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We were walking downtown to the office today when one of those big red tourist buses nearly ran us over (as usual!) Just as we were about to begin screaming obscenities, it hit us: the Gray Line has tons of buses, and they are running all over the city right now! For instance, their classic tour costs $50 for two days of hop-on hop-off privileges, and the buses complete a three-hour loop around the city. Might be a realistic option for those of you who live conveniently near a major tourist attraction. Bonus: you'll get to meet some nice people from outside New York!
Our tourist bus epiphany is probably one of literally dozens of clever ways to get around this week. Screw the MTA and the TWU-- we don't need their sticking trains and buses! Some suggestions, with updates throughout the day.
1. PATH Train Hack: if you live and work on the West Side, the PATH trains are a good option-- hop on at WTC or Christopher Street, and take it up to 34th Street.
2. LIRR Hack: if you live near Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, or Jamaica in Queens, getting to Penn Station should be fairly simple-- that is, if you don't get trampled by the crowds once you are there.
3. MetroNorth Hack: good for getting from 125th Street to Grand Central, or vice-versa-- and convenient from Marble Hill or the South Bronx to Grand Central as well.
3. Skateboard/Scooter/Bike/Blades/Etc hack-- too obvious to really be a hack, but a word of advice: use the Manhattan Bridge (less pedestrians than the Brooklyn Bridge).
4. LifeHacker Hack: "Here’s a little thing I came up with today before walking to work on account of the NYC transit strike. I call it the Instant Carpool. It involves taping a sign stating your destination on the back, and hopefully someone going your way notices. It worked going in to work, and although I didn’t get a ride coming home, it was a great conversation starter. I made two new friends who were going my way and had company for the majority of my walk."
5. Horse-and-Buggy Hack: for $50 or so, it's probably the quickest way from 59th Street and 5th Avenue to the Upper West Side or beyond!
6. Doug Gordan Hack for walking Brooklyn Bridge: "have George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" loaded into my iPod. (You may know it as the song that opens Woody Allen's "Manhattan" or from its use in an American Airlines commercial.) If you are walking from Brooklyn, start the song when you are about fifty feet up the walkway from where you can enter at Tillary Street. The song is just over 16 minutes long and if you walk briskly enough you can make it past the bridge's second tower on the Manhattan side and then a little way down the walkway towards City Hall before it ends. It's the perfect remedy to the transit strike blues and brightened my day."
Any other suggestions?
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I have thought about the tour bus hack, but I have a bike.
The Metro-North and LIRR hacks won't work if you have a bike, as they are stupidly banning bikes for the duration of the strike.
The PATH hack is good, too and I think you can take your bike off peak still.
Now the New York Waterway ferry has buses that go on a few routes around the city. So in theory one could take PATH to Hoboken and the then the ferry over to the West Side and catch one of their buses.
http://www.carpoolworld.com/
I don't think the MTA allows you to board at 125th to go to GC and vice versa. Perhaps they changed the rules for the strike, but normally you can't do that.
You don't even have to take the Path to the ferry -- you can ferry to the ferry.
Or just buy a ferry ticket, but skip the ferry and hop on the buses around town.
ww.nywaterway.com, nywatertaxi.com
Coming into Flatbush/Atlantic from Long Island this morning was surprisingly easy (I was conveniently off from work yesterday). Does anyone know what Flatbush/Atlantic LIRR was like yesterday for the PM rush? Of course, the news showed Penn and Jamaica (what a nightmare!) approximately one hundred million times...but not Flatbush. Just wondering what kind of horrors to expect and how early I should disappear from the office. Thanks!
So, uh, why are these things "hacks"? If I decide to part my hair on the other side, is that a "hair hack"? If I decide to paint my house with a different color than it was before, is that a "paint hack"?
This hole "XXX hacks" thing is just getting re-fucking-diculous :(
Sigh. Why is it that some words are so easy to typo into another word and make it look like you can't spell?
And I should explain my mini-rant in case anyone's dense: Taking LIRR or Metro-North or PATH during a strike is NOT A HACK. You are simply *using alternate freaking transportation*. Walking twenty blocks on a nice day instead of taking the train, or taking PATH to 34th Street instead of NJT (from Jersey, of course), or taking a bus instead of the train, are NOT hacks!
Hacking is coming up with something new, or genuinely creative--not just "not choosing the absolutely most obvious possible choice".
today, from riverdale, i took metro-north to gct, then the ferry shuttle to 39th, then a ferry to weehawken and another ferry to pier 11 downtown. not the most effcient way of doing it, but i like the ferry rides. it's pretty dumb to be crossing state lines twice to get to work... tomorrow i think i'll use the path instead.
