New York Route Help Please

[GusTrain]

Any advice would be appreciated:
Planning a trip in October from Portland, OR to Staten Island, NY to visit relatives. I've arrived at Penn Station before & taken subway/ferry to Staten Island, but Husband has not & is fearful of arriving after dark, which in October will be early...& also of taking subway after dark.
Any ideas of alternate arrival stations for getting to Staten Island or route that would provide a daylight arrival time into Penn Station? Please & thank you!

 

[zephyr17]

Nothing unsafe about the subway in the evening, especially in Manhattan. There will be plenty of people around.

It isn't the 70s anymore and you aren't shooting "The Warriors".

Penn is the only New York City station. Whether you taking the Lakeshore or the Capitiol and transferring to a regional will get you in the evening. You could probably do something from Newark, but I'd rather be in Midtown at Penn than Newark after dark.

 

[NEPATrainTraveler]

Only thing I can think of is if you stay overnight at Albany (LSL) or DC (CL/Cardinal) and continue to NYC the next morning on one of the corridor trains if you want to arrive in New York in daylight in the fall.

 

[PVD]

There are some express buses from Manhattan to Staten Island. I don't know them very well, the routes have been recently realigned. They are geared towards rush hour commuters, but some of the routes have decent evening service, and a connection off the CLto an NER doesn't get in that late anyway. Itdepends a great deal on whether any of the routes that pass Penn Station go to an area on Staten Island that works for you. It is a pretty big place. Take a look at the MTA trip planner to see if anything might work for you. Keep in mind that the Express Fare must be paid with a Metro Card or OMNY Pay (SI buses are part of the pilot project), express buses no longer take cash. They are more comfortable than regular bus or sunway, using MCI or Prevost commuter coaches.

 

[KiraPi]

I live on Staten Island and work near Penn Station and have taken the trip between the two at all times of day and all times of year. It's a very safe trip. If you have any specific concerns or worries, ask and I can probably answer for you.
As far as alternate routes, you can take the M20 bus to the ferry. It travels down 7th Ave to the ferry if you want to avoid the subway. It's safe too, but will take longer. There are express buses that will take you onto the island but you'd need to know which bus route to take and where it starts on Manhattan. You could also take an Uber, but that will be quite costly from Penn Station I'm sure. The best way to get between Penn and the Ferry is the 1 train.

 

[PVD]

Almost everyone I know on the Island takes the 1 to the ferry, but it can be hard to convince folks from out of town...There will be plenty of peoplr on the subway, dragging luggage might be a pain whatever way they choose.

 

[NW cannonball]

What train you expect to arrive on at what time?
All previous responses agree with my experience.
No fear taking subway to ferry to Staten Island. Possibly crowding with luggage during evening rush hour on the subway, later -- no worries.

Never been to Staten Island, but took the ferry round trip a decade ago. Have visited Manhattan a few times as solo dad with about 4 year old and never worried.

Just be sure you get on the right train and the right stop. The Staten Island Ferry will be there, and your ride thereon will be slow but sure

 

[KiraPi]

Honestly, even taking the 1 train during rush hour isn't that bad. Most folks get OFF the 1 and run for the LIRR or NJ Transit at that stop. After 34th Street, the train is pretty quiet. I get a seat every day! The ferry is pretty pleasant no matter the weather. It's also well patrolled if safety is a concern.

 

[PVD]

In nice weather, the ferry is awesome...

 

[Thirdrail7]

Any advice would be appreciated:

Any ideas of alternate arrival stations for getting to Staten Island or route that would provide a daylight arrival time into Penn Station? Please & thank you!

While I don't think there is anything wrong with going to NYP and using the subway/ferry route, there is nothing stopping you from using the Capitol Limited between CHI-WAS, transferring to a NEC regional at DC and getting off at Metropark (Iselin), New Jersey. Staten Island is a hop (Uber), skip (Lyft) or jump (cab) away from Metropark and you can be over the OuterBridge Crossing within 15 minutes. The Goethal's Bridge is probably 25 minutes away.

It is an option, depending on how deep you want to travel into Staten Island.

 

[dogbert617]

Almost everyone I know on the Island takes the 1 to the ferry, but it can be hard to convince folks from out of town...There will be plenty of peoplr on the subway, dragging luggage might be a pain whatever way they choose.

Myself and my brother for fun took the SI Ferry on a past NYC trip years ago, and as I remember we also took the 1 subway train to get over to the south Manhattan station of the SI Ferry. The ferry didn't seem as crowded once we were on board that, vs. the subway. As for the subway, it probably depends the time of day as to how crowded it'll be. At least the 1 isn't as crowded as I remember the 4/5/6 trains were(on the upper east side), that's for sure! Never mind that since then, the NYC subway opened up a new subway line(or partially, not sure how much of that new Second St subway route has opened as of now) a few blocks away from the existing 4/5/6 route.

 

[seat38a]

Just got back from NYC this past weekend. I was shocked at how clean and in better shape NYC was in than any of the big cities on the west coast. Just assumed NYC would be in just as bad shape or worse. Did mostly walking around the city, even after dark I did not feel unsafe.

 

[GusTrain]

Thank you, everyone! My son & I took an awesome "Midtown at Night" walking tour in the evening offered by Free Tours By Foot, which I highly recommend-we walked all over & saw the beauty of the city lighted up, got history of all the gorgeous landmark buildings, and we all rode the subway as a group of 25! We came up in Times Square! It was amazing! So I am not fearful, but your comments will help convince my husband, hopefully!! If not, we can try one of the alternates suggested-
THANKS AGAIN!!!!

 

[PVD]

Interesting comment above. As a lifetime New Yorker, I have been very pleased with the radical reductions in crime, and improvements in friendliness towards tourists and visitors. The cleanliness remark surprised me, I've always thought of NYC as a great place for people to visit, surprisingly safe as big cities go, but never thought of it as being cleaner than any other major US city I've been in.

 

[seat38a]

Interesting comment above. As a lifetime New Yorker, I have been very pleased with the radical reductions in crime, and improvements in friendliness towards tourists and visitors. The cleanliness remark surprised me, I've always thought of NYC as a great place for people to visit, surprisingly safe as big cities go, but never thought of it as being cleaner than any other major US city I've been in.

You should come out west sometimes. Pick a city. Any city.