2ND & WRONG
Bill shuns new train, but B’klyn trip is easy
MAYOR DE BLASIO says it’s not convenient for him to take the subway to the gym or to work — but he should give it a try. It’s not a bad ride.
While the new Second Ave. subway is making the morning commute smoother for thousands of New Yorkers, de Blasio this week turned up his nose at the idea he’d take the train to his work and workouts. He said he’d stick with his taxpayer-funded NYPD SUV to get around.
“Someone at the Second Ave. subway opening was asking me if I would take that subway line to work, and I did not have an opportunity to tell that individual to think about the route to Brooklyn, then to City Hall,” de Blasio told reporters Monday at an unrelated press conference.
As a carless, full-time general assignment reporter for the Daily News, I spend a lot of my time on the subway — and know the route is a simple and pretty quick one.
After hearing his remarks, I decided to test the trek from Gracie Mansion on E. 88th St. near East End Ave., in Manhattan, to the Prospect Park Y, in Brooklyn, and then on to City Hall to see just how convenient and quick it is.
The walk from the gates of Gracie Mansion to the Second Ave.-86th St. station — just a hop, skip, and a jump over First Ave. — took 11 minutes.
After an eight-minute wait for my train that I used to peruse Chuck Close’s mosaic portraits, which embellish the walls of the new station, I hopped on a downtown Q to Lexington Ave.-63rd St., where I transferred to a Coney Island-bound F train.
I used my 36-minute commute to Brooklyn to read Commissioner James O’Neill’s Op-Ed cover story for the Daily News, and catch up on work emails — with Wi-Fi now successfully installed in 278 stations throughout the city, I had no excuse.
When I arrived at the Seventh Ave. station in Park Slope, I strolled a block and a half to the mayor’s gym, which took six minutes, and walked into the Prospect Park Y exactly an hour after I had left Hizzoner’s Upper East Side digs.
After hitting the Y, I made my way to the R train on Fourth Ave. near Ninth St., where I waited 10 minutes for a train to City Hall.
The 20-minute trip into lower Manhattan would be just enough time for the mayor to finish the paper, guzzle a coffee from his favorite cafe, Colson Patisserie, and get focused on the day ahead.
It might not be a plush trip in a swanky SUV, but it’s not a bad way to get around, Mr. Mayor. You should try it some time.