The New York Times-20080127-Commuting- The Ferocity And the Fun
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Commuting: The Ferocity And the Fun
Full Text (1784 words)ON Jan. 2, commuters in and around New York City woke up and celebrated the new year by going back to work. On that day and every workday since, I have been commuting with them, traveling in and out of the city to write an online series called Next Stop for The New York Times about how people get to their jobs and what they think of the ritual they go through twice a day.
I have been on Metro-North, New Jersey Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, subways, buses, a tram and a ferry. What I've observed so far has reinforced some hard truths about commuting.
For many people, it is the bane of their existence. For others, it's a trial worth bearing to be near their family, to live in a place they can afford or to get to the job they love. In the more unusual cases, commuting provides downtime and an opportunity for camaraderie.
The daily trek requires weighing priorities: convenience, speed, proximity and, of course, money. A small investment ($2) buys you a hard seat on the subway or a pole to hang on to. A little more money ($5) secures you an express bus like the X68 to Floral Park, with stunning views from the Queensboro Bridge. An even larger payment ($15) lands you a cushy chair on a Hudson River ferry with a balcony, strolling room and free morning coffee.
The subway is the most democratic option. The same $2 will carry any rider from the high-priced real estate of Manhattan to the more affordable outer reaches of the city. As a result, you can see trains gentrifying in the same way real estate does; just ride the G train from its Brooklyn terminus, at Smith and Ninth Streets in Carroll Gardens, to Long Island City, Queens, to see how the passengers mirror the changing neighborhoods.
Most democratic does not mean most popular, however, and the unhappiest travelers I found were on the subway. Worn out by drudgery, angered by slow service, they were the most vocal and the least satisfied, and that makes sense.
Subway commuters rely on these trains for their day-to-day needs the way suburbanites rely on cars: to take the kids to after-school activities, to see the doctor, to go out at night. For them, the subway is not just a way to get to work, it's a way to get everywhere.
Despite their deep wells of anger, subway riders were generally the most reticent and the most difficult to engage. In a city of ubiquitous crowds, their commute remains a bastion of anonymity. It inspires (and requires) deliberately ignoring other people's presence, an oblivion that goes beyond just avoiding their eyes or pretending to be absorbed by the grammatical errors of the M.T.A.'s Subtalk ads.
These passengers are used to crowded spaces, and they create personal cocoons. Think about it: How often have you seen people clipping their nails as if they were in their own bathrooms?
Other types of commuters have the opposite experiences. A group of Haverstraw residents who take the New York Water Taxi to Wall Street have become fast friends -- they even hold onboard happy hours on Friday evenings, taking turns bringing food and drinks.
Similarly, the bar car on the Metro-North New Haven line, the tram from Roosevelt Island and even the X68 express bus to Floral Park, Queens, have all sparked real friendships, a benefit that helps to transform the daily trek from something that must be endured to something that can be enjoyed.
I will continue commuting and posting articles for the next week. From my experience so far, it seems that people choose a commute based on a few not-so-simple factors: where they want to live and where they can afford to live, and what they are willing to put up with to get there. But no matter how they decide or how much they spend, they all end up with stories to tell.
Following are excerpts from the Next Stop articles:
Metro-North Harlem Line
From Fordham, the Bronx, to Chappaqua, N.Y.
When I ducked into the train car out of Friday morning's drizzle, it was filled with the sound of women laughing. I found the jovial quartet at the back of the car. ...
These four Caribbean women have been commuting together for the past 10 years. Though they get on at different stops -- Harlem-125th Street and Fordham -- they turn their short commute to Chappaqua into a social outing. ...
All four women were headed to child-care jobs. As we chatted, the conversation brought into focus one of the challenges of reverse commutes in general: getting from your end station to your place of work. And for this reverse commute specifically, there is another challenge -- getting to the Fordham station in the first place, since it seemed that many of the riders boarding there had arrived by cab or bus from all over the Bronx. ...
G Train
From Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, to Long Island City, Queens
The G train isn't like other trains.
Over the years, innumerable articles, blogs and forums have referred to the G train as the stepchild of the subway system. But that's not quite right -- it's not the stepchild, it's more like that unwanted drunk uncle everyone has. It's embarrassing and awkward and doesn't quite behave as it's supposed to. ...
