The Sycamores in the Big Apple

elSicomoro · 07-13-2002, 07:26 PM

I almost forgot about this...this was last weekend.

What to do on a pleasant Saturday when you don't have a lot of cash, but don't want to stay at home? You go on a road trip of course.

This marked our third NYC trip since 9/11.

New York City is truly a place unlike any other. You have 8 million people, broken down into 5 boroughs...each with its own personality and sense of community. When most people think of NYC, they probably think of Manhattan...Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and the WTC site. Images that are etched into the minds of most Americans. But NYC is so much more than Manhattan. Hence, most of our trip was in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island. My plans were two-fold: First, Coney Island. Second, drive new interstates to add to my road geek collection. (You can see my updated travel log here.)

Before hitting NYC, I decided to drive I-287 in North Jersey, which is the closest thing NYC has to a beltway. Not the best of ideas. Although the scenery towards the NY state line is gorgeous, the pavement is...strange. When driving it, it makes your tires squeal...incredibly loud. And it wasn't just my car (which has properly inflated tires)...it was ALL the cars around us. Enough to give you a headache. :p

Approaching NYC on I-78, the skyline still doesn't look quite right...and the smoke from the Quebec fires made it look that much worse (though at the time, we thought it was just haze).

We came into NYC via the Holland Tunnel, a first for me. Although I like driving through tunnels, I'm a bit claustrophobic, and so I HATE it when you are in stop-and-go traffic in a tunnel. After getting slightly disoriented once we arrived in Manhattan, we made our way to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. First off, if you're not watching, you will miss the tunnel entrance and wind up at the south end of Manhattan. Secondly, an armed police officer was standing at the entrance to the tunnel with this look of, "If you try anything, I will rip your heart out." Similar looking officers were located on all the toll islands once you reached Brooklyn.

As I mentioned, Saturday's main goal was Coney Island. For those unfamiliar, Coney Island is at the south end of Brooklyn, fronting the Atlantic Ocean. It's like an ocean boardwalk with a big amusement park and sideshows. There is also an aquarium and a new minor-league baseball stadium...and of course, the beach. Throngs of people were out on Surf Ave...I'd estimate in the thousands. A large police presence was on the street as well, and most folks seem to be having a great time.

Then, we drove through the Coney Island and Brighton Beach neighborhoods. You have these nice well-kept houses next to run-down ones, empty lots, and projects. People of all races, backgrounds, and social statuses milling about on Neptune Ave. Just a few blocks away on Ocean Pkwy., you had people rollerblading; strolling along bike paths; sitting on park benches, chatting away the Sabbath. Granted, there are other areas similar to this...Philadelphia's Queen Village comes to mind. But this just seemed to have a different vibe to it...it was cool.

On the way home, we milled about on Staten Island for a while. I knew there were all kinds of people in New York City, but not until spending serious time on Staten Island do you notice that New York City actually has the equivalent of trailer trash.

The feel of Staten Island is completely different from the other boroughs...it feels very removed from the bustle of Manhattan, and has much more open space. Of course, with a population of over 400,000, it's practically a city of its own (which is the vibe that seems to emanate from all the boroughs).

Then, we hopped back into Putt-putt and made our way back to Philadelphia. I'm glad we hung out in Brooklyn and S.I....we got to see another side of NYC. Plus, it's a hell of a lot easier to drive in Brooklyn and Staten Island than in Manhattan.

As much as I like NYC, I could never live there. That's just too many people in too small of a space...it just feels like people on top of people. (Of course, I get that same feeling in parts of Philadelphia...especially the older parts.)

(LATE EDIT--2am: Rearranged and added a bit to the post.)

juju · 07-14-2002, 02:17 AM

Just curious.. how long does it take you to drive from Philadelphia to NYC?

elSicomoro · 07-14-2002, 02:54 AM

I've never driven directly to NYC (I usually putz around a bit before we get there), but it takes just over an hour to get home from Staten Island. I'd say it would take about 90 minutes to get to Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel.

The time depends on two factors: Where you live in Philadelphia and how bad traffic is in NYC and North Jersey. The average time to NYC from Philadelphia is a tad over 2 hours. I live at the far NE end of the city, and not too far from the NJ Turnpike, so it's pretty easy for us to go up there. By contrast, UT lives about 40 miles west of me, so I would imagine it takes him about 30 min-1 hr longer.

When Rho and I drove to Boston from DC 2 years ago, it took us about 12 hours, when it should have only taken about 8. It took us 4 hours to get from Newark, NJ to the NY/CT state line...a distance of about 40 miles. Most of that time was spent sitting on the approach to the George Washington Bridge, trying to get into Manhattan. We hit Newark around 6pm. Bad timing.

(Sycamore's suggestion of the day: When driving to points beyond NYC and you're using the NB NJ Turnpike, take I-278 E from the NJ Turnpike to I-495 E in Brooklyn, then take I-678 N in Queens across the Whitestone Bridge to I-95 N in the Bronx. It takes about 45 minutes and you spend about $10 or so on the tolls. It's worth it.

