"I guess the thing is, I'm looking at it from the side of the people who live in the El's shadow. I like Els, but that is irrelevant. You speak of the people who ride the line but you have nothing to say about the plight of the people who live and work beneath it."
The people who work and live beneath it also depend on the El, in large part. I grew up in the Bronx along the "4" train and I am sure some do suffer from the noise and lack of sunshine. But they themselves would not want rail service taken away from them. Suggest to them that subway service be cancelled and most likely these same people will "run you out of Astoria on a rail." Now, push the MTA to replace the El with an underground line, ADA-compliant stations, new street lighting and beautification to accompany it, and you'll have a lot of support.
"Walk along its length, and see how many would object to its being torn down. Their answers might surprise you. True knowledge comes not from books or quoting a bunch of facts. It comes from living. You see the El only from trackside. I see its impact from beneath the tracks. That is where my "facts" come from for that is where I know the truth lies."
It sounds to me like you formed an opinion, then sought out only those opinions which agreed with yours.