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Why It's So Hard to Get From Brooklyn to Queens

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Re: Why It's So Hard to Get From Brooklyn to Queens

#41

Post by betterunix »

saalweachter wrote: post #40
betterunix wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The MTA is a state agency, so really you need to look at the state's budget, not the city's. I also have little sympathy for the argument that the MTA is too short on cash -- they have been wasting enormous amounts of tax dollars on failed projects for decades. Not that that should give us any hope for an expanded subway system.

Are the state finances in any better shape? The tolls on the new Tappen Zee bridge are expected to be $15, and even that might not be enough to fund it after the hole Coumo blew in the transportation budget after deciding to pillage a general fund instead of raising tolls for commercial vehicles last year.

As I said, I am not saying that we should have much hope for expanding the subway system even if the state budget was perfect. The MTA's main area of expertise is wasting money.

In my earlier comment I mentioned the Rockaway Beach Branch. That right-of-way would require only a bit of cleanup, some maintenance on a few bridges, and switches to connect to the A line and hundred feet of tunnel in Rego Park, and we would have a new subway line in Queens with access to JFK. We are talking maybe a hundred million dollars, assuming competent engineers and contractors are hired -- a fraction of what the MTA has been spending trying to get the Rail Control Center online.

Re: Why It's So Hard to Get From Brooklyn to Queens

#43

Post by techtalsky »

apaprocki wrote: post #22
ubernostrum wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Though I've never personally experienced it, perhaps due to following the advice, I've been repeatedly advised when trying to get around NYC to always get in the taxi before telling them my destination is in Brooklyn. This could be wrong, but the stated reason is that drivers don't want fares to Brooklyn (typically lower, and harder to get another fare who wants to go Brooklyn to someplace else for the return trip),…

A taxi refusing a fare at all (inside or outside) is against TLC rules and the driver will be fined / have their license suspended if you report them.

That sure doesn't stop them from doing it though. I've threatened to report them before and although you can threaten them it sucks to have to do it. I'd rather just let them roll and wait for another cab in all but the most dire circumstances.

Re: Why It's So Hard to Get From Brooklyn to Queens

#44

Post by seiji »

T-hawk wrote: post #31
mbubb wrote: post #25

Heh - I used to live in Greenpoint and would reverse commute up to Queens Plaza to avoid the "G to the L to the BDFQ" into midtown... On the contrary, Hoboken - where I now live - has a wealth of options to commute into both midtown and downtown NYC. Within a few blocks of my apartment: a subway trip of less than 20 mins to either Wall Street or 32nd (Midtown); ferry (a very pleasant 40 min trip to my office in the 4…

Same here, I live on the Jersey City waterfront and love the ferry commute. Hoboken and Jersey City are excellent places to live for a Manhattan job. We get to take advantage of the market inefficiency created by the "eww Jersey" popular image. Bonus, we dodge the NYC income tax which runs over 3% of income.

Fun fact: the NY state + NY city income taxes pretty much equal the entire California state income tax rate. It's not a huge loss given comparable living options.

Re: Why It's So Hard to Get From Brooklyn to Queens

#45

Post by seiji »

skorgu wrote: post #21
apaprocki wrote: post #6

Did they forget about the G train??

I took the G 4 miles. It took 47 minutes. I am not exaggerating those numbers for comedic effect.

I've had relationships fall apart because of the four mile G problem. To round it up, Court Square to the Park Slope areas is easily an hour when waiting for trains to arrive. Two hours round trip is why I left the Bay Area transit wasteland for cripessake.

Re: Why It's So Hard to Get From Brooklyn to Queens

#46

Post by bradleyjg »

ubernostrum wrote: post #14
grandalf wrote: post #4

For comparison, a taxi or Uber between Queens and Brooklyn will run $40-$50 each way. Taking the F train through Manhattan takes over an hour.

Though I've never personally experienced it, perhaps due to following the advice, I've been repeatedly advised when trying to get around NYC to always get in the taxi before telling them my destination is in Brooklyn. This could be wrong, but the stated reason is that drivers don't want fares to Brooklyn (typically lower, and harder to get another fare who wants to go Brooklyn to someplace else for the return trip),…

That's not much of an issue if you are going between Brooklyn and Queens. With a few small exceptions you won't see a yellow cab in those boros anyway and black cars or the new green taxis are a lot more flexible.

Re: Why It's So Hard to Get From Brooklyn to Queens

#47

Post by bradleyjg »

mbubb wrote: post #25

Heh - I used to live in Greenpoint and would reverse commute up to Queens Plaza to avoid the "G to the L to the BDFQ" into midtown... On the contrary, Hoboken - where I now live - has a wealth of options to commute into both midtown and downtown NYC. Within a few blocks of my apartment: a subway trip of less than 20 mins to either Wall Street or 32nd (Midtown); ferry (a very pleasant 40 min trip to my office in the 4…

Hoboken to midtown or downtown is fine. But to the point of this article, Hoboken to Brooklyn or Queens is a long two transit systems ride.

Too bad really because Hoboken and JC and e.g. Boruem Hill or Astoria have a lot in common.

Re: Why It's So Hard to Get From Brooklyn to Queens

#48

Post by llamataboot »

fennecfoxen wrote: post #30
betterunix wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another possibility would be to build all the planned subway extensions in Queens; Brooklyn already has good subway service, and a few more lines connecting the two boroughs would not hurt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IND_Second_System While we are at it, let's actually make use of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockaway_Beach_Branch

Build it? With whose money? The city's finances have been a disaster since 2008 and they've only been scraping by with a series of unsustainable tricks. The next mayor will almost certainly be Bill de Blasio, whose top agenda item is basically to spending a lot more money on the city's unionized labor. (His next agenda item is to revive rent control, because the War Emergency Tenant Protection Act apparently hasn't d…

What's wrong with trying to protect against the shrinkage of the middle class?

Re: Why It's So Hard to Get From Brooklyn to Queens

#49

Post by [deleted] »

keithpeter wrote: post #7
barking wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't you mean 'can't overstate'?

Several cities in UK are bringing trams back. They call them 'the metro' usually to sound more modern. I use one twice a week, but it only runs on actual roads for a small part of the journey (Birmingham to Wolverhampton) so it is more of a light railway really. The extension at the Birmingham end will bring the trams back onto main city streets.

[deleted]

Re: Why It's So Hard to Get From Brooklyn to Queens

#50

Post by lstamour »

brudgers wrote: post #9
compare wrote: post #2

You really can't overstate the differences between trams and busses. Trams are more like a moving sidewalk, a physical part of the city.

The meaningful difference is not between rails and tires. It is between dedicated rights-of-way and one shared with automotive traffic. When buses get dedicated right-of-way, as in Curitiba they provide similar service levels to subways .

Actually, I'd say it really comes down to rails and tires. Streetcars can be given the same rights-of-way as buses and would perform similarly, except: the streetcar is a smoother ride. I can grab breakfast and eat it on a streetcar knowing there's only one direction of motion to worry about. On a bus, however, you can never tell which way you'll be jerked around. It really is much less pleasant, even if it's faster without the right of way. (Due to left turning cars)
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