OT - Getting into NYC

[beerfan]

My wife has to go into the city for business this weekend. She needs to be there around noon/early afternoon on Friday and leaving Sunday mid-afternoon.

The bus schedules don't really work out (I also watched the megabus come over an hour late from my office window this morning), and she would prefer to take the train in.

Does anyone know which stations on the Harlem line that have good/available parking? Is going over to the Hudson line any better?

Any other suggested options would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Drive in and park in a lot and have your company expense it?

 

[WhartonHusky]

Are you aware of the issues that Metro North is having? Train schedules are running on a very limited schedule because of electrical issues in the Bronx. Her best bet, by far, is to drive to Stamford and take the train in from there. Metro North is running diesel trains from Stamford into Grand Central and while they may be sporadic and crowded, they don't require electrical to make it in.

There is also ample parking in Stamford that is available to the public.

 

[SubbaBub]

The train issue is from Stamford to GCS. That is the area to avoid.

The MTA website should have parking information. If noon is the target. Driving may be the best option if you are expensing.

 

[WhartonHusky]

The issue is from Stamford to GCT, but it's an electrical one. That's why Metro North is now running diesel trains.

The option is dealing with a potentially crowded train (although post morning rush it wont be awful) for 45 mins or driving in metro NY on a Friday.

 

[Northbound]

Drive, seriously.

 

[D$]

Beerfan,

WhartonHusky is giving you really bad info - do not listen to him. Avoid the New Haven line at all costs until the feeder issue is fixed.

I commute from Fairfield Cty to Wall Street via train three days a week and alternate between the Harlem and New Haven lines. There is plenty of parking at most Harlem line stops. My station of choice because of proximity is Katonah, right off of 684, but I'm not sure where you are. There are a couple of different choices, Golden's Bridge, Southeast, etc.

-D$

 

[Fishy]

Given her travel schedule - Friday afternoon to Sunday - driving to Stamford and taking the diesel train in would probably not be awful.

Personally, I would drive to Golden's Bridge and take the train from there.

Biggest issue might be getting a long-term parking meter.

A plan B might be driving to Scarsdale, parking in the residential parking on Greyrock Road and just dealing with perhaps a cheap parking ticket.

 

[Hoophound]

It's the weekend. Garages aren't very expensive Friday and Saturday night, just drive.

Probably talking $50-$100 for a garage depending on where she has to be. Otherwise, find a spot on the street.

There are several web sites that you can use to locate and price parking. I like this one:

NYC.bestparking.com

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

I'm actually visiting my sister in Manhattan over the weekend and I'm actually tempted to take the train from New Haven (I live there and can bike to the train station). Right now it looks like they're running off-peak trains Friday afternoon every half hour, which is pretty much almost normal schedule. My fear is that I'll hit Stamford around 5:30 and it'll be packed and I'll be stuck waiting. Might wait and see how ugly it looks tomorrow or give their customer service a call and see how crowded they expect the late Friday afternoon trains to be.

 

[beerfan]

Thanks for all of the advice, my wife did really not want to drive to the City and did not want to drive somewhere and find out she couldn't park and have to struggle for plan "B". She is a nervous nelly about traveling to the City and I can't blame her traveling alone with luggage.

What she has decided to do is drive to Poughkeepsie and take the train from there. Her family is from near there in case something goes extremely wrong she has options. I was surprised that the 2 hour or so drive to poughkeepsie and the train ride in is just a little bit longer than the our usual drive to Bridgeport and taking the train in.

Although this is not the message board for it, I would be interested if other travel horror stories to the City.

 

[WhartonHusky]

Sounds like you've come up with a solution, but the info was solid. I've commuted to NYC from Fairfield Cty every day for the past 4 years - including today. It wasn't awful. Hardest part for me was getting to Stamford. From there, it wasn't an issue.