NYC medical appt--NJ transit/CT Amtrak/stay in city?

[Acadie]

Hoping someone has ideas! Need to get to 5 E 98th St by 1 pm, Tues July 2. 

We're formerly intrepid travelers from Ohio, now Covid-cautious, budget-aware and kinda overwhelmed. I don't want to drive into the city. My first thought was to drive to NJ or CT, stay overnight and take the train, but hearing of recent delays and suspended service on NJ Transit and Amtrak I'm not sure. Dd21 absolutely needs to make this appt--she's waited since March. If I had to rank priorities, it would be:

1) Covid-cautious, we do have great masks

2) Dd absolutely needs to be there 7/2

3) Budget

4) Though I'm fine driving in Boston & Chicago, no way am I driving in NYC. Open to parking somewhere safe and taking the train in the night before. I'd love to hear from anyone whose family commutes and has a sense of things currently.

[Carrie12345]

I haven’t had to go into the city since pre-Covid, so I wasn’t going to respond, but I guess I will now, lol.

My go-to, and dh’s when he’s with me, is to park in Hoboken and hop the PATH. It looks like there’s a subway line that then goes straight up to 96th.

We’ve done early morning appointments that way, coming from PA. It isn’t as complex as it seems though, of course, aim to be early. You could stay just about anywhere in north Jersey the night before.

 

[KungFuPanda]

A friend spent a few days in NY just last week. They took the Amtrak in from Baltimore, then Ubered around the city. They did have a hotel since they stayed a week.  In your shoes I’d do a day trip. Even if the train is a little expensive, adding a hotel would cost more. I’d take an early train so I could get near the hospital several hours before the appointment. I’d plan food or an activity in the area if I found myself with a few hours to kill. I’d make sure we were in the hospital complex 1/2-2 hours ahead of time and just hang there until the appointment. Then we’d get dinner, Uber to the train station, and take a train back to Baltimore. 
 

It would be an exhausting day and we’d take the next day off to recover, but if the child is healthy enough to endure a day like that I’d do it. 

[MEmama]

We recently took the train into the city from New Haven, CT. There is tons of inexpensive parking at the main station and trains into NYC were really frequent. They go into Grand Central Station, so any connection you need to make from there will be simple.

https://new.mta.info/agency/metro-north-railroad

Best of luck. I know this must be stressful 

Edit Grand Central not Union. Someday I'll learn to drink my coffee before I type

Edited June 26 by MEmama

[Kuovonne]

I am an infrequent traveler to NYC. I’ve gone once a year the past three years. 
 

There are multiple “train” systems that service NYC. Here are the ones I know of. 
 

The Metro-North Railroad (MNR) connects NYC with areas north of the city, including Connecticut. Here is a map of the system. You are probably better off picking up the train at one of the cities marked with a white dot. 

 

If you use the MNR, get the MTA TrainTime app. It will show train times, tell you which track to go to, and let you buy tickets. 

The MNR will take you to Grand Central Terminal.
 

If you come from New Jersey, you can take the NJ Transit system. Here is a map of that system. 
https://content.njtransit.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/maps/RSM_Geographic_110123.pdf

Lines that service Newark Airport will likely have travelers to/from the airport, which might be an issue for you if you are trying to limit your exposure to germs from around the world.

The NJ Transit app has train times, tickets, etc.

The NJ Transit system will take you to New York Penn Station (not to be confused with the Newark Penn Station).

You can catch an Uber or taxi from either train station. Make sure you allow lots of time for the Uber. Traffic can be crazy slow in Manhattan.

[PeterPan]

Roll this back a minute. You want to go Ohio to NYC in the most virus free way possible? I've gotten covid on buses but never on an airplane. I would fly. The air flow/filtering on a train is not better than on an airplane and you'd be on the plane much less time. Pick your seats carefully, front of economy, behind the curtain for 1st class. Depending on your plane, you might be able to get a section with two people so no one beside you. Do a direct flight. Probably 90 minutes.

I've done a bunch of train travel since covid and haven't gotten covid doing it. But if I were taking my chances (4-6 hours on a train or 1-2 hours on a plane), I'd go plane. To me I'm more cautious with commuters and people at the end of their trips. 

And I agree, for driving plus train Baltimore would be an easy choice. I'd still fly. Time in the car is fatiguing and dehydrates you, which also affects the immune system. On the plane you could be extra cautious, not taking their drinks, wiping down your tray table and arm rests, etc. You can see the seat plans for a proposed flight to see what the layouts would be and whether you could get some isolation. I would take tasty cough drops and hand them to anyone sitting behind/around you who starts coughing. Seriously. If it's that important and done politely (and they taste good) it's fine. I got covid on a bus coming back Rome and this nasty human COUGHED AND COUGHED without even the decency to use a cough drop. We know the data. Even if you have it, if you just don't COUGH on people you're not spreading as much. So hand the people a cough drop really nicely. 

If you really really want the train, well I guess good luck. Less air flow. People a lower traffic time and wash your hands before you touch your face or eat. These viruses are not just airborne and eating without washing first is a super easy way to get sick. That's not paranoia, just my hard knocks personal data. With a train you're touching a lot of surfaces, which is more chance to inadvertently put it in you. 

