Ascent Into Madness: May 2012

One advantage of moving to Mid-town Manhattan is getting away from the R train…

For the last year and a half I’ve lived close to the R train. At my first apartment in Sunset Park, the closest subway train was the R local train, with a little bit of a walk up to the N express.

Then at my second apartment, in Park Slope, I was close to a station with the F, G and R trains, all local trains, and the G not even going anywhere interesting or useful to me. Whenever I had to go somewhere useful, whether work in the morning, the bank for something, or to a specific shop, it was always the R train that took me where I needed to go. The F was only for free time entertainment, never for any chores or tasks (F is for fun!).

Over the year and a half, though, I’ve gotten frustrated with the R train. I think if you average out the wait times on a per-trip basis, I’ve probably waited more for the R train than any other train. Whenever I need it, it’s the one I’ve been most likely to wait the longest for on the most frequent basis. I’ve spent more time standing on one or another R platform, staring down the length at empty tracks than I have for any other train, usually watching multiple express trains fly by on other tracks…

But now, moving to West 49th Street, there’s almost all the subway trains, except the G, J and Z trains not very far away. The nearest stations, on 49th and 50th Streets are still local trains, but it’s easy to get express trains without going far. There’s the B and D express trains available at 49th Street & 6th Avenue under Rockefeller Center, or a short walk down to the Times Square – 42nd Street station (with entrances as far up as 44th Street & 8th Avenue) gives me access to nearly half of the subway lines.

Grand Central Terminal isn't very far, and it's a pleasant walk to a station to get the east side trains.

Overall, my new location in Hell's Kitchen gives me much more freedom to go everywhere in New York City.