help me with my park slope/flatiron commute

August 10, 2008 11:32 PM

Am I taking the shortest possible commute? A Brooklyn/NYC question.

I live in Park Slope, at 4th St. and 8th Ave. The nearest train station is the F, at 9th St. and 8th Ave.

I work at 25th and Broadway in Manhattan. The F stops at 23rd and 6th Ave., just a few blocks away.

It's all good, except that the trip on the F between those two points takes about 40 minutes. Yes, it could be worse, but I think it sucks. My commute was three times faster when I lived in Hoboken and took the PATH to the same part of Manhattan.

I can superficially read a subway map as well as you can. I can see the other trains that are relatively nearby. So let's please skip the part where 50 people tell me to look at the map.

I'm interested in advice from people who actually have experience with the particular trains and areas involved. Yes, I could walk to the G, but should I? Yes, there are numerous chances along the way to switch to a different train, but should I? And which ones?

For what it's worth, my starting time is usually around 9am, but is sometimes earlier or later.

posted by bingo to Travel & Transportation (14 answers total)

I live 3 blocks away from you. If I had to make your commute, I'd take the F, too, because anything else is going to take even longer because of the extra walking involved, in both directions. You could transfer to the N/R at 4th Ave and take that to 23rd or 28th sts, I guess, but you'd almost definitely lose more time in the transfer process than if you just stayed on the F in the first place.

(Did you mean to type G there? I can't imagine where you'd be taking that to.)
posted by cosmic osmo at 11:46 PM on August 10, 2008

I don't live in your neighborhood right now, but travel in the area a good bit. IMO, the G is no better than the F, at least when you're trying to get anywhere, and it's not going anywhere near where you want to be. I've tried an R direct from 4th and 9th, it seems to crawl even worse at times. If you can get a 4 or 5 (R to Atlantic), you can switch at Brooklyn Bridge for a 6 to 23rd, or hop off at Union Square, or switch there for an R for that last leg. This doesn't really save you any time, because of the transfers involved though. It just 'seems' faster, because the 4/5 makes a few less stops and moves a little faster.

The F is only supposed to take about 20-25 minutes between those 2 stations, but yeah, it never seems to. generally during rush hour there's some backup and waiting on other trains along the way.

On preview, what cosmic osmo said...
posted by pupdog at 12:06 AM on August 11, 2008

I think you've already got the fastest way. If you were closer to 4th Ave., I'd say it might be faster to take the N over the bridge (with a couple of R transfers), or even to just take the R all the way; the N really isn't that much faster to begin with, and if you have to transfer twice, it's a pretty close race. But I don't think you'll save any time doing that if you have to take the F first, because the transfer at 4th/9th is pretty bad. Taking the Q from 7th Ave. would be fast, too, but surely the extra walking would cancel it out.
posted by equalpants at 1:14 AM on August 11, 2008

You've got the best way.

Feel free to experiment, but remember that transfers (even if they shave off a couple of minutes) prevent you from having that one interrupted block of time to read/work/chill.

Starting a 9am, you're also hitting the F after the thick of morning rush hour, meaning you probably often get a seat even starting from where you're starting from. So: you're good. Happy commutereading!
posted by kalapierson at 3:41 AM on August 11, 2008

HopStop seems to think that the F is the quickest option. It still amazes me how long it takes to get between midtown Manhattan and Brooklyn, given the distance between the two.
posted by oaf at 4:01 AM on August 11, 2008

I think that is the best option; I lived about a block away from you and that was what I did every day too.

