East Hampton Station Bound for 1895 Glory
Renovations began last week at the Long Island Rail Road station in East Hampton Village, marking the start of a months-long project that will keep the building closed well into the summer season, even as train service remains uninterrupted.
“Work on the station house will be wrapping up in midsummer 2018 and work on the platforms and surrounding areas will continue through March of 2019,” said Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which operates the L.I.R.R. The station has been encircled by chain-link fencing and flanked by trailers, one of which is functioning as a makeshift waiting room that is open daily from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The project, which is part of a state-funded $120 million program to upgrade 16 stations on Long Island, will simultaneously modernize the East Hampton station’s facilities while restoring its appearance to the way it looked when it was built in 1895.
“As I understand it, the restoration is planned to be quite accurate and respectful of existing original material,” said Robert Hefner, the village’s historic services director, who consulted with the L.I.R.R. on the project. The plans include stripping paint from the building’s red-brick facade, restoring its triangular dormer windows, and painting the exterior woodwork its original shade of dark green.
As for the modern upgrades, LED lighting will be installed throughout the station, and train schedules will be displayed on electronic screens the M.T.A. refers to as “digital totems.” There will also be U.S.B. device-charging stations in and around the building as well as free Wi-Fi. New bathrooms and benches will be installed, and the site will receive sidewalk alterations to make it easier to for people with disabilities to navigate to and from trains.