Advice for 6 hour layover in NYC?

[Dover]

My girlfriend is going to be laid over at JFK for several hours and really wanted to take in one of the botanical gardens. She doesn't know which one is best, or how to get there. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[aquart]

1. Six hours to get from Queens to the end of the Bronx? And back?

Is she quite mad? Does she comprehend the meaning of TRAFFIC? Does she have a trust fund for the cabbie? Is she hiring a helicopter?

Tell her to buy a nice fat book and settle in. There is NOTHING around JFK except two-hour motels.

[Dover]

2. Isn't there a closer botanical garden in Brooklyn? If so, would

that be easier? I imagine she would take a cab. Don't have any idea how much that would cost or how long it would take...nor does she. She really wants to see SOMETHING, being so close.

[aquart]

3. A cab? "I imagine she would take a cab." Dear Lord.

She's never been to New York, I take it? Has not one friend who could pick her up and give her a short tour?

And botanical gardens in winter are not the most interesting place to be. There's a pathetic one in Queens.

As for Brooklyn......I would laugh were it not so tragic. Not all cabs return from Brooklyn. And I'll bet you think I'm kidding. People can be lost there for days, weeks, months. And she wants to do it on a meter????

As to the delusion that she is "close" to New York because she's in a JFK terminal, well, yeah, if she's a pigeon.

You really think it's a good idea for a stranger to the city to get into a vehicle with another stranger and go to a destination she's never seen before? With no one expecting her arrival?

I will never be that altruistic again.

[Dover]

4. Wow, aquart. Do you ever leave your house?

I appreciate you answering my question but why so negative and fearful?

The first time I visited NYC (alone BTW) I missed my subway stop and ended up in Harlem at night. I was most graciously escorted to the other side of the street to catch the subway back in the other direction. I never had the slightest fear or a major incident in NYC and everyone was pretty wonderful. A few jerks, but every town has 'em. It's not like this woman friend is naive. She's a world traveler. She's just never been into NYC and I don't know enough to help her.
I encourage you to rediscover and trust life a bit more. Gotta live, eh?

[aquart]

5. Harlem is in Manhattan.

You are proposing taxi rides to the outer reaches of Brooklyn and the Bronx and back in less than six hours. Ho, ho, ho.

Are some taxi drivers saints? YES! Met them. But some troll the airports just to scam tourists and we regularly haul them into court. I also know girls who have had other problems with cab drivers. I repeat: a girl in a strange town traveling she knows not where with a total stranger and no one expecting her at any certain time? Good luck with that.

I have lived in New York City all my life. I have been mugged four times, three of them in Brooklyn. A girl alone is prey.

I'm glad your friend is a fearless world traveler. I had a professor like that. I believe they found his body under a bush in Sumatra. The guide told him: "Don't go out alone."

[Fredda Weinberg]

6. I'd take a bus

A cab from JFK to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens would be quick and very pleasant, but there's a bus that'll take you within walking distance of Prospect Park right from the airport. Take the Airtran to Lefferts Blvd and look for the B15 stop to East New York. If you don't want to talk, transfer at Dean St to the B43 (ask the driver; they'll announce the stop on request) and you'll have a scenic ride along Empire Boulevard one block south of the garden.

At $2, it's a bargain worth the trip.

[Dover]

7. Thanks for that bus info. What a deal! Any idea how long it would take

including the walk to the gardens from the bus stop? Time will be a factor, I'm sure.

[Fredda Weinberg]

9. The schedule says drive time is 60 mins

A taxi can't do much better. Once you get into the hood, the speed limit is 25 MPH.

The variable is time of day. This route is for the workers at the airport, so it runs all hours, but concentrates on 8-10 AM and 4-6 PM. Buses can be caught every 10 mins or so, there's a published schedule at

http://www.mta.info/nyct/bus/schedule/bkln/b015cur.pdf

The transfer bus' schedule will look about the same. When you have so many, you don't worry about missing anything unless it's the wee hours.