These days I'm in Clinton Hill, where the G is my closest option; I live even closer to Manhattan than you and it takes me an HOUR to get to work. I think it's just a matter of Brooklyn being screwed.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:49 AM on August 11, 2008

check out this google maps subway map. you can clearly see the physical layout of all the subway lines in relation to streets.
posted by Mach5 at 5:45 AM on August 11, 2008

I used to live at Carroll St on the F, and worked at 33rd and Park. I took the F (or the G) to the A (Or the C) to the 4 to the 6 to get there. It seems a bit much on paper, but during Rush hour, the 4 and the 6 come incredibly frequently, and the A or C is often held at Jay St. for transfer. Of course, this was made a bit more feasible as I could take the F or the G on the 1st leg, (Jay for the F or Hoyt for the G), and either the A or C for the 1st transfer. I think I made it to work in 25-30 minutes most days.
posted by Debaser626 at 6:44 AM on August 11, 2008

Actually, you could also take the 2/3 from Grand Army Plaza, transfer to the 4/5 at Nevins, get on the 6 at 14th and take that to 23rd. All easy transfers and only 2 blocks more walking to GAP than to 7th ave. I didn't suggest this at first because I didn't realize how close the 6 train stops to your work (it looks about equidistant from the F).

More trains to take, but all of those lines are infinitely more reliable than the F train in the mornings. For my commute I have the option to take the F or the 2/3 to the 4/5 to the 6 and I always go for the latter. I can't get hopstop.com to suggest that route to me to see their time estimate, but I'd be surprised if it didn't knock a few minutes off.
posted by cosmic osmo at 7:33 AM on August 11, 2008

Well first of all, if you want to reduce train crowding and not just time of commute, I can suggest taking the F to 9th Street and transferring to the R, then going two stops to Pacific and getting on the N to 14th. Then switch across the track to the R local and go one stop to 23rd. That will put you on 23rd and Broadway/5th.

All of those trains will be less crowded than the F is starting at Smith/9th and Carroll, etc. Also, you won't have to walk a cross town block from 6th to 5th.
posted by spicynuts at 8:20 AM on August 11, 2008

Like a few other people have mentioned, I'm pretty sure you're getting the fastest commute already. My only advice would be to stay the hell away from the G train (I don't really even know what route you'd be taking with it) as it seems to be the most frequently delayed and unreliable train in New York.
posted by Damn That Television at 10:17 AM on August 11, 2008

I live a few blocks from you and have for a long time. I think the route you're taking is the best route. You can try taking the N/R from 9th Street/4th Avenue (but you should walk there, NOT transfer from the F at 9th: that's a really long walk for a transfer, and it's pointless to just take the F one stop) all the way to 23rd street in Manhattan, but you'll likely have to change two stops at Pacific for the N (the R is a local that goes by downtown via tunnel and takes WAY longer than the N, which crosses the Manhattan Bridge)--and then get back on the N at 14th st/Union Sq for the R to 23rd! I say "you can try this," as I'm not sure it will save any time: it will likely be longer door-to-door. Another option is to take the B67 (bus) to 7th Avenue (Flatbush) and take the Q over the bridge to 14th/Union Sq, then transfer for the R to 23rd. But that seems like a lot longer. One final option would be to take the B69 (bus) down 8th Avenue to the Grand Army Plaza/Flatbush Avenue subway and catch the 4 all the way to 14th/Union Square and transfer for the 6 to Lex/23rd. But that seems like a really long way to go.

Also, you mentioned the G, but that's worthless: it does not even go into Manhattan, and if you're looking at the map thinking you'll take it to Williamsburg and transfer to the L into Manhattan (to transfer to the 6 at 14th street/Union Square), you're looking at a 2 hour commute: don't even try it.
posted by ornate insect at 10:36 AM on August 11, 2008

Also, you mentioned the G, but that's worthless: it does not even go into Manhattan, and if you're looking at the map thinking you'll take it to Williamsburg and transfer to the L into Manhattan (to transfer to the 6 at 14th street/Union Square), you're looking at a 2 hour commute: don't even try it.

For the record: you can also take the G to the end of its route at Court Squre in Queens, and from there transfer onto a 7, E, or V. This is what I do.

And during the morning and evening rush hour, the G train actually isn't bad. It's just that taking it all the way and then switching to the 7 takes 45 minutes, and that's for someone who lives further north anyway. So it may not be the best option for Bingo at that...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:33 PM on August 11, 2008

True..but when it rains you're going to be packed onto the F all the way to 23rd with everyone's wet umbrellas, wet newspapers, wet pants, etc etc. Trade offs, I guess. You take the R you WILL get a seat.
posted by spicynuts at 4:26 PM on August 11, 2008