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Quick question - I live on Washington Ave, and I'm joining the co-op on Union. At night, is it safest to walk back down Union to Eastern, or is it ok to walk over to Flatbush and down Park? I never really walk by myself at night (I'm a girl in my 20's) so I'm wondering without my husband/friends, what the way to go is? Thanks!
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The longer route (Union, EP) puts you at more danger from cars, and the shorter route (7,Park) puts you at more danger from people. The risk in both cases is small. You pays your money and you takes your choice.The world will little note nor long remember what we say here. -- Abraham Lincoln
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I'm not female, but I'd go with Eastern, as a result of the doorman buildings and lots of foot traffic. Feel free to pet my dog, he's friendly. We are out every night.For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor.
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doctorj » The longer route (Union, EP) puts you at more danger from cars, and the shorter route (7,Park) puts you at more danger from people. The risk in both cases is small. You pays your money and you takes your choice.
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Depending on how much you're carrying, the (now canceled) B71 bus route across Union Street to Eastern Parkway will be served by licensed dollar vans by the end of the month. It's a flat $2 fee and I'm guessing they will get a lot of business passing by the Co Op.i extend my battery life by turning down the brightness
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Architecture Biscuit » [quote="doctorj"]The longer route (Union, EP) puts you at more danger from cars, and the shorter route (7,Park) puts you at more danger from people. The risk in both cases is small. You pays your money and you takes your choice.
+1[/quote] The various "traffic calming" measures have made the Union/Eastern Pkwy route much better for walking. At the Coop you can use the page system to see if anyone is walking your way, or to share a car service if you've got heavy stuff. (There's walkers at the Coop, but I don't think they go as far as Washington) I hope that B71 bus comes back. I'm a little bummed. -
Licensed dollar vans? No kidding! I was hoping that would happen. How does that work? Do they just cruise up and down Union? Signage? You've made my day (I commute from Co-op to Franklin)
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Many of the dollar vans up and down Flatbush are run by companies that are licensed, regulated and authorized for that route. However, there are also many unlicensed wild-cats, knaves, rogues and brigands that are the ones that tend to drive aggressively and dangerously (though some licensed vans do this as well, surely). Due to the elimination of the B71 bus, the city has gone ahead and authorized several existing licensed/regulated van operator companies to serve the former B71's Union Street route from Columbia Street clear over to Eastern Parkway. It's a flat fee of $2 cash per person per ride and they will stop at all the usual B71 stops. They might also stop for people in other spots along the way, don't know. The good thing is that Union Street is just 1 lane all the way to GAP so there won't be as much opportunity for crazy driving as one might observe along the multiple lanes of Flatbush. The city has authorized this along various other discontinued bus routes as well, to put another option back on the table for area residents no longer able to avail themselves of the bus.i extend my battery life by turning down the brightness
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You may be able to catch the 69 bus over to say, Vanderbilt and Sterling...again...it stops running that way around 9PM. Again, the bus thing is a real bust, just corrupt and stupid. The bus drivers can't even talk to each other. The routes and schedules are controlled by the dispatchers, and they are not going to give up their turf. Sorry, don't get me started. Dollar vans don't have the best insurance and are not maintained very well. The drivers are unscrupulous, even when the services are legit. fukedaboutit.If I don't quite understand you...well, that's all right...if you don't want to understand me...it really doesn't matter.... If we all try to understand each other, well now, just think of what might happen!
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StoopLady » Again, the bus thing is a real bust, just corrupt and stupid. The bus drivers can't even talk to each other. The routes and schedules are controlled by the dispatchers, and they are not going to give up their turf. Sorry, don't get me started.
Which bus is that? (controlled by dispatchers, drivers not giving up their routes) Also, regarding dollar vans: When the reality settles in that there is no other cheap public option to get across Union from Carroll Gardens to Eastern Parkway (or to/from any points along that route), dollar vans will sound mighty good to a good many people.i extend my battery life by turning down the brightness -
There is a challenge, for example, with the new B67 and B69 bus routes, as well as many other routes in Brooklyn. One of the challenges is that the bus drivers can't communicate with each other about where they are, if the bus is late, etc. They also don't know what the times are because the printed bus schedules are not the same as the schedules on the poles. I sometimes chat with the drivers and/or read info. There is ROADIFY but I haven't figured out how to use it. In any event...the bus drivers take off at a certain time but are not permitted to communicate w/each other and the dispatchers control things and are not in the loop as far as what is really happening. One of the challenges is that the 67 gets stuck in downtown traffic and the 69 can be early. Oh, I don't want to get into this any more, it is just beyond this board.If I don't quite understand you...well, that's all right...if you don't want to understand me...it really doesn't matter.... If we all try to understand each other, well now, just think of what might happen!
