Forum
« Contractor/Carpenter Needed Nice Doors for Sale »
April 21, 2008
Commuting from Carroll Gardens, a few questions
My husband and I have looked at a few new homes in Carroll Gardens but we are still learning about the area. The one thing I'm particularly concerned about is the commute on the F train. So if you happen to live in CG and work in Manhattan, can you tell me what its like on the F train in the mornings? Can you get a seat or is it just packed? Also, do you know roughly how long a commute for central CG to midtown Manhattan would take (on F train)? HopStop says 45 mins which seems incredibly long- just wanted to verify that. Finally, how does one commute to the financial district on the F train- is it even possible?
Thank you very much for your responses!
Comments
Yes,
During rush hour the Carroll Gardens F stop is packed. Although it does clear up at J St as commuters swicth to the A.
Its probably 30-35 mins to mid town.
Cant comment on the financial district .
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 9:37 AM
Its "F"in crowded. Count on standing given all the Park Slope folks will already be on the F by the time it gets to CG. 45 minutes to midtown is about right.
To get to financial district, you either take the F to Jay St. and transfer to the A/C, or take the F back to 4th Ave/9th and transfer to the M/R.
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 9:38 AM
It depends on what time of morning you're commuting. If before 7:45 am, you're ok and will probably get a seat, if not right away, then certainly at Jay St/Borough Hall. After 8:00 am, all bets are off.
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 9:44 AM
Yes it is crowded if you are traveling after 8am. But if you work more than 9-5, its a lot less crowded for earlier/later commutes. Even when it is crowded, you can get a seat if you keep your eyes open at Jay St.
I think 45 minutes door to door would be about right if you factor in waiting time on the platform and a few minutes walk each way. The ride itself is not that long.
When I worked in the Financial District, I transfered at J to the A and got off at Broadway/Nassau.
Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at April 21, 2008 9:50 AM
Thanks everyone! This would be for my husband's commute and he would leave for work around 7:15am and return from work around 7pm. So it sounds like sitting is possible (at least at Jay) but that the door to door timing of Hopstop is pretty accurate (45 mins). I appreciate the info!
Posted by: U510545 at April 21, 2008 9:58 AM
Is he going to financial district or mid-town. When I worked at 32nd street and 5th ave, it was about a 35 min commute door to door. now I work at 57th and 11th ave and it's 50 mins door to door (because I have a long walk from 8th ave to 11th ave). If he is leaving at 7:15am he will definitely get a seat. If he is going to financial district he would change at Jay and get off at Broadway-Nassau (three stops) and the time on subway would probably be 20 mins or even less. I am wild about the F train since it pretty much takes you everywhere in manhattan you want to go without transferring - and the few places it doesn't go, you just transfer across platform at many different stops. But then I LOVE commuting because it gives me time to read the newspaper front to back.
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 11:21 AM
20 min walk to Brooklyn Bridge, 20 mins over the bridge, 10 mins downtown to anywhere. Sounds as fast as F/A.
Uptown, once you get over the bridge, hop the fast and empty 6 (or 4/5).
Posted by: denton at April 21, 2008 12:27 PM
i go from Carroll St to 50th st and mostly find that the on train commute duration is in line with MTA schedule (though not nec the departure time) of approx 25-30min platform to platform. This morning I just missed the train at 6:44 & the next came at 6:50 (call me whatever but I pay attention to this sometimes) generally 6-8 mins btw trains (& the time on the 50th st station booth clock was 7:15 when I went through the turnstyles). As always, i got a seat at this time as I do mostly in my evening commute from 50th st. AM seats generally ok till 7:30-8 as noted above.
FYI when we first considered moving to CG from Manhattan I was sceptical about the F but have been very pleasantly surprised - very good for commuting & pretty good otherwise. Also, in case of inevitable service issues (as with any line in MTA nw), there are many other good options that get you reasonably close...