Everybody loves to hate on the G train, said Antonia Santiago, a purple-haired 26-year-old woman who boarded at Bedford-Nostrand with a host of commuters who had clearly been living in that neighborhood long before she was. But the thing people don't realize is that it's actually on a schedule. You gotta love the G train. If you love it, it'll love you back. ...
No. 7 Train
From Flushing, Queens, to Times Square
Stopping at a succession of ethnically diverse neighborhoods, the No. 7 lived up to its nickname as the International Express. Just glancing around the cars as we sped, elevated, over one of the most diverse counties in the country, the passengers represented a perfect cross section of New York City.
You could even see it in the foods people had for their breakfasts: a piece of tropical fruit, a Chinese bun, a bagel and coffee. ...
By the time the train hit the next few stops in Long Island City, a shift in population that had started subtly back in Jackson Heights was becoming more obvious.
Formerly an Upper East Side resident (and before that, Flushing), Shannyn Kirwan moved to Jackson Heights two years ago to buy her own home. I wanted to buy a place, and this was the most affordable, said Ms. Kirwan, who is 28 and works near Wall Street. ...
As the train pulled closer to Manhattan, the evidence of gentrification intensified.
Newly constructed high-rise condos loomed in the distance by Hunters Point Avenue and Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue, and the people getting on the train started to look more like expats from Manhattan than adults who'd spent their childhoods in Queens. ...
New York Water Taxi
From Pier 11 in Manhattan to Haverstraw, N.Y.
... The small group of Haverstraw regulars, six to 10 people who travel by ferry from Rockland County every day, cannot praise it enough.
Before the ferry service began from Haverstraw in September, residents of the area had few options for getting to the city, and they all involved complicated combinations of car, bus, train and subway.
I always emphasize the camaraderie, said Alberto Flores, a Haverstraw regular who works in the financial district. Everyone has different backgrounds, but here, we're all friends. ...
PATH Train
From Hoboken, N.J., to 33rd Street and from Journal Square to 33rd Street
... Commuters I interrupted from their quick morning naps had ditched city life for greener backyards and bigger houses. Andrew Chan and his wife moved to West Orange, N.J., seven years ago from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
The main thing was housing, he said. It was pretty inexpensive at that time, and we wanted more room.
The commute was an afterthought. At the time, I didn't think too much about it, but after we found a place, I looked at a few maps and talked to neighbors, he said. We could take an express bus to the city, but it's over $200 a month for one person. ...
X68 Express Bus
From Midtown to Floral Park, Queens
People who take the express bus are a special breed. They are willing to pay more -- express tickets are $5 for a one-way ride -- gamble on the potential for traffic and stand out in the cold. ...
Julie Yan and Ana Giannola met on this bus route two and a half years ago, and have become friends. ...
I love it out there, Ms. Giannola said, referring to Floral Park. As a first-time homeowner, I'm close to everything.
Both women could take the Long Island Rail Road into Manhattan, but since they work on the East Side, winding up at Penn Station would be more hindrance than help.
Mindy Wagner moved from Flushing to Hollis, Queens, two years ago, and she knew she was giving up a more convenient subway commute. This takes longer and is more expensive, but I like the bus because it's a nap, and I know I'm getting a seat, she said, alluding to the rule that forbids any standing passengers. ...
Roosevelt Island Tram
To 59th Street and Second Avenue
...Eric Schwartzman rides the tram with his young daughter every morning and said that on occasion he has waited for a less crowded car just so she can get the prized special seat. It's actually just a step stool between the conductor's stand and the tram's back bench, but it provides the step up in height needed so that small children are able to see out the windows. ...
As the Manhattan-bound commuters pile onto the tram, they all seemed to know one another. They even made sure that their children said hello and goodbye to Gregg Paravati, the amiable conductor who chanced upon the job 32 years ago and has been working the trams ever since.
[Illustration]PHOTOS: ON THEIR WAY: Waiting for a Metro-North train in Tarrytown, N.Y., top. Passengers on the G train, above, wind their way through Brooklyn and Queens.(PHOTOGRAPH BY ULI SEIT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)(pg. RE1); RIVER AND ROAD: As a New York Water Taxi heads up the Hudson, left, its passengers create their own fun, below left. The X68 bus runs between Manhattan and Queens. (PHOTOGRAPH BY GABRIELE STABILE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES); (PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREA MOHIN/THE NEW YORK TIMES)(pg. RE8)