NYT event listing for Children's Museum, Nov 2003

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

ACCESSING THE REGION: LONG ISLAND Long Island Rail Road and AirTrain Long Island is served by one of the most extensive networks of commuter rail in the world. The Long Island Rail Road system includes 124 stations serving 290,000 people each weekday. To reach Lower Manhattan, however. Long Island commuters are faced with a set of equally incon­ venient options. The first is through Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn to a Lower Manhattan bound subway. Some commuters have direct service from Long Island to Atlantic Terminal, though a significant number do not. Those riders must switch at Jamaica for Atlantic Terminal­ bound LIRR trains, and switch again for the subway to downtown. The subway connection at Atlantic Terminal is difficult to navigate, and the subway ride to Lower Manhattan is crowded during rush hours.

The other alternative is to take LIRR directly to Penn Station in Midtown and switch for a downtown subway line. This is a less direct route but does not require a second transfer. On the other hand, it contributes to crowding at Penn Station, which is already the most heavily used train station in the country.

New transportation infrastructure that would improve access to Lower Manhattan from Long Island would significantly bolster Lower Manhattan's competitiveness as a business center. See Chapter 2 for a description of potential Long Island service enhancements (coupled with JFK Airport access).

ACCESSING THE REGION: FERRY SERFICE Over the past year and a half, ferries have proven invaluable in accommodating the needs of commuters from New Jersey who previously relied on PATH service. Ferries' role in the recov­ ery from September 11th augmented their already important role in the Lower Manhattan trans­ portation network. Enhancing and expanding ferry service is a key means of linking Lower Manhattan to the region. They are a sensible and viable option for a number of reasons: ferries require minimal capital investment relative to other forms of mass transit, new service can be implemented relatively quickly, and they are particularly suited to Lower Manhattan, where the shoreline is within convenient walking distance of a significant portion of the business district. Already, the private ferry fleet operating in New York Harbor is the largest in the United States, with Lower Manhattan being the prime destination. While the majority of ferry routes serve the

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