I've been using Gershwin to the same effect on the Williamsburg bridge. Makes the whole thing much sweeter. Then, for the march uptown, I've been following it up with Ravel's Bolero...
Uh oh... you've offended the computer nerds...
For people unfamiliar with the PATH: you can't exactly "hop on at WTC or Christopher and ride it up to 34th Street." If you hop on at WTC, you have to ride to NJ and change trains in Jersey City for the 33rd Street-bound train. (You'll have the most luck getting onto a train if you ride 3 stops into NJ, to Journal Square, and catch the 33rd St train there, where it originates.)
And in the morning you can't hop on at Christopher Street ever. The station is open only for people from NJ getting off the train.
During rush hour during this strike, the Path trains are at beyond capacity, so expect a sardine ride...once you finally get on a train.
It's actually not so much that I think geeks have ownership of the phrase; it's simply that it absolutely reeks of pretentiousness and self-importance and patting oneself on the back for being so clever. There _are_ times when it's "technically appropriate" to call something a hack, although it will still sound silly. But using it like this, *all the time*, for stuff that is seriously a no-brainer? Come on.
Hmmm... as if calling yourself "bitprophet" doesn't reek of pretentiousness and self-importance? Leave Gothamist alone. I actually thought the use of the word hack in this context was endearing. It reminded me of why I enjoy this site, especially during times of big NYC drama.
Actually, tuesday, PATH has a special shuttle train service now that runs between WTC and 33rd St 6am - 8pm.
Anyone have any bright ideas for travelling TO Downtown Brooklyn from the Village at rush hour? Normally my friend's reverse commute is a blessing; now, not so much. She's tried the LIRR -- too much walking on either end, and an hour wait at Jamaica. She's also tried walking. (Insult to injury -- she works at the Transit Museum).
"When we see men grow old and die at a certain time one after another, from century to century, we laugh at the elixir that promises to prolong life to a thousand years; and with equal justice may the lexicographer be derided, who being able to produce no example of a nation that has preserved their words and phrases from mutability, shall imagine that his dictionary can embalm his language, and secure it from corruption and decay, that it is in his power to change sublunary nature, and clear the world at once from folly, vanity, and affectation." -- Samuel Johnson
:)
My company just relaxed its dress code for the duration of the strike, which means I'll probably be comfortable enough to ride my skateboard down 5th Ave. I also thought of carrying a small dry erase board in my backpack, so I can pull up alongside cars stopped at a light.
what's the cheapest way (walking not included) to get from the UWS (116th and Bway) to LaGuardia?
i scheduled a supershuttle pickup for $17.50 SOHO -> LGA
they pickup anywhere in manhattan
http://www.supershuttle.com/
It's too bad Circle Line doesn't make any stops!
just in case anyone reads the LIRR hack and think it's a way to get to manhattan from brooklyn- to get to penn sta from flatbush/atlantic ave, you have to go by way of jamaica, queens- and that is a very long way. http://mta.info/lirr/html/lirrmap.htm
that's just a clarifier- LIRR is a good way to get to LI or rockaway from brooklyn, or if you can get into bklyn from manhattan but need to go further and want to avoid the maelstrom at penn station.
Pedicab hack? It's an option.
Pedicab hack? It's an option.
ooh.. piggyback hack!
Anon3:41, you are a life-saver!! I am flying out of Newark super early on Friday morning and I didn't know what I was gonna do to get there from Hell's Kitchen. Car services are booked, cabs are totally unreliable right now, and the NJ trains won't get me there early enough...I have now booked a Supershuttle, with a $5 tip, for a total of $24!(they suggest you include gratuity, and I figure I'd better play it safe than sorry)..
Anyone have past experience with the SuperShuttle? The only reviews I could find on CitySearch were negative, but the overall rating was high...I'd love some reassurance..
Thanks!
jae: good luck with super shuttle! you might want to have a back up plan just in case. they've screwed over two of my friends and my mom with last minute cancellations. hopefully their service has improved over the last year. super shuttle in san francisco is amazing. the new york branch has been nothing but a disappointment.
"Rhapsody in Blue" was United's theme song - not American Airline's.
To clarify PATH's strike service: PATH is running special trains that go from the 33rd Street line to the WTC and back, with stops at two Jersey City stations along the way. To go from Christopher Street to WTC on the special line probably takes about 15 minutes. The cost is $1.50 but you can use a per-ride Metrocard (not a monthly fare card), which is more convenient.
(And I'm pretty sure you can embark or disembark at Christopher Street anytime now - they got rid of the restrictions when the WTC station reopened.)
I have been using the LIRR as local service in my part of Queens to get between Flushing and Bayside, though the LIRR doesn't like to think of itself as a local service (they bring Nassau and Suffolk commuters to Penn Station, and pass through Queens only because it's necessary).
