Study: Canarsie workers must deal with one of nation's longest commutes

[Trainspotter]

It's the Great Schlep, Brooklyn-style.

 

Canarsie residents suffer nearly hour-long commutes to their jobs - one of the most time-consuming treks in the nation - that average 51.2 painful minutes, according to a study released Thursday.

 

That's on top of the city's rising costs of phone bills, housing and day care already giving middle-class New Yorkers a headache.

 

"My commute is horrible," said John Azille, 24, outside the Canarsie train station, which is the last stop on the line and 19 subway stations east of Manhattan.

 

"Being that this is the only train in the neighborhood, they need to do a better job with service," he added.

 

"Sometimes it only goes in one direction at a time. Sometimes it just stops running altogether, and you have to get out and take a bus. It's terrible."

 

Azille said his journey from his home to his midtown offices takes a whopping two hours.

 

"I take the train to Broadway Junction and transfer to the ©" subway lines, said Azille, who works for a trade magazine and has two offices in Manhattan.

 

"If I'm working in the Financial District, it takes me an hour and a half. If I'm working in midtown, it can take up to two hours."

 

The year-long study, conducted by the Center for an Urban Future, also found that residents in Brownsville, Bensonhurst and Greenpoint all had commutes that were nearly twice as long as the national average, 25.5 minutes.

 

"The boroughs are where the middle class are moving, and yet transit service has not kept pace," said Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the think tank.

 

"The long commuting times and often uncomfortable subway rides negatively impact the quality of life for people in Brooklyn."

 

But long commutes aren't the only headache for middle-class Brooklyn residents.

 

From skyrocketing housing prices to stagnant wages, the 52-page report paints a bleak picture for middle-class Brooklynites with salaries between $39,000 and $59,000.

 

The median sales price for a single-family home in Brooklyn has skyrocketed 145% since 1999, outpricing all boroughs but Manhattan and Queens, according to the year-long study.

 

Monthly telephone bills across the five boroughs, meanwhile, have risen more quickly than elsewhere in the country, with a flat-rate bill averaging about $34 in 2006.

 

Citing housing prices and rising phone bills, Tracey Murrell, 24, said she and her husband had been considering moving to New Jersey from their home in Brooklyn.

 

"We've thought about moving to New Jersey because it's so much cheaper," said Murrell, the mother of a 6-year-old boy.

 

She said her phone bills have crept from $100 a month to $130 over the past year.

 

"You can get a three-bedroom in New Jersey for the price of a one bedroom here," she added.

 

Another Canarsie resident, Gino Nigro, said that as a carpenter, his commute changes with the job, but one thing always stays the same: the amazingly long commute to his job sites.

 

"We are on the outskirts here in Canarsie," said Nigro, 42, who said a recent commute to a Washington Heights hospital took more than an hour.

 

"The is literally the only train. It's the only way into the city. It's a slow ride."

 

BY Jeff Wilkins and JOTHAM SEDERSTROM

DAILY NEWS WRITERS

February 6th 2009

[Y2Julio]

It takes 40 minutes to get into Manhattan, not 50+ minutes. I've counted it a bunch of times.

[N-Trizzy2609]

Or a transfer to the faster less crowed at Livonia

[duelingdragons]

I always wondered why they never did skip stop on the .

[Y2Julio]

that's why train riders want skip stop service on their line.

Which I think is a good idea to do.

 

oh, there is ALWAYS a skip stop service , especially in the morning towards Rockaway Parkway .

[R62A 1991]

Or a transfer to the faster less crowed at Livonia

 

The B6 in the morning to New Lots adds 12 minutes to the commute from Canarsie, and you still have to go back west to Manhattan. And I'm sure no one wants to pay an extra fare at Livonia Av to get to Junius St. They're just going to have to stick it out...

[Forest Glen]

Southeast Queens is further away from Manhattan than Canarsie. It takes an hour and 15 minutes on a good day to go from my home to midtown.

[Tbirdbassist]

He means building a free transfer, not getting out and paying again.

 

 

And aren't they working on building this transfer now?

[R62A 1991]

He means building a free transfer, not getting out and apying again.

 

 

And aren't they working on building this transfer now?

Makes sense, but I haven't heard of anything being provisioned or built over there. Maybe someone else has?

[Tbirdbassist]

Someone here mentioned it, I forgot what thread it was though.

 

 

 

And I'm pretty sure peopel in my neighborhood and surroundiung areas have a longer average commute. Considering you have to take a bus to get to any train.

 

I live in southern Jamaica by JFK. The times I do take the bus (I ride my bike to the train) it's a minimum of 15 minutes to the train. And then the trains minimum time to the city is something like 40 during rush hour.

[metsfan]

is slow.

 

- A

[R32 3348]

I love how the commuters say the line is frequently shut down and running on only one direction as if it happens all the time instead of only during the weekend.

[Y2Julio]

People are such whiners. I take the every morning, Monday through Friday to my job in Canarsie and I manage to make it to work on time most of time. These people just need to leave home earlier.

[Tbirdbassist]

You are traveling in the non peak direction, so it wouldn't affect you as greatly.

 

In the morning peak is Manhattan, night peak is Canarsie.

[Y2Julio]

The majority of the trains go to towards Manhattan and as such Canarsie bound trains are less frequent than Manhattan bound rush hour trains, and I still get to work on time. Same as when I leave Canarsie.

[Tbirdbassist]

They are less frequent, but chances are take less time to get to Canarsie from 8th Ave.

[SIR North Shore]

That made me laugh!

 

Where I live in West Brighton, Staten Island is technically a closer distance to Manhattan than Canarsie BUT in order to get to at least Lower Manhattan it's a minimum of 1 Hour. If i'm travelling to at least 23rd St that makes a minimum of 1 Hour & 15 Minutes.

 

Staten Islanders take the award for having one of the nation's longest commutes, not Canarsie of all places.

 

I've ridden the L from Union Square to Rockaway Parkway a few times and thought.. "that was pretty quick". I can't believe people actually complain about that ride.

[MattTrain]

Don't like the train, all the way, I can share a few alternatives.

 

to Broadway Junction for the via Fulton or at Jamaica line.

to Myrtle-Wycoff for service. I think those are faster alternatives.

 

Now I can see why people complain about the (L)'s.

[Y2Julio]

 

In the AM rush, there are more Manhattan-bound trains than Canarsie-bound trains.

um that's what I said. :confused:

[metsfan]

I rode the L the other day. It had such long headways. The guy who lived 3 blocks from the station said it was like that every day all day long....

 

- A

[KeystoneRegional]

Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters