To the editor:

I am a fairly new Riverdale resident and a huge fan of the neighborhood. I work in midtown and love the fast commute. I take the Rail Link from 236th Street to the Metro-North train at Spuyten Duyvil.

Unfortunately, my Rail Link stop is plagued by recurring grafitti. The footbridge crossing the Henry Hudson Parkway is the main route for school children, and the base of the bridge is a constant target. I have contacted the police department and the schools’ administration and both appear helpless to remedy the situation. Additionally, the Spuyten Duyvil train station — which should be one of the most picturesque in the entire City of New York — boasts a beautiful shoreline littered with garbage, tires washed ashore, branches and other debris cleared from the tracks.

Naturally, this is the topic of conversation among many commuters each morning. I contacted the offices of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Rep. Eliot Engel about this condition. I also contacted the office of Councilman Oliver Koppel, who recently and regularly availed himself of the substantial pedestrian commuter traffic there during his re-election campaign. So far, there have been no responses from any of these powerful elected officials.

Finally, I notice that your own Police Beat does not have the usual map pinpointing the locations of neighborhood crime this week (Nov. 19 edition), and correspondingly note that there were a number of violent crimes reported that would have appeared on the map in spots that are typically crime free. I find this particularly concerning, as your lead stories this week relate to upscale real estate sales in the neighborhood. Potential new residents of the Solaria or elsewhere could be misled.

With a new leader in the precinct (your story last week) and newly elected politicians freshly invigorated from their wins in office, we need just a little more effort in cleaning up the station and keeping the neighborhood a safe, beautiful and unique place. Then the apartments should sell themselves to anyone seriously considering a move to this wonderful place.

ANDREW LEFTT