Commuting from Staten Island to Lower Manhattan? (Ridge: high schools, park)
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You have two options from the south shore:
1. Train -> Ferry -> Train (if needed downtown). $2.50 each way. About 2 hours with the transfers but very predictable schedule.
How is that possible? The Manhattan train alone is going to cost $2.50.
If you're taking a Staten Island train to the SI ferry, you have to pay for that as well (I don't ride the SI ferry, so I'm not sure of the amount... I only know that the last two stations require payment, and the others are free.)
I know people at Stuyvesant who said that there were classmates commuting from Staten Island. However, I don't think too many of them came from all the way down on the South Shore.
For what it's worth, Staten Island has its own technical high school (Staten Island Tech in New Dorp), and the SHSAT qualifies you for that. It isn't quite as prestigious as Stuyvesant, though. (The cutoff is a little lower)
You are right I forgot about SI Tech! It is considered a very good school and allows the safety of your kid staying in staten island. Had many friends that went there and most went on to do well in life.
And the problem is that Rossville isn't really near the SIR, so unless you get a lift that's basically not an option. There is the S74 bus to the ferry, but that is a lot slower and unreliable, compared to the SIR, especially in the AM rush.
Rossville doesn't have any direct express bus to Lower Manhattan (the X22 only goes to Midtown), so for that commute, they would have to take the S74 (or get a lift) to Huguenot Avenue and then take the X19.
Or one can just man up and walk to the Princess Bay or Huguenot train station like I did. It's only a 20 minute walk. My cousin went to Stuy from Rathbun ave, but I think he took the express bus.
Just so you know, the problem isn't necessarily that you're coming from Staten Island: It's that you're coming from deep on the other side of Staten Island. If you guys were to move to an area near the VZN Bridge, the commute would be much more managable, albeit still somewhat difficult.
And all of those areas you listed are safe areas.
That's true, but still a 1.5 hour affair by ferry. I took the express bus from sand lane to my job in midtown and was about 1 - 1.5 hours door to door depending on traffic.
It's between 4th & 18th where there's no subway service.
Along 86th Street, the B1 bus runs pretty frequently, so it's not necessarily that bad to take the bus to the subway. (And the ride is only around 10 minutes or so).
True, but I wouldn't necessarily feel safe taking the bus after it picks up people from the Marlboro houses. I saw lot of criminal activity on that bus that made me feel unsafe. But YMMV.
Keep in mind that there's also the X28 express bus from Dyker Heights to Lower Manhattan, for those days when she doesn't feel like taking the bus to the subway.
The area by Owl's Head Park isn't too far from the subway, but for those days when it's cold or snowy, there's the B9 & B64 which connect to the R train at Bay Ridge Avenue (the B9 also connects to the N at 59th Street). There's also the X27 express bus to Lower Manhattan.
The X27,X28,X37,X38 are great options for commuting on bad days. When we lived in Bay Ridge I took them roughly 50% of the time. 40 minutes to manhattan on average.
Just a little side note: Students in NYC get Student MetroCards to take the local bus or subway to school (for free). However, those cards aren't valid on the express bus, so if you take those, you pay the full $6. There's a weekly pass available for $55, if she wants to take it every day.
Good point, forgot about the student metro cards. OP: given that the student metro cards are free if I were making the decision I would focus on being near a subway to save what I consider a fortune to commute.
How is that possible? The Manhattan train alone is going to cost $2.50.
If you're taking a Staten Island train to the SI ferry, you have to pay for that as well (I don't ride the SI ferry, so I'm not sure of the amount... I only know that the last two stations require payment, and the others are free.)
Hi there, the ferry is actually free. The staten island railroad is as well EXCEPT for the St. George station. Then you need to pay, but you get a free transfer once you get to Manhattan. We used to go downtown for free by getting off a stop before the ferry, and walking to the ferry. The things you do in high school to save money
@juanus_superbus - you are not being rude at all. I need to get the reality of it. I did get a sense of distances from Google Maps, but maps vs actually doing it, in my opinion, varies. So thank you for the input.
In response to your question on why would I want my high-schooler to commute to Manhattan or the Bronx - she has some specific choices and has a friend who goes to high-school in Lower Manhattan. They live in Manhattan though - but we don't want to live in Manhattan. I guess the mid-west has spoilt us with lots of open spaces...
@ayoitzrimz - thanks for the input. Very helpful indeed!
I guess my other options are Astoria, Queens or also looking at Dyker Heights,Bensonhurst area - commute from there to Lower Manhattan seems to be a lot less time consuming, but not sure if they are safe places and also real estate might be difficult to get.
