Archive for April, 2007
Tuesday, April 24th, 2007
Diss-Connected
We happened upon the new issue of MTA publication Connections: The Essential Guide to Life at Grand Central yesterday. It’s a 16-page booklet that features “Ask Mr. Grand Central,” which sees MGC answer questions about Grand Central scheduling, history and minutia (it feels a wee bit like “Ask Engine Bob” in another Grand Central-centric publication).
The […]
No Comments » - Posted in Ask Engine Bob, Campbell Apartment by TJ
Tuesday, April 24th, 2007
Word of the Week: Bronkers
BRONKERS \BRONK urz\ noun: The desolate stretch of the Harlem and Hudson Line commute, marked by brick project buildings and lots of trash, where you’re not sure if you’re in the Bronx or Westchester. (A.K.A. “YONX”)
Usage: “I’m on my way home, baby. We’re going through Bronkers, so it’ll probably be another 20 minutes or so.”
1 Comment » - Posted in Word of the Week by TJ
Monday, April 23rd, 2007
Overheard on the 6:59
20-something woman in camouflage skirt, cellphone to ear from 125th to North White Plains last Friday.
“You’re gonna, like, have to, like, take a train next time so you can, like, get shitfaced…”
“She’s got, like, four brothers and four sisters and, like, all of them are, like, drop-dead gorgeous. And her dad is hot. So is […]
No Comments » - Posted in Like by TJ
Monday, April 23rd, 2007
Globe-al Matters
Was up in Boston this past weekend (or, the Fisher-Price “My First City” city, according to old neighbor Joey D), and stumbled upon the “Starts & Stops” commuter blog in the Boston Globe. (First off, it’s worth noting that Bostonians refer to giant rainstorms as “Northeasters”, not “Noreasters,” as normal folk do. So formal!
Some interesting […]
No Comments » - Posted in Starts & Stops by TJ
Friday, April 20th, 2007
53 Minutes to Kill
Every day, twice a day, I rush through a packed Grand Central.
But not last night.
I arrived at the station around 11:15 p.m., having just missed the 11:08, and forced to wait for the 12:08. Needless to say, I should’ve checked the schedule. I blame it on my L.I.R.R upbringing–you simply showed up at Penn Station […]
No Comments » - Posted in Grand Central, LIRR by TJ
Thursday, April 19th, 2007
I Thought My Commute Sucked Vol. VII
On page 1 of today’s Wall Street Journal is perhaps the most shocking bit of commuter-related journalism you’ll ever read. Eric Bellman tells the story of overcrowding on commuter rails in Mumbai, India; so bad is the problem that 3,404 people were killed while commuting last year (13 a weekday!), whether they’re crossing tracks, falling […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Eric Bellman, I Thought My Commute Sucked by TJ
Thursday, April 19th, 2007
Planejotting
Just got back from Vegas, and what a time to miss commuting on Metro-North: tales of submerged stations, hour delays, and people hitching rides to the city with Noah and his furry friends, as the bearded one’s ark made its way down the Bronx River Parkway.
A few commuter-oriented notes from Sin City: For all Jet […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Jet Blue, Monorail, Vegas by TJ
Wednesday, April 18th, 2007
Why I didn’t commute Monday
Well our fearless leader Malone5a has put out a call for all noreaster-themed commuter stories and as I’m a resident of storm-addled Mamaroneck he’s looking for me to come up with something.
Having not gone into the office the day after the storm I don’t have a storm-related commuting story exactly, but I guess showing a […]
No Comments » - Posted in Mamaroneck, flooding, governor spitzer, noreaster, weather by G. Francis
Wednesday, April 18th, 2007
Give it up for the Ebony Hillbillies
One of the better ideas to bubble out of the MTA in recent years has been the addition of musical acts at Penn Station and, I presume, Grand Central. The scheduled performers are uneven, but generally are of far higher caliber than the unlicensed buskers who previously plied the crowds, hoping to shake loose a […]
No Comments » - Posted in LIRR, MTA by peterfromportwashington
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007
Hotdog envy
You still have 20 minutes until the train boards, the chances of finding dinner at home are slim, and you’re hungrier than a bear at Yellowstone. For those of us who leave evenings from Penn Station, the Chernyobyl of transit dining, the refueling options fall somewhere between what’s slopped on a tray in Rikers and […]