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 12:40 PM
Hey U510545, I thought you'd bagged a place in Park Slope!
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 1:19 PM
Isn't the Smith Street F stop in Carroll Gardens going to be closed for a year? Is it already closed? Seems that would make the crowding worse at whatever next closest stop most people would use.
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 3:03 PM
i live in CG and walk to boro hall (10 min) and then 2 stops to wall st. granted, its a long walk in the morning (especially in cold/rain) but it's by far the fastest route (and most consistent - 2/3/4/5 much more reliable) to the financial district.
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 3:25 PM
smith/9th station will close for repairs...not Carroll St.
Door to door can vary greatly depending how long a walk to subway from home (whether in CG or UES) and at office.
And in midtown are near 6th avenue and no transfer or are on east side and require transfer.
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 3:36 PM
i lived in cobble hill, prospect heights and park slope and did get fed up with commuting. ultimately chose williamsburg, and it is a big relief to be totally honest. i've gone door to door to grand central in 10 minutes - no joke! sure won't happen again, but it is really fast to everywhere. also, found it way more fun for me, my husband and our kid.
good luck!!
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 4:16 PM
I live in CG and work in Tribeca. I take the F from Carroll street to Jay St, switch to the A/C and get off at Canal street. It takes me about 30 minutes, including walking to the train and waiting time, sometime a bit more. Chambers and Broadway/Nassau are in the financial district and are earlier stops than Canal, so factor that in. Yes, 45 min to midtown sounds about right. Don't be afraid of the commute. Consider it reading time. Everybodies doing it with you and the neighborhood is fantastic.
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 5:53 PM
He should have his driver take him -- much quicker and much less riffraff to deal with.
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 6:14 PM
He should have his driver take him -- much quicker and much less riffraff to deal with.
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 6:15 PM
Agreed about using a driver but I prefer not to work. Labor is fitting only for the proletariat
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 8:13 PM
Agreed about using a driver but I prefer not to work. Labor is fitting only for the proletariat
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 8:14 PM
Takes a good hour and a half to walk home from east Midtown. Better than the subway and cheaper. Walk down 3rd Avenue..to Canal - walk across Manhattan bridge then down Jay/Smith St.
Great exercise and cheap.
Posted by: guest at April 22, 2008 2:10 PM
I commute from Carroll to Bryant Park, and it takes me 25-30 minutes door to door. I can almost always find a seat after Jay.
Posted by: guest at April 22, 2008 5:22 PM
Thank you all for your detailed and informative responses!! And my husband works in midtown by the way (51st and 7th) but if he ever switches to a downtown firm, we were curious about the commute on the F.
(For the poster who recognized my name and thought I already bought in PS, we actually had an accepted offer and walked away from the place. It just wasn't the right fit and we got nervous about the market. We are still pretty leery about the market so we've slowed down our search and are waiting to see what the next few months bring. But we can and will move fast for the right place. I'm sure it's a very similar scenario to most other potential buyers right now.)
Posted by: U510545 at April 22, 2008 6:08 PM
Are you seriously going to base your home buying decision on whether you can SIT on the train at 7:30 in the morning? I think there are many many other more important things to sway your decision. What a stupid post.
Posted by: guest at April 23, 2008 8:05 AM
"Are you seriously going to base your home buying decision on whether you can SIT on the train at 7:30 in the morning? I think there are many many other more important things to sway your decision. What a stupid post."
TOTALLY disagree. What's stupid is ignoring such an important amenity as transportation when you're investing huge amounts of money buying a place. Transportation is only going to become more and more important in NYC, not less. Maybe you get defensive about it because you live on the sucky F train, 8:05, but believe it, transportation is important to people. Otherwise you know what? They'd be buying in the suburbs and commuting an hour to work with no problem. The desire to have better quality of life and not have a long commute is exactly what has fueled the revival of Brooklyn.
Posted by: guest at April 23, 2008 9:25 PM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.