)

07-13-2002, 07:26 PM	#1
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	The Sycamores in the Big Apple I almost forgot about this...this was last weekend. What to do on a pleasant Saturday when you don't have a lot of cash, but don't want to stay at home? You go on a road trip of course. This marked our third NYC trip since 9/11. New York City is truly a place unlike any other. You have 8 million people, broken down into 5 boroughs...each with its own personality and sense of community. When most people think of NYC, they probably think of Manhattan...Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and the WTC site. Images that are etched into the minds of most Americans. But NYC is so much more than Manhattan. Hence, most of our trip was in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island. My plans were two-fold: First, Coney Island. Second, drive new interstates to add to my road geek collection. (You can see my updated travel log here.) Before hitting NYC, I decided to drive I-287 in North Jersey, which is the closest thing NYC has to a beltway. Not the best of ideas. Although the scenery towards the NY state line is gorgeous, the pavement is...strange. When driving it, it makes your tires squeal...incredibly loud. And it wasn't just my car (which has properly inflated tires)...it was ALL the cars around us. Enough to give you a headache. :p Approaching NYC on I-78, the skyline still doesn't look quite right...and the smoke from the Quebec fires made it look that much worse (though at the time, we thought it was just haze). We came into NYC via the Holland Tunnel, a first for me. Although I like driving through tunnels, I'm a bit claustrophobic, and so I HATE it when you are in stop-and-go traffic in a tunnel. After getting slightly disoriented once we arrived in Manhattan, we made our way to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. First off, if you're not watching, you will miss the tunnel entrance and wind up at the south end of Manhattan. Secondly, an armed police officer was standing at the entrance to the tunnel with this look of, "If you try anything, I will rip your heart out." Similar looking officers were located on all the toll islands once you reached Brooklyn. As I mentioned, Saturday's main goal was Coney Island. For those unfamiliar, Coney Island is at the south end of Brooklyn, fronting the Atlantic Ocean. It's like an ocean boardwalk with a big amusement park and sideshows. There is also an aquarium and a new minor-league baseball stadium...and of course, the beach. Throngs of people were out on Surf Ave...I'd estimate in the thousands. A large police presence was on the street as well, and most folks seem to be having a great time. Then, we drove through the Coney Island and Brighton Beach neighborhoods. You have these nice well-kept houses next to run-down ones, empty lots, and projects. People of all races, backgrounds, and social statuses milling about on Neptune Ave. Just a few blocks away on Ocean Pkwy., you had people rollerblading; strolling along bike paths; sitting on park benches, chatting away the Sabbath. Granted, there are other areas similar to this...Philadelphia's Queen Village comes to mind. But this just seemed to have a different vibe to it...it was cool. On the way home, we milled about on Staten Island for a while. I knew there were all kinds of people in New York City, but not until spending serious time on Staten Island do you notice that New York City actually has the equivalent of trailer trash. The feel of Staten Island is completely different from the other boroughs...it feels very removed from the bustle of Manhattan, and has much more open space. Of course, with a population of over 400,000, it's practically a city of its own (which is the vibe that seems to emanate from all the boroughs). Then, we hopped back into Putt-putt and made our way back to Philadelphia. I'm glad we hung out in Brooklyn and S.I....we got to see another side of NYC. Plus, it's a hell of a lot easier to drive in Brooklyn and Staten Island than in Manhattan. As much as I like NYC, I could never live there. That's just too many people in too small of a space...it just feels like people on top of people. (Of course, I get that same feeling in parts of Philadelphia...especially the older parts.) (LATE EDIT--2am: Rearranged and added a bit to the post.) Last edited by elSicomoro; 07-14-2002 at 01:05 AM.

07-14-2002, 02:17 AM	#2
juju no one of consequence Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,839	Just curious.. how long does it take you to drive from Philadelphia to NYC?

07-14-2002, 02:54 AM	#3
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	I've never driven directly to NYC (I usually putz around a bit before we get there), but it takes just over an hour to get home from Staten Island. I'd say it would take about 90 minutes to get to Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel. The time depends on two factors: Where you live in Philadelphia and how bad traffic is in NYC and North Jersey. The average time to NYC from Philadelphia is a tad over 2 hours. I live at the far NE end of the city, and not too far from the NJ Turnpike, so it's pretty easy for us to go up there. By contrast, UT lives about 40 miles west of me, so I would imagine it takes him about 30 min-1 hr longer. When Rho and I drove to Boston from DC 2 years ago, it took us about 12 hours, when it should have only taken about 8. It took us 4 hours to get from Newark, NJ to the NY/CT state line...a distance of about 40 miles. Most of that time was spent sitting on the approach to the George Washington Bridge, trying to get into Manhattan. We hit Newark around 6pm. Bad timing. (Sycamore's suggestion of the day: When driving to points beyond NYC and you're using the NB NJ Turnpike, take I-278 E from the NJ Turnpike to I-495 E in Brooklyn, then take I-678 N in Queens across the Whitestone Bridge to I-95 N in the Bronx. It takes about 45 minutes and you spend about $10 or so on the tolls. It's worth it. )

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