The E and F Trains in Queens

Today’s topic is the Queens Boulevard express trains, the E and F trains. They run roughly across the borough along Northern and Queens Boulevards terminating in the neighborhood of Jamaica where subway service as a whole ends. As express trains, they are complimented by the M and R trains who act as local trains up to the neighborhood of Forest Hills and are supplemental to the Queens Branch of the LIRR City Terminal Zone which they run parallel to. Overall, these lines are some of the actually more useful, systematic, and well planned lines in the borough. Queens as a whole needs improvement in its subway system, but these two trains do a fairly decent job for borough residents residing in much of the urban stretch of it headed into Manhattan.

The E and F trains enter from Manhattan and Roosevelt Island on 44^th Drive and 41^st Avenue respectively. The F is the only train that stops on Roosevelt Island itself, and both the E and F enter the borough of Queens in the neighborhood of Long Island City joining roughly at Queensboro Plaza near the Federal Courthouse. After this point, the trains run along Northern Boulevard along with the M and R trains as express service making only 3 stops while the local trains make 13 stops in the same stretch to Forest Hills. Leaving Long Island City, the trains travel through Hunter’s Point, Astoria, Woodside, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, and Rego Park before reaching Forest Hills. At Forest Hills, the E and F continue to Jamaica while the M and R end. I shall describe the neighborhoods above on the blog dedicated to the M and R in Queens as they provide no service outside of those neighborhoods.

Leaving Forest Hills, the E and F go through Kew Gardens before reaching Jamaica where the E train continues to its terminus at Jamaica Center on Archer Avenue and the F train continues to 179^th street on Jamaica Avenue. The area traversed along Queens Boulevard up to Kew Gardens where they split is largely comprised of medium to tall condominiums and apartment buildings along Queens Boulevard which gradually shrinks to smaller residential buildings and single family homes further off the Boulevard. The side streets are a large contrast from the main streets as shown below because they resemble more of a small village in both their architecture and neighborhood feel. From the separation of the local trains, the area gradually becomes less densely populated along the route of both express trains and while remaining with an urban feel across the major avenues becomes more of a residential suburb off of the main avenues.

Jamaica where the trains terminate in is more of a region than a single neighborhood of varying sections. Several parts of Jamaica are comprised of large single family estates while several parts are comprised of a more rundown setting. To me, Jamaica represents the turning point of the mass transit system as the subways don’t just end there but the LIRR truly begins there. I’ve explained that in my blog regarding Jamaica Center but I emphasize it again in this one as the E and F trains both end here. The E and F trains terminate in a different manner, the E strategically ends at Jamaica Center while the F ends at an obscure street in an incomplete manner. There has been talk to expand the F past 179^th street, the E could be expanded but it can always be argued that the neighborhoods it would expand to have efficient LIRR service. Amongst subways, these are the fastest ways back into the City from Queens but given their more expensive, faster competetion in the LIRR which runs parallel to them, they are surely lacking in quality.

My conclusion about the E and F trains is that they are a more systematic and more strategic route than the other Queens bound subways but their incomplete service hurts them when being compared to the LIRR. Anything the E and F do, the LIRR can also do in Queens, it runs through the same neighborhoods, it runs parallel to their route off by a half mile at its furthest point, it is expensive but saves on time tremendously, and it finishes the route through the borough that the E and F do not. The E and F are best for passengers looking to briefly see parts of Queens Boulevard communities without going through the hassle of local trains. The subways are underground however adding to their demise in the greater scheme of things. To me, the trains would be better if expanded to the Cross Island Expressway, but as a non-Queens resident, my word will not dictate what the future is to come for these lines.

The Red Number Trains in Manhattan

Today’s posting is dedicated to the Red Number Lines in Manhattan, the 1, 2, and 3 trains. They traverse primarily on the West Side and Center of Manhattan in a zig zag manner varying their Avenue traveled upon in each section of the borough. They arguably the only lines that stretch the entire length of Manhattan going from South Ferry to Marble Hill. Overall, their ride uptown covers a more dependent area than that which is downtown due to their proximity to other trains in lower Manhattan. From Manhattan, they go into Brooklyn and Bronx much like their counterparts, the Green Number Lines which they ride alongside in the outer boroughs. Overall, the service from these trains takes a rider to a variety of areas and interest points in Manhattan and is frequent but less than fully reliably giving it a questionable grade amongst the Manhattan subway train families.

The 1 train begins at the Staten Island Ferry traveling on the West Side of the Wall Street financial district up Greenwich Street to West Broadway near the old World Trade Center site. The 2 and 3 trains enter from Brooklyn on the East Side of the Wall Street financial district. They travel along William Street turning west on Beekman Street up to West Broadway where they join the 1 train. Throughout Manhattan, the 1 acts as a local train while the 2 and 3 act as express trains while on route together at least. After traveling up West Broadway, the Red Letter Lines turn on Varick Street where they briefly enter Tribeca before going to West Village and Chelsea.  This area is comprised mostly of 3 to 6 story residential units with some commercial storefronts on the main streets. There are several bars, restaurants, and nightclubs in the area as it is known to attract a large partying crowd. Amongst residents, there is a large population of musicians, intellectuals, and other artistic sorts as this area of Manhattan is connected to NYU and Greenwich Village, both of which have historically attracted those types of people. The area is also home to a large Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered population as both neighborhoods are known for being important areas for the respective groups. As such, one can expect all these sorts to ride the Red Letter Lines in this area.

At Houston Street, the trains turn up 7^th Avenue and become known as the 7^th Avenue line up to Times Square. When traversing to Time Square, the trains approach Penn Station going through Midtown where the buildings gradually get taller. The area is largely commercial home to many businesses, restaurants, and other such venues. At 42^nd Street, the Red Number Lines turn up Broadway and head through Times Square to the Upper West Side. The Upper West Side is the entire area between Central Park, 59^th Street, the Hudson River, and Columbia University. It is a wealthy, trendy area known for its large secular Jewish community and left leaning political crowd. Unlike the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side attracts a younger crowd with more nightclubs, more shows, and Ivy League setting. The buildings are generally taller than those on the Upper East Side with most of them being over 8 stories tall. Attractions through Times Square and the Upper West Side include Columbus Circle, Lincoln Center, and Broadway itself, all of which are along the Red Number Lines. Up to 96^th Street, the trains remain together, after 96^th Street, the 1 train continues up Broadway while the 2 and 3 trains turn under Central Park.

The 1 train continues along Columbia University, the Morningside and Hamilton Heights area of West Harlem and into Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill, the Northernmost neighborhoods in Manhattan. The 1 train has the distinction of being the only train to go above ground in Manhattan, it does so first between 122^nd and 135^th Streets and later between 200^th Street and the Bronx border. The area traversed after the separation generally is on the downslope of an elevated section of Manhattan going to the bank of the Hudson River. The buildings are slightly taller at times up in this area of Manhattan many of which are residential units, some of which are wealthy, some of which are not so much. The 1 train also takes a passenger parallel to Riverside Drive which arguably has the view of the Hudson River and George Washington Bridge which approaches at 179^th Street. Above 155^th Street, the passengers enter into Washington Heights which is home to Fort Washington and Manhattan’s highest point of elevation, it is also the largest Dominican neighborhood in New York City. This was the home neighborhood of my roommate at Texas Tech University and is arguably the most known neighborhood to Americans of Dominican descent. Like Harlem below it Washington Heights has  a large share of urban problems unlike the rest of Manhattan. However, there is a charm to Washington Heights not found in the lower regions of the borough as Washington Heights represents the highest parts of the borough both from an elevation and geographically based perspective. The highest parts of Washington Heights are known as Inwood and Marble Hill, the later neighborhood appears to be across the Harlem River in Bronx. The 1 train runs along Broadway until crossing the A train at 168^th Street where it then follows St. Nicholas Avenue and 10^th Avenue into Bronx.

The 2 and 3 trains curve off of 96^th Street up to run along 104^th Street into Central Park before turning to run up Lenox Avenue across 110^th Street into Central or Black Harlem. This area is normally referred to as Harlem or Central Harlem but given that East part of Harlem is commonly called Spanish Harlem, I refer to this area as Black Harlem to differentiate between the African American and Puerto Rican sections of Harlem. I have also heard the Puerto Ricans refer to this section of Harlem as Black Harlem, so it is not a nickname I invented for the neighborhood. Black Harlem is New York City and quite possibly America’s most famous African American neighborhood with Lenox Avenue and 125^th Street being two of its most famous streets as pictured below. Over the years, it has often represented African American culture of the urban north in both its proudest and most problematic forms. It was once the most dangerous section of Manhattan and while it has significantly gentrified, it is still grittier than much of the rest of the borough. Much of Black Harlem is comprised of 4 to 8 story residential apartment buildings on the Avenues with Brownstones like that in Brooklyn on the numbered streets and Public Housing units located throughout the West Central, Southeastern, and far Northern reaches of the neighborhood. The 2 and 3 trains go up Lenox Avenue where the 3 turns off onto 148^th Street and terminates while the 2 crosses into the Bronx rejoining the 5 train as it does in Brooklyn.

In conclusion, the Red Number Lines provide necessary service on Manhattan’s west side in its topmost and bottommost regions, 7^th Avenue, Black Harlem and Broadway above Times Square. The trains touch a significant number of places that interest prospective visitors and are frequent but somehow feel at the same time lacking. The express service by the 2 and 3 trains doesn’t feel like express service on occasions as it has many local stops off of the shared service with the 1 train. The 1 train is Manhattan’s longest route in miles but is localized and thereby feels as if it takes forever. Whenever I have left Brooklyn to come into Manhattan on the 2 or 3, it seems they take longer than necessary to get to the shared line with the 1. Construction Service seems frequent and the late night service on these trains is inconsistent quite often. It services a large and diverse area of Manhattan but does so in a manner that is at times questionable. Its importance is too great for it to have the inconsistencies associated with it. For that reason, the Red Number Lines can be classified as one of Manhattan’s more slacking subways given that they service an attractive area but do so at far from an optimum performance.

The Green Number Trains in Manhattan

Today’s posting is dedicated to the Green Number Lines of Manhattan, the 4, 5, and 6 trains. As the 2^nd Avenue line is still under construction and political debate, the Green Number Lines provide the only North-South subway service in the borough east of 5^th Avenue.  The trains provide subway service to the East Side of Manhattan and all three lines run along the same tracks until leaving Manhattan. For this reason, the lines are heavily ridden and more frequent than other such lines throughout the borough. The 4 and 5 trains run as express trains above City Hall and local below City Hall while the 6 operates as a local above City Hall. Due to its demand and frequency, the Green Number Lines are probably Manhattan’s single most important subway family.

The 4 and 5 trains enter Manhattan near the Staten Island Ferry terminal at Bowling Green at the Southeastern Tip of Manhattan. They ride up through the financial district and wall street area along Broadway until reaching the Fulton Street Transit Center where they then turn along Park Row which is next to City Hall and the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. At this point, the 6 train begins service throughout the borough as the local train to the 4 and 5. Throughout the rest of the borough, the 6 makes 19 stops while the 4 and 5 only make 7 stops. The trains from City Hall run up Lafayette Street through the neighborhoods of Chinatown, Little Italy, and SoHo up to Houston Street. This section of Manhattan like I described in the posting dedicated to the J and Z trains is home to a large percentage of Lower Manhattan’s population with immigrant groups occupying midrise tenements followed by professionals occupying trendier lofts and 3 to 5 story houses. This area is also home to many retail stores, other centers of commerce, and NYU related businesses as the trains are in the vicinity of NYU and Greenwich Village.

At 14^th street-Union Square, the Green Number Lines cross paths with the Silver Letter Line and Yellow Letter Lines. At this point, the Green Number Lines turn up Park Avenue which they travel along until reaching Grand Central Station. This area traversed is largely comprised of taller structures, many of which are over 10 stories and on the street is home to many commercial centers, businesses and restaurants. There are some residential apartment units above the street level which are amongst the most expensive in the US given their desirable address on Park Avenue. The neighborhoods traversed up to Grand Central Station include Gramercy Park, Murray Hill, and Midtown East. At Grand Central Station, the trains turn one avenue east and travel up Lexington Avenue. The stop at Grand Central Station allows transfer to the Metro North Trains and Purple Number Lines headed to Westchester, Connecticut, and Queens. One can observe the Chrysler building when getting off at Grand Central Station which is pictured above. The area of Midtown East along Lexington Avenue is comprised of tall buildings, some of which are financial business centers and some of which are hotels. This occurs up to 59^th Street where the trains officially begin going Uptown.

After 59^th Street, the trains cross into the Upper East Side which is amongst Manhattan’s most expensive and reputable neighborhoods. People who I’ve met that work in the businesses located on the Upper East Side have told me they have encountered some of the wealthiest consumers possible. The Upper East Side consists of taller buildings much like the ones previously described on Park Avenue on the North-South Avenues and private homes on the East-West numbered streets off of the Avenues. As I understand it, the Upper East Side’s residents wealth is based more from Business occupations and trades while the wealth of the Upper West Side across Central Park is based more from Artistic occupations and trades. I understand there is also some of what is considered “Old Money” present throughout the Upper East Side. Several artistic places of interest including the Frick Center and Guggenheim Museum are present on the Upper East Side on 5^th Avenue while many other places of interest such as FAO Schwartz, the Plaza Hotel, various national consulates are present or nearby as well. The Upper East Side is bounded by Central Park and the East River up to East 96^th Street which is the dividing line between the Upper East Side and East Harlem.  The picture above is of the Avenues on the Upper East Side while the picture below is of a Street corner in East Harlem.

When looking at contrasting settings, East 96^th Street provides one of the most divisive boundaries in America, the Upper East Side is amongst Manhattan’s wealthiest neighborhoods while East Harlem is amongst Manhattan’s poorest neighborhoods. East Harlem is sometimes known as Spanish Harlem due to it’s place in Manhattan’s history as the main Puerto Rican neighborhood of the borough. It was previously known as Italian Harlem as it was the largest Italian neighborhood in Manhattan until migration from Puerto Rico changed the ethnic character of the neighborhood. East Harlem generally consists of mid to high rise buildings, some of which are residential homes, some of which are apartments, some of which are tenements, and some of which are public housing units. East Harlem is separated from Central or Black Harlem by 5^th Avenue which will be discussed when talking about the Red Number Lines. Overall East Harlem is the grittiest section of Harlem with higher concentrations of urban problems than the rest of Harlem or Manhattan itself for that matter. This is not to criticize those who reside within it but rather to illustrate to the prospective subway rider of what to expect if getting off on a Green Number Line station in Manhattan above 96^th Street. The Green Number Lines end in Manhattan at 125^th Street station and then split as they cross over into the Bronx.

Overall, the Green Number Lines traverse an extreme area of Manhattan in both wealth and poverty. They go through Manhattan’s poor to working class ethnic and immigrant communities, Manhattan’s wealthiest neighborhoods, Manhattan’s most well known shopping Avenues, and several other places of interest. This subway line was made famous by the 1974 film The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and is frequently shown in other major films set on the East Side of Manhattan as well. As the trains service all of Manhattan East of 5^th Avenue, they are very crowded but at the same time very frequent. One can often catch any one of the trains every 5 minutes at least when using this line. These lines to me are also the biggest reason for going forward on the 2^nd Avenue line which is still incomplete. I personally am for the 2^nd Avenue line being complete at some point in the future but I believe other subways should be built in the outer boroughs first. Until the 2^nd Avenue line is built however, the Green Number Lines will continue to be used at the rate it is in Manhattan at least. I enjoy the express trains of this line as they get me to Yankee Stadium from Brooklyn rather quickly. Again, due to the area served and frequency of trains, it is safe to say that no other set of tracks controls so much of Manhattan at once. For that reason the Green Letter Line trains are arguably the single most important family of trains in Manhattan.

Defense Weapons

Today’s subject is defense weapons, ones that you can use to defend yourself on the subway that cops cannot easily confiscate. The reason we need to have them available is because in New York with political leaders like Senator Schmuck Schumer, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, and the first HeShe Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, there is a universal belief that anyone carrying weapons is bad and a criminal. This has as an unintended consequence, that is that when perpetrators who don’t obey the law are armed, the law abiding victims are unarmed and thereby easier to rob. Like infamous mafia snitch Sammy Gravano once said, criminals prefer gun control so that they can rob people easier. Regardless of gun politics, this writing is dedicated to maneuvering through the weapons mandates by giving prospective riders an idea of what plain site things they can carry that can likely keep subway thieves away.

The first item we are going to talk about is the short stick, if you go to a hardware or household store and buy an item like a broomstick or a plunger, you can cut a piece of wood that is preferably 8 to 15 inches in length and carry it at an angle in a laptop bag. This gets through metal detectors and doesn’t intentionally appear as something that is a weapon and most importantly sends a message to prospective perpetrators, it looks like a police stick. We all know that criminals fear police billy clubs so by carrying something like this which is functional as a solid swingable stick, you can fan off prospective perpetrators threatening them with the Rodney King treatment if they move closer.

The second item we are going to talk about is a metal hammer. The hammer is good because it is a construction tool that does not have a razor sharp edge. It swings easily, its front side can leave compression marks that can crack a perp’s skull and the back side’s nail pull can pierce a perp’s skin. When carrying a hammer, if a cop stops you, you can always argue that you are going to do a job on a house and odds are they will likely let you keep walking. The other beautiful thing about a hammer is it can fit up the sleave of a coat jacket and its wide end when positioned near the arm cuff will anchor into your jacket. This allows for instant access if a given thief approaches you on the subway. It swings easily, both sides do damage, and perps will likely run from it, if they don’t you get to hospitalize them, you make them sorry for being a criminal because most criminals only learn from being brutalized and violated the hard way.

The third and final item we are going to talk about is the baseball jersey gloves and bat. Baseball bats are popular in New York both because we love our baseball teams and because the cops go apeshit seeing anyone with guns and/or knives. If you are going through a questionable area on the subway, dress in any baseball clothes you have and carry a bat with you in plain site. Doing this makes you appear to be going to be play baseball when in reality you are carrying a weapon to fuck up any thieves who want to approach you. If any criminals approach you when they see your baseball bat, it says one thing, they want to be beaten to death, grant them the wish up to the point where they back off of you. The reason you cannot waste the worthless piece of shit who tries robbing you is because in New York City juries, it is unfortunate that people who kill in self defense are treated with the same respect that cold blooded killers are treated with. However witnesses tend not to be as sympathetic to the subway criminals’ civil rights as the prosecutors are. That being said if other passengers see a mugger approach you and then see you attack the mugger with a weapon, the other passengers will likely testify on your behalf.

All this being said, one can use these items which appear nonthreatening until swung against a man trying to rob you. Its unfortunate that from Bernard Goetz, the city decided to make gun access for ordinary citizens who ride in fear on the subway harder than easier. Whatever you do, do not rely on police for these reasons- the cops assigned to the transit bureau are the flunkees who couldn’t make it on the real street, they barely recover your stolen property, your description of the perpetrator likely wont be exacting, they could be on the take getting money from perpetrators, they wont respond within one minute of your call, you could be underground and unable to call them on a cell phone, and a lot can happen in that time period. Do what you can with these items, don’t listen to the flawed logic of upper class communists who make the laws but don’t live in the neighborhoods where people are often victimized and cannot legally defend themselves. The best of luck to you using these, most witnesses will come out in your favor as long as you use them for defense only, a gun or knife not so much. 

Survival Tips

Today’s topic is dedicated to survival tips for riding the subway. Over the years, the subway has been stereotyped both in and outside of New York for being dirty and dangerous, much of that has changed, but much of that is also true. Through this posting, I will show a prospective rider things to look for when riding a subway train to make their ride easier. As a veteran subway rider, I have ridden trains in the best neighborhoods, in the worst neighborhoods, in the middle of the night and the middle of the day, Ive ridden it at all hours. a mugging has been attempted on me, and people have mistaken me for being a prospective mugger or mentally irregular passenger as well, so knowing all of this, I share with you some various knowledge.

The thing we have posted above is a picture of a dirtied graffitied car. This is significant because when one sees one of these, it is a good indicator that the train probably goes through a more unsavory neighborhood. The graffiti is nothing like it was before I was born, entire subway cars are not painted over largely due to the crack downs enforced under Rudy Giuliani’s administration. I personally like the older graffiti that covered an entire subway car because it required real artists to cover the whole thing, markings like this above to me merely are ugly warning signs. Granted more of these cars are present in Brooklyn and Bronx but that’s not to say they wont go through Manhattan or Queens as well. The point of this discussion is merely to illustrate that the more you see markings like these, the more likely the train is to go through a rougher neighborhood.

The next thing I’d like to discuss is whats above, a video of a near empty car. This is significant because on this particular train ride, someone tried to rob me. My guess is because since I was on a car with nearly no one on it that I was isolated and fewer witnesses would be present. A thing I can recommend for passengers is to when on empty cars try not to sit alone as much as that can be done. I say this because isolated people with valuables or who look alone will be targeted if an unsavory looking individual comes on the subway with intent to rob. I was particularly targeted for my cell phone on the J train, I managed to mend off the guy trying to rob me as I made it clear if things went any further, I would strike back with force. I should’ve in retrospect beaten the guy halfway to death as I knew I could’ve taken him but my first instincts were to avoid conflict and protect my property, not so much to defend my pride, this was a mistake on my part. Fortunately I was able to fend the perpetrator off, they got off at the next stop, I stayed on. Other riders might not be as lucky, if a perpetrator tries to come at you, defend yourself to the best of your ability, do not rely on other passengers, do not rely on police, and if you can move closer to a crowded part of the subway. Moving closer to the crowd doesn’t always say retreat, it says you are going where a crowd exists, it tells the prospective criminal that there will be witnesses to any action they attempt on you.

A way to profile passengers on the subway, both good and bad is to look for things in them. You can identify bad passengers by looking to see if they are acting erratically or moving towards you in a suspicious manner. If you are on a relatively empty car, you could be in fact targeted if someone is doing these things. You can identify non-threatening regular commuting passengers by looking for people with their children or other family members, people carrying groceries or other shopping items, or people who are in work clothes (work badge, company uniform, tie, tools, etc). Do not assume nothing can happen to you in the daylight and do not assume bad things only happen on the subway after dark. I was once on a subway in the Bronx after dark because I was passed out from drinking too much and stayed on the train two hours longer than I should have. Nothing happened to me because I was on a crowded train of people coming home from work. The mugging attempt against me happened in Brooklyn on an above ground train in daylight, it happened because the thief saw my phone and thought he could take it from me on an empty train.

If lost on the subway, and you need help finding a particular station, ask one of the above listed good passengers for help. Do not ask anyone in the above listed picture for help, they are tourists as indicated by the map and the luggage who don’t know where they are going. Keep in mind the area you are going to, ask passengers who you hypothesize as locals for help, don’t ask anyone who looks like they are not from the area. Do not ask people with non-New York accents, do not ask people wearing shirts of places that are outside NYC, do not ask people who are reading maps. If passengers are going to work and you can tell, then you can ask them about the line if they appear to at least work somewhere there (ask a expensive suit wearing individual on a train going to wall street for example), but if they appear lost or appear not to be from the area at large, you are wasting your time to ask.

So in conclusion, I can say this, glance at a map when waiting on a train briefly, read the lines on the transfer stops briefly, ask for directions from people who appear to know the area (use your judgement in determining that), do not display large valuables or items that could attract potential thieves. Most robberies are committed unarmed and over items which turn out to be of misdeameanor value (less than $500 if I am not mistaken). Do not carry obvious weapons (no guns or knives, but perhaps a work tool if you know how to use it) on a subway unless you have a permit or license to do so, in New York City, the fascists in City Hall have made it nearly impossible to get the necessary certification. Hold your ground to the best of your ability if you find yourself the victim of a robbery and start moving towards a crowded section of the train because the good passengers on the train will do what they can to assist you and any thief with half a brain knows witnesses mean jail time. Appear to be as street smart as you possibly are, that reduces your risk of being a target. Similarly, ignore the passengers who appear not to be street or what subway smart about New York and the train you are riding. If you have a phone that allows the downloading of the NYCMate application, get it no questions asked, I’ll explain the ins and outs of it on another posting.

The J and Z Trains

Today’s topic is the J and Z trains which run roughly between Wall Street and Jamaica Center. As the trains do minimal work in Manhattan and Queens, I am dedicating this posting to their entire line in all three boroughs it traverses. The J and Z trains are the trains that comprise the Brown Letter Line family, the J is the local version while the Z is the express version only running in the peak direction during peak morning and afternoon hours only. Traversing Wall Street, the Williamsburg Bridge, Broadway Junction, and Jamaica Center amongst other places, the trains are very significant in New York’s subway system going through a variety of neighborhoods and places.

In Manhattan, the trains start at Broad Street which is in the financial district near Wall Street. After leaving this area, it goes underneath City Hall and into Chinatown, the Bowery, and the Lower East Side. While the ride through Manhattan is short, comprising only 6 of the 30 stops, it is significant crossing areas of Lower Manhattan that are historic and reputable. In the opening movement through the financial district, the J and Z trains pass a heavy commercial area that is headquarters to many of the largest financial institutions worldwide. One can walk to those and additional subway lines which converge in Lower Manhattan. The area’s architecture was greatly influenced by the World Trade Center’s twin towers which are no longer present. Leaving this area, the trains approach City Hall which sits at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge just below the neighborhoods of Chinatown and the Lower East Side which they cross into. This area of Manhattan is home both currently and historically to working class immigrant communities with its buildings being generally 4 to 10 story attached tenements across small narrow streets. There is some commercial and industrial usage inside the buildings, some of which is at street level on the lower levels but is primarily residential. The boundaries of this area unlike other parts of Manhattan have changed frequently in large part due to the expansion of Chinatown. Formerly Italian and Jewish sections of this part of New York have been overtaken by this expansion while other areas have been overtaken by gentrification due to Manhattan’s constant residential demands. Generally speaking, the entire Lower East Side region (not the L.E. neighborhood alone) sits below Houston and Delancey Streets and is served by the J and Z trains below ground en route to Brooklyn.

The J and Z trains cross into Brooklyn across the Williamsburg Bridge where they remain above ground on Broadway of Brooklyn. Brooklyn is by far the most used branch of the service with 18 of the 30 subway stations. The M train runs alongside the two up to Myrtle Avenue where it turns off to Middle Village in Queens. The trains first come into Williamsburg where they separate the predominantly Jewish South Williamsburg from the hipster sections above the tracks. In a way Williamsburg as a whole mirrors the Lower East Side of Manhattan, both are connected by the Williamsburg Bridge and the J and Z trains, both are historically immigrant communities, both are currently in high demand for artistic sorts such as hipsters, musicians, and painters, both of are of special importance to their borough’s Jewish and Puerto Rican histories, and both are located near the East River and Downtown regions of their borough. The train then moves into divide Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick before reaching Broadway Junction and turning through East New York to go into Queens. The area served by the J and Z train in Brooklyn primarily consists of commercial districts on Broadway below the tracks, and residential areas with some industrial centers off of the tracks. The residential areas are comprised of a mixture of 3 to 6 story high Brownstones, 8 to 12 story high apartment buildings and public housing units varying from 2 to more than 12 stories high. The industrial areas are more common towards the East River but occur on occasion through the other neighborhoods traversed. Overall the section of Brooklyn traversed is somewhat gritty but is vital to the urban history of the borough. I have previously discussed Bedford Stuyvesant in the posting dedicated to the A/C trains and will save a discussion for the neighborhood of Bushwick in the M train posting and the neighborhood of East New York in the 3/4 train posting as we move on to discuss Queens.

The area of Queens served is rather short and residential with only 7 of the 30 stops. The neighborhood entered is Woodhaven which along with Ridgewood, Middle Village, and Howard Beach provide a direct border to Brooklyn with no physical boundary. Woodhaven appears more like Brooklyn than Queens with attached buildings, and less of a suburban feel with more densely populated neighborhoods right off of the trains. After leaving Woodhaven, the J and Z trains goes into the neighborhood of Richmond Hill before going underground again right before the end of the line at Jamaica Center. The remainder of the ride outside of Woodhaven takes place in a mixed industrial/commercial area with more detached housing further from the tracks found throughout the rest of Queens. Throughout Queens, the J and Z trains follow primarily along Jamaica Avenue above ground and Archer Avenue below ground. Ending at Jamaica Center and previously stopping at Broadway Junction, the J and Z trains allow transfers to several other Queens based public transit systems. While the route in Queens is short, it is useful as it allows a rider to take a train that goes back into Manhattan without making a circle through Brooklyn going directly across Brooklyn and into Manhattan. Because of where they intersect and allow transfers to, many of the Queens bound passengers on the J and Z trains are often able to easily access the LIRR and JFK International airport and use the two trains accordingly.

During the Reagan-Bush Years, an emerging rapper from Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Marcy Projects located near these lines named himself after them and now he is known worldwide as amongst the best ever (It’s Jay-Z if you haven’t figured it out). That just goes to show a traveler part of the influence that these two lines have. Overall, the J and Z trains are important to ride due to the neighborhoods traversed, the direct layout allowing easy access to Queens, Brooklyn, and Lower Manhattan, and the transfer points along the lines. The trains are a direct link that give a passenger an incredible view of the area viewed and run in a reliable and frequent manner. Because the lines have also influenced the growth of the communities directly across from Manhattan, their presence has been continually important. The two trains are two of the most underrated lines in the city for all of these reasons. As such, to truly see New York, the J and Z trains must be ridden by a prospective rider. 

The B and Q Trains in Brooklyn

Today’s trains discussed are the B and Q Trains in Brooklyn, two different trains of two different color lines that join forces throughout Brooklyn. The B and Q enter Brooklyn in a brief and parallel manner before joining at Atlantic Terminal before riding all the way down to Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue. Throughout the borough, the two trains are unique in being probably the only trains that spend an equal fraction of their trip below ground and above ground. Below Flatbush Avenue, the trains represent an Eastern boundary of the subway line in Brooklyn. As the only trains in the area along their respective route, more commuters depend on the B and Q trains as the option of choice is limited. For these reasons, the B/Q trains are a different yet meaningful branch of the Brooklyn subways.

The B and Q trains do nothing together in any other borough but enter into Brooklyn in a similar fashion across the Manhattan Bridge. Once in Brooklyn, the two trains run roughly parallel to Flatbush Avenue underground in the Downtown area before arriving on the North Side of Atlantic Terminal. Once at Atlantic, the two trains join and ride with the Numbered Lines on Flatbush Avenue. The Numbered Lines turn off at Eastern Parkway while the B and Q trains turn off at the start of Ocean Avenue on Prospect Park’s Eastern Boundary. The B and Q come above ground in a trenched manner at this split. As the only trains on the park’s east side, the B and Q are a preferred branch for both residents and non-residents alike who look to enjoy Prospect Park. At this station there is also a shuttle subway service, the S line that allows one to connect with the Numbered or Broadway Junction bound trains.

The trains remain above ground but in a trench traveling halfway between Ocean Avenue and Coney Island Avenue. They remain entrenched until reaching the Newkirk Avenue station where they become an elevated train. The area traversed while the train is entrenched is known as Flatbush, one of Central Brooklyn’s most famous neighborhoods. Flatbush over the years has probably been one of the more overall representative neighborhoods of the entire borough. I will save Flatbush’s description for the posting on the 2 and 5 trains which end there. Once completely above ground after Newkirk Avenue, the B and Q trains enter Midwood which is roughly halfway between Prospect Park and Coney Island. Midwood is sometimes considered an extension of Flatbush and is a middle to upper middle class community comprised primarily of larger detached homes outside of Coney Island and Ocean Avenues and apartment buildings or commercial districts between Coney Island Avenue, Ocean Avenue, and the B and Q trains. The trains travel through Midwood and into Sheepshead Bay, a residential community near the subway and a popular boating area off the tracks near Emmons Avenue. The housing is moderately sized primarily consisting of attached and detached single family homes with occassional apartment buildings. The trains then leave Sheepshead Bay crossing onto Coney Island arriving in Brighton Beach before terminating (the B ends at Brighton Beach, the Q goes to Stillwell Avenue Terminal).

These neighborhoods traversed are the Eastern most neighborhoods in Southern Brooklyn serviced by subways as the B and Q are the Eastern most lines. For the most part, the train ride feels more like a Queens subway ride than a Brooklyn subway ride when comparing to the other trains in Brooklyn. I say this because the B and Q go through an area where the architecture is more resembling of Queens with detached housing, a finer separation of commercial and residential areas, and most importantly a larger area that is dependent on this particular subway branch. In Brooklyn one’s idea of a subway ride is going above a given avenue in a mixed commercial/industrial strip surrounded by densely populated attached residential housing. I say this because that is the impression one gets on all the other above ground trains in Brooklyn with the exception of the B and Q. The B and Q trains are also very local lines as express service has been eliminated due to budget concerns (I believe the Q used to be the express train here). Because of this, one can expect the B and Q to be rather crowded as people from the nearby neighborhoods of Mill Basin, Marine Park, Gerritsen, Flatlands, and Manhattan Beach require the trains as they are east of the lines and have no subway service at all. 

My personal recommendation and opinion for the B and Q trains is for a passenger not to ride them if attempting to go to Coney Island as they are a very local and crowded set of trains. Granted, I am not one of the South Central or Southeastern Brooklyn residents who is dependent upon the service and thereby don’t use the it on a daily basis but I can see from their layout and route that they are tedious to say the least. Additionally, the area served is comprised of nice communities but they resemble Queens more than they do Brooklyn. For that reason, one will not get the truest picture of the borough riding the trains. As far as tourism is concerned, aside from Coney Island and the boating possibilities at Sheepshead Bay, a passenger will find the area to be rather disappointing as it has the feel of a suburb. I am not however recommending that the B and Q are useless or less useful trains, they are very useful, an entire region of Brooklyn depends on them. Until the subways can be extended in this region of Brooklyn, these trains will continue to be useful and have a purpose.