Reverse commute to Flushing

Depends on why you absolutely want to live in Manhattan. Otherwise you could consider LIC, on the 7 and takes you to main street station. Lots of cabs by the station most of the time.

Can't answer unless I know which hospital it is. Booth? Flushing?

If you're driving, anywhere near the 59th street bridge to LIE would be better than LES dealing w/either FDR or BQE.

Subway/bus - that's a hike and the 7 is not always running when you need it.

GL

7 train blows, especially when there is a storm since is outdoor in Queens. If you are going to work long hours, you are better off living in Queens like Forest Hills or LIC.

LES or FiDi also give you the option of taking the Chinatown shuttles to Flushing.

You can take LIRR from Penn Station to Flushing main street in <30 min.

From Penn Station to Flushing, LIRR is more like less than 20 minutes.
However, the Op has mentioned that he/she is working in a hospital. That may indicate that there may be night shifts involved. All of our alternate traveling mode may still be difficult. Driving may still be his/her preferred mode.

so the OP wants to live in Manhattan and pay crazy rent and pay crazy garage fees just to spend most of the time in EASTERN QUEENS. forgive me, i just don't get it.

Fifth Avenue near Bryant Park would be the best choice, but that's owing more to the very few stops off the 7 train.

you have gotten some good advice above; I would add that regardless of what gmaps says,there are few times of the day when you will travel from Man. to Flushing by car in less than 45 mins. #7 train is the way to go, except on weekends.

I agree with vic64......live near Penn Station (Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen). LIRR is the way to go, it's extremely quick, relatively comfortable, and allows you to avoid the 7. The 7 is a slow nightmare, and if you're working weekends, it's frequently a non-functioning nightmare.

G maps doesn't seem to be aware of lane reversals at rush hours, so take their reverse commuting suggestions with a grain of salt ... especially in pm traffic. It'll route you straight into a closed entrance, and you'll endure traffic to get to it.

I asked which hospital in Flushing because it makes a difference. I haven't relied on the 7 train for the past ten years because you will often be late if you do. The 7 train on weekends is a non-starter (usually literally).

You can take the LIRR to Main St if you're going to Flushing Hospital but you will have to take the Q27 bus even though it's not all that far. If you're young and athletic, you could walk from Main St but probably won't want to do it all the time.

Booth (or whatever it's called these days) is a good ride on the Q44 from Main Street station but close to the LIE. You could also take the E train to Jamaica and take the Q44 in the opposite direction but that's a long ride.

I can't remember if either hospital has staff parking. If I were working there and living in Manhattan, I would seriously consider driving. Both hospitals are off the LIE, Booth is a little closer to the highway than Flushing Hospital. It's not a long drive if you take the Midtown tunnel.

Speaking from many years of experience as a reverse commuter, you're going to go nuts if your trip has too many variables. Trains are nice because they run on a schedule and are relatively reliable. But if you cannot walk to the train station and have to rely on a bus, that sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Bus is late, miss the train. Bus is early, miss the bus, miss the train. Bus gets stuck in traffic, miss the train.

Maybe the frequency of trains between Flushing and Penn Station is great enough to offset this, but if not, bag it and drive. Or live in Great Neck and use the money you save on NYC income taxes to spend on hotel rooms in Manhattan whenever you want to visit.

I am in the same situation as the OP. If I decide to commute from manhattan to flushing, which parts of Manhattan have the most inexpensive parking lots or relatively decent overnight street parking available? I've looked at NYC.bestparking.com, but am wondering if any seasoned NY commuters have advice to narrow down the search (besides not living in manhattan). Thanks!

Thank you, everyone, for all the feedback! I will be working at New York Hospital Queens, formerly Booth. vic64, thank you for considering night shifts, which will indeed be an issue. I will mostly be commuting to Queens around 5 am and leaving between 4-8 pm. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't imagine that there will be a lot of traffic around those times?

I agree with flarf regarding multiple transfers and would like to avoid that as much as possible. Seems like the LIRR would have been the quickest option into Flushing, but the hospital would still be quite a ways away from the Main Street station.

Others have mentioned the FDR, BQE, and Midtown Tunnel. Could you please tell me what is the deal with those in terms of traffic?

Thanks again!