Thanks again!
If you still have a choice of location--- that is the last place I would recommend. If you value open spaces and land as in living in the midwest why on earth would you ever move to New York City. You
need to either adapt to a new set of values or move somewhere else. I am assuming that this move is not your choice....please explain.... as I always like to say--- New York City is not for anyone and for most here it is a real PITA
PS: Despite what the locals try to tell you the secondary education in New York City is not that great.
How is that possible? The Manhattan train alone is going to cost $2.50.
If you're taking a Staten Island train to the SI ferry, you have to pay for that as well (I don't ride the SI ferry, so I'm not sure of the amount... I only know that the last two stations require payment, and the others are free.)
The SIR costs $2.50. The ferry is free, and then you get a free transfer from the SIR to the subway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz
Or one can just man up and walk to the Princess Bay or Huguenot train station like I did. It's only a 20 minute walk. My cousin went to Stuy from Rathbun ave, but I think he took the express bus.
That's the thing: For me personally, I don't mind walking 20 minutes if that's all the commute entails. But to walk 20 minutes and then go through the whole SIR-ferry-subway ordeal is just too tiring IMO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz
That's true, but still a 1.5 hour affair by ferry. I took the express bus from sand lane to my job in midtown and was about 1 - 1.5 hours door to door depending on traffic.
That's the thing: If you take the S53/79/93 bus into Brooklyn, it's a quick ride over the bridge, and then you can take the R train, instead of dealing with the ferry.
BTW, the R train is closed from Brooklyn to Manhattan until October 2014, due to repairs of damange due to Hurricane Sandy. (So if you're in Brooklyn, you have to take the R train to Atlantic, DeKalb, Lawrence, or Court and transfer to another train to Lower Manhattan). Keep that in mind if you're moving to a neighborhood along the R.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz
True, but I wouldn't necessarily feel safe taking the bus after it picks up people from the Marlboro houses. I saw lot of criminal activity on that bus that made me feel unsafe. But YMMV.
Me personally, the B1 is pretty tame. There's a lot of SI buses that are a lot rowdier than the B1 (and projects out here that are rowdier than Marlboro). But I guess if the OP is coming from the Midwest, that's something to consider.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz
The X27,X28,X37,X38 are great options for commuting on bad days. When we lived in Bay Ridge I took them roughly 50% of the time. 40 minutes to manhattan on average.
Definitely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz
Good point, forgot about the student metro cards. OP: given that the student metro cards are free if I were making the decision I would focus on being near a subway to save what I consider a fortune to commute.
Definitely. The express bus is over $220 a month nowadays, so that's a good chunk of savings that can be put towards rent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz
Good points overall
Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz
Hi there, the ferry is actually free. The staten island railroad is as well EXCEPT for the St. George station. Then you need to pay, but you get a free transfer once you get to Manhattan. We used to go downtown for free by getting off a stop before the ferry, and walking to the ferry. The things you do in high school to save money
Actually, nowadays they charge at Tompkinsville as well.
@checkmatechamp13 thank you for the detailed response! The problem I have is that she has a list of schools that are all over the map - Her choices are (in order of preference) - Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and Staten Island Technical, that is, if she qualifies via the SHSAT. Given those choices, I think the best bet might be close to Owl's Head Park. That seems to be closest to Stuy, but quite a bit away from the Bronx Science school and further away from Staten Island Technical. But being close to the subway might be what solves our quandary. We are planning to rent in the Owl's Head Park area and depending on which school she gets into, look into potentially buying something closer to where she is at. We also have the middle schooler to consider. From that perspective, again, Owl's Head/Bay Ridge area seems to be the best choice at this point...
I'm on staten Island since 1991 and I regret every single day moving here. I was born in Manhattan and moved to Jackson Heights Queens, when I was going on a year old and lived there until moving here as an adult.....I've worked in every borough except the Bronx, my parents are from Manhattan and Brooklyn, first generation in this country. Why would you want to move to Staten Island? everyone is hopped up on pills or something else, the people are narrow minded and rude.
I'm on staten Island since 1991 and I regret every single day moving here. I was born in Manhattan and moved to Jackson Heights Queens, when I was going on a year old and lived there until moving here as an adult.....I've worked in every borough except the Bronx, my parents are from Manhattan and Brooklyn, first generation in this country. Why would you want to move to Staten Island? everyone is hopped up on pills or something else, the people are narrow minded and rude.
gee, why are you still there since 1991 ?
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