Brentwood LIRR Overpass Demolished After Complaints of Gang Activity

An elevated walkway over the LIRR tracks leading to East Middle School in Brentwood was officially torn down last week, an MTA spokesperson confirmed.

The walkway was shut down last September due to complaints of drug and gang activity in the area following the death of two Brentwood teens.

The demolition of the overpass was completed last Thursday.

According to an MTA spokesperson, the overpass was torn down at the request of Suffolk County Legislator and former assistant principal at the middle school, Monica R. Martinez as well as Brentwood Schools Superintendent Levi McIntyre.

Martinez told Newsday she first expressed her concerns about the elevated walkway to the MTA after taking office in 2014.

In addition, local students submitted a petition with 200 signatures asking MTA officials to close down the walkway last summer.

“It took three years to get this done, but it felt so good to see it come down,” Martinez told Newsday. “It was such a community effort. There were so many people involved, and we stuck together and made it happen.”

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