Uber drivers can be sick too. People motivated to work go to work sick. In that case, you can roll the window down. I had a sick uber driver last trip, sigh. Again, hand a cough drop. That driver was polite and already had them and was using them and I did not get sick. 

[Kuovonne]

22 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

But if I were taking my chances (4-6 hours on a train or 1-2 hours on a plane), I'd go plane.

I think she is planning on driving most of the way, and then taking the train into the city to avoid having to drive and park in the city. Depending on the train, it might be only 20-40 minutes on a commuter train. And at non- peak hours, there may not be that many people on the train. Even with flying she would still have to deal with the Uber driver. 

[PeterPan]

Just now, Kuovonne said:

a commuter train.

Just pointing out the tradeoff. More surfaces, less airflow. You could go to all that hassle and still get sick. 

Ok, I pulled it up on the map. She could drive to the NJ side, take a hotel, and uber over that morning. Just start early, not a big deal, and that way you only have ONE person's germs you're dealing with. No extra surfaces, no train/metro, nothing. You could do the same thing flying into LaGuardia or JFK and the taking an uber to the hotel, uber to the appt. 

On a train you have more people and can't roll down the windows. Just thinking about the logic here. I've done the air train from EWR (a zoo, yuck) but I skip the NYC metro otherwise.

The river ferry is another terrific, safer option in NYC. It just doesn't really help her in this case. The only way it's interesting is if she flies in (LGA/JFK), ubers to a hotel near the river ferry dock, then takes it up. It's harder to river ferry from the NJ side around, lots of changes. If she wants a little fun after the appointment, the river ferry would be an option. It's particularly striking at night.

[PeterPan]

The traffic in NYC is way overblown. It's real, but it's just a big city. Allow a couple hours margin and twiddle your thumbs when you get there. You'll be fine. We stayed at a hotel near LGA and ubered right into downtown to make a cruise. Zero issues. 

[BeachGal]

We have stayed before in Tarrytown, NY, and then travelled to Grand Central Station on the Hudson Train Line. It was an easy commute. Took about an hour. You would be not too far from your destination.

Pam in CT might have some ideas, too. Maybe send her a message?

[Kuovonne]

10 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Just pointing out the tradeoff.

Totally fair. 

 

10 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

She could drive to the NJ side, take a hotel, and uber over that morning.

Sounds like a good choice.

 

10 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

the air train from EWR (a zoo, yuck)

Yeah, it gets very crowded. 

8 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

traffic in NYC is way overblown

Your mileage may vary. My Uber ride last night probably took twice as long as the app originally stated and I missed the beginning of my event. It may have been because I was crossing from the lower East side to the Upper West side. 

[PeterPan]

14 minutes ago, Kuovonne said:

Your mileage may vary. My Uber ride last night probably took twice as long as the app originally stated and I missed the beginning of my event. It may have been because I was crossing from the lower East side to the Upper West side. 

I would allow 2 hours extra margin. Show up, twiddle your thumbs. 

My ds is not one to do the metro, so we're always looking for the least people-y way to do things, lol. We've done NYC a bunch and not been late, but we do allow huge margins. We also walk rather than taking the metro. So like if she parked on the NJ side and had a ferry over, she could walk. As long as it's less than 2 miles, it might be fine. There are usually bakeries and tasty shops along the way. There's an unusual hot dog stand near there. 

I may be a lot about the food, lol. 

Edited June 26 by PeterPan

[PeterPan]

Oh foo, it says Papaya King closed!

My NYC google maps pins are mostly food. 🤣

Edited June 26 by PeterPan

[gingersmom]

I would stay/drive to Stamford,Connecticut 

Train is probably just under an hour and Uber (if necessary) should be about same amount of time and under $100.

[livetoread]

No specific advice, but the Rome 2 Rio website is great for figuring out public transportation.

https://www.rome2rio.com

[JennyD]

If you are comfortable driving in Boston, you will be just fine driving in NYC. IMO it is significantly easier to drive in NYC than it is in Boston. And it looks like Mt. Sinai has parking. 

If you are coming from Ohio, I'd drive to NJ the day before, stay overnight someplace reasonably near the GW bridge, and then just leave early that morning to drive into the city. (You could also stay near the Lincoln tunnel but I think it will be more straightforward to drive to your appointment from the bridge.) Park at the hospital and then as soon as the appointment is over you can drive home.  I don't know where you are in Ohio but you can probably make it without another overnight stop.

 

[FreyaO]

OK, I've been to this specific building several times. 

If you are driving from Ohio, the simplest way would be to take the 80 all the way, stay at Ft Lee and take an Uber to the hospital. It's not that far.

If you plan to use public transport, because the hospital is on the East side, CT is easier than NJ. When coming from New England,  we usually parked at Stamford, there is a huge and in the past cheap parking, and took the Metro North. Any other city on the way should work too. 

I'd take the Metro North to Grand Central and then the uptown 6 to 96th st, rather than train to 125th st and downtown 6. It'll be 10 min longer, but the 125th 6 train stop was sketchy at the good times. 

[Myra]

Also call the hospital/doctor's office and ask for suggestions.  Last January, Sloan-Kettering Hospital suggested a hotel right across the street that had discount rates for patients - $150 a night.  Since we were scheduled for 6:30 am surgery, we parked and took train from Tarrytown and spent the night at hotel.  Worked out great for us - less tension and worry.