So if it's a 6 hour tour, you've got a brisk, scenic ride there (Leffert's Blvd is the last stop in the airport ... I prefer Airtran to get to a strategic bus stop. The bus will whiz down the Belt Parkway's Conduit Avenue to the heart of Brooklyn. Ask and the driver will point out where you can pick up the transfer to the garden, or the distance is short enuf to walk if you aren't lugging.

If you need a number for directions, I'll share my cell privately. Let me know. Have a happy excursion.

[Dover]

10. How sweet of you! Thanks so much.

I've passed this on to my friend and will see what she decides to do. And I'll let her know you graciously offered your phone number just in case. As I said in the previous post, I've always found New Yorkers to be very considerate and helpful.

[nedbal]

8. for years I commuted from the far side of JFK at 2 pm ..............

on a route that for a change would take me past the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. I say to get there via yellow cab estimate 40 minuets to the front gate, to get back, catching a yellow or car service and JFK security estimate 2 hours + to be safe , guess $100 for the round trip. I say don't bother.

A safe excursion out of JFK for under 3 hours would be take a shuttle bus to LGA catch a glimpse of the old worlds fair globe, shea stadium and part of Queens, guess $40 round trip, Never seen the ocean/beach ?, take a cab to rockaway beach , guess $100 round trip

[Dover]

11. Thanks, I'll pass that on too. But she seemed determined to go to a botanical garden, if anything.

I don't know if she'll go to the expense if the ride will cost that much. But she may take the bus.
I hope the Brooklyn gardens are nice, if she decides to go to the trouble/expense.
When you say security are you talking about luggage/body scan lines at the entrance to the departure gates, or is there some other layer of security? If so, I don't think her travel agent mentioned it to her. It is important for non-city folks to remember that just because a map shows that something is only ten miles away, that ten miles can go very very slowly.

[nedbal]

13. I wrote the following, did a refresh before I posted and saw brooklynite's answer (post 12)..........

which does seem the best time/cost answer


The JFK security is the luggage/body scan lines at the entrance to the departure gates, I estimated a max of 30 minuets for that , it could be much less. There is no other layer when JFK is running smoothly. Most of the extra return time I left for getting the cab / taxi at the gardens. At JFK they are lined up at the curb waiting.


I looked at the B15 bus map recommended above. The 60+ minuets appear to be for the B15 portion only, that's half the trip and the B43 connection does take her away from a possible more direct route I would look at the B15 connections around Ralph Av & Eastern Pkwy for bus / Subway Connections. At this point I estimate she would have covered 50% of the distance.

consider taking the airtrain for it's full length and catching the LIRR commuter train to Flatbush Ave , At this point she would be about 80% of the way there, this leg could take 30 minuets to an hour each way depending on the connections at a cost of about $20 round trip for this leg.
http://www.airtrainjfk.com/airtrain/

[brooklynite]

12. Here's the easy answer...

As long as she has four hours or more, she should be fine. Have her take the AIRTRAIN from the terminal to the Howard Beach subway station (about 10 min). From there transfer to the A subway line into Brooklyn. If the train is running express (get off at NOSTRAND AVE and transfer to the C local train (it the A is running local, just stay on one additional stop). Go one stop to Franklin Ave and transfer to the Franklin Ave shuttle, which will take you to the BOTANIC GARDEN station. (The subway trip should be about a half hour) The Brooklyn Botanical Garden is two blocks west, next to the Brooklyn Museum.

nb - when returning to the Airport, make sure you get on an A Train that says FAR ROCKAWAY, not LEFFERTS BLVD.

Airtrain information
MTA Subway Information
Brooklyn Botanical Garden

[Dover]

14. sounds like a GREAT solution! Thank you SOOOO much.

And thanks for the links too!

[Some Jerk]

15. Brooklyn

I second the Airtrain to the A-train recommendation. The Botanic Gardens are supposed to be nice, and the Brooklyn Museum is very close on Eastern Parkway. If she likes architecture, she should walk thru the Park to Grand Army Plaza. The Brooklyn central library is there, and its a huge Depression-era gem. BTW, don't listen to that guy preachin doom and gloom. I lived in Bed-Stuy (do or die) for more than a year, and never got hassled.