly LIRR tickets starting May 1^st for every Queens LIRR station except Far Rockaway.

“Once again, the Long Island Railroad fails to acknowledge that Far Rockaway is in Queens,” Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D- Far Rockaway) said. “The LIRR is asking my constituents, who have the farthest commutes in the city, to pay full price on the most expensive form of public transportation we have and that is completely unfair. I cannot understand why the LIRR continues to exclude my community from these great programs. It doesn’t matter that the train runs through Nassau, these are Queens residents and they should receive the same benefits as every other Queens resident.”

Despite being in Queens, the Far Rockaway station is also excluded from the CityTicket program and the Atlantic Ticket program. Both programs provide significant discounts to most, but not every, Queens resident who lives near a Long Island Railroad station. CityTicket costs $4.50 and is good for one-way travel that begins and ends within New York City, except for Far Rockaway. The Atlantic Ticket costs $5 one-way for travel between Atlantic Avenue LIRR terminal in Brooklyn, and every South East Queens LIRR station, except for Far Rockaway.