Roslyn station (LIRR)

Roslyn is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Oyster Bay Branch. It is located at Lincoln Avenue and Railroad Avenue, west of Roslyn Road (CR 7) and south of Warner Avenue, in Roslyn Heights, Nassau County, New York.

History
Roslyn station opened on January 23, 1865 by the Glen Cove Branch Rail Road – a subsidiary of the Long Island Rail Road, upon the completion of the line between Mineola and Glen Head. The land for the railroad station was donated by Samuel Adams Warner – a prominent architect and Roslyn resident for whom Warner Avenue is named.

In 1882, the LIRR attempted to extend the former Flushing and North Side Railroad main line from the Great Neck station to the Roslyn station. This proposal dates back to an F&NS subsidiary, called the "Roslyn and Huntington Railroad". The proposal ultimately failed, and that line was instead extended to Port Washington in 1898. In the meantime, the Roslyn station was moved in 1885, in order to accommodate a new freight station; the station was rebuilt between June and July 1887.

In 1905, a second track along the Oyster Bay Branch was added between Albertson and Roslyn – and in 1909, the second track was extended from Roslyn to Glen Cove; the second track was constructed in anticipation of the Oyster Bay Branch being electrified past East Williston, north and east to the branch's terminus in Oyster Bay.

From the 1900s until the system's closure in 1920, the New York & North Shore Traction Company's Port Washington Line stopped at and served the station; the n23 bus follows much this former trolley line's route.

On the evening of July 15, 1927, an Oyster Bay-bound express train struck a vehicle which had stalled in the middle of the former Orchard Street grade crossing, in front of the station. The collision led to the vehicle being knocked into a telephone pole, and the two occupants of the vehicle were ejected from the impact. The driver, identified as Jacob Bolzicot, sustained critical injuries and was taken to Nassau County Hospital in Mineola. The other occupant, Catherine – Bolzicot's 4-year-old daughter, was uninjured.

In 1940, the Long Island Rail Road remodeled the exterior of the station house, covering the brick façade with stucco, which resulted in public outcry. Roslyn Estates resident Christopher Morley, who frequently used the station, called for the Long Island Rail Road remove the stucco and re-expose the brickwork. The Long Island Rail Road, which was looking to improve the station due to increasing ridership, soon agreed to remove the layer of stucco and re-expose the bricks – a process which was completed early that November.

On the evening of May 5, 1967, a man was struck and critically injured by an oncoming, Oyster Bay-bound train at the Roslyn station when he was crossing the tracks. The victim, identified as Greenvale resident Hugh O'Rourke, had been on his way home at the time of the incident. O'Rourke was transported to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where he was pronounced deceased from his injuries.

The station house was restored to its 19th-century origins in 1981, during a major restoration project. The Roslyn Landmark Society assisted in the restoration project, and donated many of the materials used.

Between the 1960s and the 1980s, the area surrounding the station underwent a large-scale urban renewal project. As part of the project, a number of derelict buildings – in addition to portions of the abandoned freight yard – were demolished and replaced with a 250-car parking lot for the station. The project also saw the station be moved to the south side of Lincoln Avenue; the historic station house was moved to this new location in 1988, where it continues to stand today. When the station was moved to its current location, the Village of Roslyn expressed interest in moving the station's historic platform shelter into Roslyn's downtown to ensure its preservation; the structure, by that time, was used as a taxi stand. The shelter, built in 1928, was moved in 1987 to the site of the Captain Jacob M. Kirby Storehouse on Main Street, where it remains standing as a garden house.

In 1997, in anticipation of the LIRR's fleet of C3 bilevel railcars entering service, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority once again reconstructed the station by replacing the low-level platforms with high-level ones, allowing for level boarding and making the station ADA-compliant.

Between 2016 and 2017, the station's parking lot was re-striped and received additional parking spaces. The project was carried out by the Town of North Hempstead, which owns and maintains the parking lot.

In 2020, the Town of North Hempstead received a $150,000 grant from Nassau County to construct a pathway connecting the station's east end to the residential area adjacent to it; as no connection had existed despite being adjacent to the Oyster Bay-bound platform, residents were required to walk north to access the station at its north end.

In 2021, approval was given by the Village of Roslyn to construct a mixed-use, transit-oriented development on Warner Avenue, adjacent to the station. The transit-oriented development will feature 54 rental apartments, in addition to 12000 sqft of retail space below the apartments.

Station layout
The Roslyn station is at-grade. It has two high-level side platforms, each being long enough to accommodate four train cars.

Parking
Free parking is available on the west side of the station. The parking lot is operated and maintained by the Town of North Hempstead.