reverse commute to long island from nyc

Commute to the Brooklyn LIRR station.

I live in Elmhurst,Queens and travel to Long Island for work. The commute before 7:30 is decent on the LIE cant help you with the BQE part. Typically take me 20-25 minutes to the Great Neck exit, but there is always backup on Community Dr and Lakeville Dr. The train is not too bad either it took me about an hour from Brooklyn when I lived there

it's 35 minutes on LIRR from Penn to Great Neck. there's a train at 7:55 that will get you there at 8:26... http://mta.info/lirr/html/ttn/greatnec.htm

where in great neck is your office? i live on the UES and used to commute 2-3 days a week to Great Neck. I drove, taking the 59th street bridge to the LIE. Best case, leaving around 7am, it was 35 minutes from car to parking lot. Generally speaking, around 7:15 it was 40 minutes. The train took much longer, b/c of all the time it took me to get to Penn Station. If you already have a car, since the bridges are still free, it was much less expensive- the train + metrocard are pretty expensive. Plus, if you drive every day you can park the car on the street - you'll be leaving before alternate side rules go into effect, and if you are in the car before 7, you can park in meters also. Coming home at 5-6pm can be more difficult - I'd say 50-75 minutes depending on your luck.
Its also nice to have a car out there, b/c you can do some grocery shopping/target runs, etc., saving you a lot of money over buying the same stuff in the city.

LES to Penn on Public Transportation is not fun.
I would suggest driving and it would be best to do a carpool at least to reduce the carbon imprint.
Billyburg bridge to BQE to LIE is pretty direct, but you can also take Wburg to BQE to the grand central pkwy, may be faster in the morning.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. It seems like driving is the shortest way to commute.

one question to glamma; why is the grand central pkwy faster in the morning? do you have any tips for the return trip (li to nyc)

printer: the office is at community drive

i heard that BQE traffic is pretty slow in the morning, is this true?

in that case driving is your only option, b/c community drive is not close to the train station. that also rules out taking the grand central the whole way, b/c the exit you would take off the northern state (which is what the GCP becomes), is Lakeville Rd, which is a huge bottleneck going towards Great Neck. You could take the previous exit (middle neck road), and then take Northern Blvd - not a bad option.

Just a minor thing, but I prefer driving on the Grand Central/Northern State much more than the LIE. No trucks allowed on the Grand Central/Northern State (altho there is a stretch on the Grand Central that allows small trucks.) The LIE does have an HOV lane which is nice if you're with another person in the car.

This thread is also reminding me of an old 'poem' we'd say when driving from LI to the Lower East Side...
Take the LIE
to the BQE
over the Willie B
to Delancey
up the Bowery.
:)

agreed - lack of cars on GC is preferable to LIE. The HOV lane starts & ends east of Great Neck, so no help in lestoli's case.

personally i would take the tunnel, this avoids bqe, and avoids driving through the queens streets when u get off qb bridge, there is no hov lane on lie going east betw tunnel and exit 33 so this is a non-issue, you can try going from lie to gcp, but i bet staying on lie will still be quicker. timing is important-- if you complete trip before 730, you should have no problems, but after 8 could be dicey

@Kiz10014 Since the OP already lives next to the Williamsburg Bridge it would probably take less time to just take the Williamsburg Bridge than having to drive up to midtown for the Queens-midtown tunnel. OP lives next to the Williamsburg, not the Queensboro. Thanks to you and printer about the clarification re the HOV.

Thank you everyone again. I think I will try out both suggested routes and see which one works for me. I don't like driving, especially along the trucks. GC sounds more attractive in that regards.

Any tips for the evening return to NYC?

few things. one, if you really prefer the tunnel even though you are by the bridge, you can drive east on houston and shoot up the FDR to the tunnel and be there in not too much time. two, the BQE is always painful during rush hour going either way, the tunnel is the only way around that but it can also get backed up and is a much more expensive option. evrything i'm saying goes for both the way in and the way out. there is another option to take the cross island from the LIE and get off at northern blvd and take northern blvd to great neck, but the cross island can also get backed up. three, basically the LIE just sucks and that's why the GCP is faster. however if you take GCP, study ahead of time, it's tricky to take it, lots of options/changes/weird things that you kind of really have to know so you don't get lost. good luck!

Thanks glamma

What about going home on NS/GPC all the way to Tri-boro and then FDR South? I've gotten to LGA fairly quickly that route at rush hour versus the tunnel/BQE even though I live nearer the tunnel. Since I don't do it regularly I don't know if it makes sense day to day. Experts?

Lestoli...Me thinks are going to be friends with 1010Wins.

> LES to Penn on Public Transportation is not fun.

Depends what part... F train a few stops
lets you off exactly one block from the stairs to LIRR...

and, yes, bqe is a mess in the mornings. There is no reverse, its folks from both directions trying to get to the bridges.

@lizyank LOL I almost wrote something about how 1010 Wins is going to be the OP's new friend. We think alike! :)

Psy the nanny more and save NYC taxes by moving. More seriously, NHP exit from GCP is easier and avoids Lakeville road. If you can leave by 4:30 the commute is a breeze. GN has great parks for the kiddies and you won't have to pay for private schools. No rentals in GN to speak of, but I have a half acre to sell you. also, there is a program for kids called CLASP located on Grace Avenue, in what is also a senior citizens center. I have no specific information about this, but worth looking into. Good luck. And congrats on your new job.

I enjoy driving, probably because I don't do it that often anymore, but I generally keep the sound on music or sports talk (especially Mike Francesa on whom I will admit to a giant crush). But once it starts coming close to rush hour...its WINS all the time.

thanks everyone again.

gaongaon: thanks for the info on GN. i am looking into the possibility of moving to GN also. what areas in GN would you recommend for living?

lizyank: the triboro and fdr south option sounds interesting. i wonder if anyone is doing it regularly?

"I would suggest driving and it would be best to do a carpool at least to reduce the carbon imprint."

Right.

Because there are so many other people doing the EXACT SAME reverse commute from the Lower East Side to Great Neck, with his EXACT SAME work hours.

Matt thinks you should get there by Formicarowave.

Lestoli, there are many considerations re areas. You can email me, by putting a hotmail after my name. I'd be more than happy to offer my 2 cents.

My girlfriend is moving to take a new job in long island - specifically near Islip Airport. we want to live in city or somewhere near at least and wanted to know if anyone has done the commute on the LIRR. It shows online from Penn Station or Brooklyn it would be around 1 hour and 20 minutes. Do you think it would be better to drive from Queens or Astoria? How far of a drive is that?

I take the tunnel daily from Sutton PL and it's 45 min door to door to Bethpage.