It's only $2.25 from Flushing to Bayside. I've done this twice the past couple of days and neither time has the conductor gotten to me in time to take my ticket, so right now, it's 3 rides for the price of one, and counting.
Of course this works only if your employer lets you work from home and you have a part time job in Bayside, like your webmaster.
www.forgotten-ny.com
Any updates from someone on roosevelt island? How are the lines for the tram? I assume it's running....
party bikes are often found in times square, and up to 7 can ride together, and the driver will take you anywhere you want to go. great way to get around, see the sights and do somethign different. It may not qualify as a hack, just a heck of a lotta fun!
Tram is unaffected
www.forgotten-ny.com
AIRPORT TRAVEL:
To get to JFK, try the LIRR to Jamaica, then the AirTrain to JFK. The AirTrain is still running.
And there are the private coach buses to the airports near Grand Central along Park (I'm pretty sure that's where they are). I've heard the lines for the buses are pretty long, so get there early.
Also, scope out the rideshare board on Craigslist. A couple friends of mine found airport rides that way. (And if you've got a car and want to make some quick cash, then offer to take people to the airport.)
How about ANGRY MOB HACK? First, we gather up a whole bunch of fed up new yorkers, then find some transit workers and beat the living shit out of them until they go back to work!!!!
"Rhapsody in Blue" is in the United commercials, not the American Airlines commercials. I also know that because everytime you get on a United flight they insist on playing that song over and over and over until the plane takes off.
I thought that was important to point out.
Does anyone know if there are car services in Williamsburg that are offering ride sharing?
I have to get to Penn Station Friday morning and will have too much stuff with me to walk.
Any other suggestions are welcome too.
Thanks.
how about the NJ Transit Hack? there isnt anyone on those trains these last couple days... drive from Staten Island to Elizabeth, park your car and roll into midtown. boo yah?
Jae, I just used SuperShuttle for the first time last week (Village to JFK), and I had no problems. The driver called me when he was on his way, and arrived 5 minutes early. My only gripe was having to go pick up 5 other passengers (all of them running late, argh), before we headed to the airport. Total travel time was 1 hour 30 minutes. Not bad for 20 bucks.
Super Shuttle showed up on time - 6:15am - this morning to pick up my boyfriend for JFK. He also had to sit through an hour of other passengers being picked up, but it was way better than the $90+ cabbies were demanding for the ride!
Why are you guys not mentioning that in Queens the Green Lines Busses are running. Q60 goes down Queens Blvd to 2nd Ave. There are many QM Express busses too.
PATH train service is great; it's some of the only good news for Manhattan travel at the moment.
Here's the deal: as others have observed, $1.50 (via a prepaid PATH card *or* your pay-per-ride MetroCard) gets you a ride. The trains go WTC / Exchange Place / Newport / Christopher / 9th / 14th / 23rd / 33rd
At other times, you can indeed change trains in NJ. (Weirdly, we had to do that once today, maybe because of congestion / equipment queuing issues?)
They're crowded, but not unbearable. (Think rush hour 2 / 3 or 6.) The platform was more crowded than the train itself, because the trains don't run that often. (This is PATH, remember?)
The best part of this is that they're cheap. The only other workable option for getting between downtown and midtown in either direction for the bikeless is cabs, which gets costly fast.
Has anyone figured out an inexpensive way to travel within Manhattan other than bikes and PATH (e.g., for points above midtown?) The cabs are going to suck us dry FAST. I like the tour bus idea . . .
Gouging cabbies
Re: Tina's comment, if a cabbie charges you $90+ *within the five boroughs* for a cab ride to JFK, you should:
1. Point out the flat fare. ($30 max to/from JFK, $20 to/from LGA during the strike, so says the NYC Office of Emergency Management)
2. Get his/her medallion number.
3. Call 311 or visit the TLC via nyc.gov.
There are a lot of honest, responsible cabbies out there -- all the more reason to catch the ones who aren't.
Oh, unless you're outside of the city, in which case call SuperShuttle (but I have heard overcharging stories)
there are also Green buses that run throughout much of South Brooklyn into Manhattan. And Atlantic Express buses from SI to Manhattan.
The city has three maps of the functioning transportation options:
http://nyc.gov/html/transitinfo/html/unaffected_services.shtml
but if I had to get from the Village to Brooklyn, I'd just borrow a bike. It's about a 10 minute trip.
Hmm, maybe now would be a good time to sell my bike on Craigslist?
easy rider & Tina, thanks for the SuperShuttle info! I've seen a few of them driving around Midtown yesterday and today, so it at least seems that they are not letting the restrictions screw with them...
Bitprophet: thanks for beating me to the punch.
Misappropriating words in this manner isn't clever, cheeky, or endearing. It's distracting and annoying.