Any Long Island Commuters?

All I can say is... ouch. Thats a hard one.

If your goal is to be on LIE, you're talking about traffic central. The bqe efficiently connects you to the LIE (so dumbo / ft. green / very handy, others like wb/greenpoint/cobble hill are nearby less easy entrance points). but you're talking major traffic because its not reverse commute at all until the LIE, and even LIE 'aint fun reverse.

The other option is Atlantic Ave, which is the cab way to the south shore.... atlantic all the way to the conduit/belt to the southern state... or linden blvd to southern state

That gives you Fort Green, and also Bushwick, etc. as you go out that way. Also prospect Heights even (just a few blocks north to atlantic).

Try google map, and type in directions.

you could also consider going even further out, some decent neighborhoods on the belt, which connects to the southern state, but still subway access to manhattan.

Coney Island / Sheepshead Bay (great deals in trump village, or even the new condos in Brighton Beach)
Canarsie (L train to the end)
etc.

Basically, trace the path of the belt, atlantic ave, and the bqe toward LI.

East New York, and the JackRob to GCP to LIE.

Thanks for all the input and suggestions - so essentially the BQE is going to be bad option, which is what I suspected. I have been obsessively charting directions on google maps from various locations, but helpful to get a local's input on traffic patterns, etc.

> East New York, and the JackRob to GCP to LIE.

If he works on the south shore, thats going backward. Take the GCP/Van wyck SOUTH at that point (away from LIE) to the southern state...

Depends upon what time your partner is going to hit the road. I worked for a time in Uniondale, and one of my colleagues drove from Brooklyn Heights. We started at 8 a.m., and the commute between 7-8 a.m. was reasonable.

Or, your partner could do what I did. I took the train, and left my car at the train station, leaving it there overnight. I only drove from Manhattan on Monday mornings, and to Manhattan Friday nights, or not at all when heading to eastern long island for the weekend.

> Thanks for all the input and suggestions - so essentially the BQE is going to be bad option

Yeah, its very messy until maybe 9:30... because folks from different directions are trying to get to the bridges. its rush hour both ways essentially.

> I have been obsessively charting directions on google maps from various locations, but helpful to
> get a local's input on traffic patterns, etc.

Yeah, if it has to be brooklyn, the closet to queens will be best for commute, though not necessarily for neighborhood.

"East New York, and the JackRob to GCP to LIE."

Great idea telling him to live in East New York! Did you take out a life insurance policy on him and list yourself as the beneficiary because that is the only way I could see you legitimately recommending ENY as a viable option.

Don't pay attention to the racist.

"Or, your partner could do what I did. I took the train, and left my car at the train station, leaving it there overnight. I only drove from Manhattan on Monday mornings, and to Manhattan Friday nights, or not at all when heading to eastern long island for the weekend."

great idea.

The_President just doesn't like East New York because it's a historically Jewish neighborhood. So antisemite, not racist.

"If he works on the south shore, thats going backward." ... yeah, sorry, I just can't process "south shore".

Channeling Ali: move to Long Beach!

"Don't pay attention to the racist."

Then your a racist too. Otherwise you would live in ENY. Whhy don't you move there?

Jews in East NY? Yeah, maybe if you build a time machine and go back 50 years.

When I lived in Carroll Gardens, I had to drive to Uniondale a few times a month. Atlantic Avenue is the way to go. There's traffic, but you know that it will take about an hour. The biggest issue with that commute is the direct sun glare. That can add at least 1/2 hr to the drive during a few months of the year.

Now parking your car in Carroll Gardens, that's a whole different problem. I purchased a small car to fit into spots that noone else could... Sweet.

Sheepshead is a great option as it will take you an additional 15 min on the train and your partner will be next to the Belt. Plenty of restaurants, lounges and beaches. The issue is that it's not yuppified as the neighborhoods you mentioned. You'll have culture shock.

Why don't you just move to Long Island? Parts of LI are beautiful. You get the quiet, peacefulness, parking, more space, the beaches, Planting Fields Aborteum (in Oyster Bay which is perhaps one of the most beautiful spots in all of NY state), and you're close to the city. Nassau County commute to Penn is approx 40 minutes on an express train. I know I'm using your thread to hype Long Island, but LI is grossly underrated in my opinion.

How about Flushing & points beyond in Qns? Great eats, fast commute to LI.

Depends on what hour you get on the road.

I live in Cobble Hill and commute out to the island early mornings - to Nassau (south shore, RVC) or to Suffolk (north shore, Commack). Am usually on the road by 6am, and hit very little traffic. Can make it to Commack easily in 50 minutes, or to RVC in 30. Sometimes I work later (9am), and there's definitely more traffic. But it's not THAT bad. And it's the LIE that's the problem usually, NOT the BQE.

Yes, Jackie Robinson is a possibility. Problem is, if you're going that way on Atlantic in the morning, all the lights are against you. In my experience, it's even worse trying to get to the Belt by going all the way down Atlantic. Much quicker to take the BQE to LIE to Cross Island to Southern State.

Or there's the LIRR which I did for a couple years when I just worked in RVC. From Atlantic terminal to Babylon is 60-90 minutes with one quick connection in Jamaica.

I did the commute from LI from the North Shore to Manhattan. I hated it then and now. I moved.

The reverse commute is not bad. can't speak to the belt or bqe (which always seems bad), but the lie going east in the morning is only moderate traffic.

You may want to consider a different option and look at LIC. It is literally right there on the LIE and your partner can easily get out in the morning. Though the LIE does get pretty backed up even going east, I'd be happy to explain my "back way"(many years living in Forest Hills) in order to avoid the traffic.

I really appreciate all of the insights and suggestions, very helpful for a newbie to Brooklyn. Thanks!

Johhknyc is absolutely correct. The BQE is not the problem; the LIE is where you may hit traffic depending on the time of travel. I drive from Brooklyn Heights to Uniondale and Riverhead a few times a month and the BQE is rarely an issue and even when it is its much less so than the LIE. There are stretches of the LIE that will bog down again depending on the time of travel. So I would recommend Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill or DUMBO all of which have easy access points to the BQE.

And I wouldn't take the Atlantic Ave route for anything. It's long, there are scads of traffic lights, and much of the road is poorly paved especially deeper into Brooklyn.

I do a reverse commute from manhattan to the north side of the island and same distance as Babylon.
THe LIE is fairly decent.
South Shore is a disaster. I have no proper advice other than avoid the belt parkway no matter how far out of your way (mileage wise). It's just not a route you want to be married and commited to and at the mercy of traffic conditions that day.

Hello, Does anyone know have any thoughts on commuting from Garden City to downtown Brooklyn?