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Either one is fine. I shop at the coop and live in PH and do that walk all the time.I believe in peace, bitch.
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Yes, I live in PH also. After a while, I just stopped being "afraid" and decided this is where I live and will walk virtually any where (except if I have too much to carry, lol).If I don't quite understand you...well, that's all right...if you don't want to understand me...it really doesn't matter.... If we all try to understand each other, well now, just think of what might happen!
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7th-Park is shorter than going all the way to Washington, but not shorter than crossing the Plaza more generally. From measuring a while ago on Google maps, I believe the shortest way—and really a fine walk until fairly late at night—is Union--GAP--Eastern--Underhill--Park--Washington. You can also save about two minutes by shortcutting through GAP--Plaza St--St Johns--Underhill, if you're comfortable with it.
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I live on Park btw Underhill and Washington and am a female coop member, and VERY frequently walk alone at night down Park Place coming from Flatbush/Park Slope. It's my preferred route at night (my coop shift gets out at 11pm). Sometimes there is a pretty good amount of foot traffic on Park Place at night (esp. in summer), and sometimes it's more quiet, but usually you'll see a few dog walkers about even late at night. EP and the Plaza St side of GAP seem generally fine, but personally, I feel like the Union St/Prospect Park entrance/Library/EP crossing at night can feel too vacant and abandoned, vs habitated Park Place. Btw, the coop walkers aren't supposed to come this far... but I've definitely seen them go past Underhill, if not Washington. Maybe they'll come out here if they're having a slow night? Worth asking!
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I live right around there and walk these streets at all hours and have never felt unsafe. I'm a member of the co-op, but I've never thought of that walk as different from any other - walking from the subway, dinner, drinks, etc.
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I'm not a member of the co-op but used to take language lessons at Ozzie's on Fifth Ave and walk home from there... I'm sure this was usually past the co-op's closing hours. I think Union to EP is safe. Really good to read about the dollar vans. I'd already been telling friends in Carroll Gardens to only expect me to visit on occasions special enough to warrant a car service! But this is much better. Are you saying the vans have already started service though? Do we just wait at the bus stops at the old bus times?
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these dollar van guys are nuts! i got ran off the road once and threaten. i was waiting for clients at the time, they were next to a bus stop. getting furniture inside the building. the dollar van guys thought i was stealing route. anyawy i don't trust em dangerous bunch.Fight white guilt and injustice by smoking tax free guilt free Reservation Smokes or go gamble in a Native Casino.
I like to stick it to The Man, The Man happens to be Liberal in NYC(power Structure). -
Curious about driver safety, courtesy, INSURANCE LIABILITY, seat belts, mafia connections, legal or illegal, current driver's license, Taxi and Limousine regulated? How are they regulated. Receipts, transfers, refunds, who to complain to? Just another MTA Good Ole Boy crap. Disgruntled StoopLady.If I don't quite understand you...well, that's all right...if you don't want to understand me...it really doesn't matter.... If we all try to understand each other, well now, just think of what might happen!
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Some folks believe that no one should get to ride the vans if everyone does not get to ride the vans...... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The lawsuits are mounting over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's service cuts; disabled New Yorkers suing MTA, threatening same for Taxi & Limousine Commission. By Jeremy Smerd Published: August 17, 2010 - 3:33 pm The Taxi & Limousine Commission thought it was doing New Yorkers a favor when it authorized dollar vans to drive along five bus routes eliminated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority earlier this summer. But if those vans aren't equipped with wheelchair lifts, advocates for the disabled plan to sue the commission to stop them from putting the vans on the road. "If the TLC wants to go ahead with inaccessible vans, we will sue them," said Jim Weisman, an attorney with the United Spinal Association. In a separate legal action, disabled riders on Tuesday sued the MTA over the service cuts, saying they violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. Those service cuts helped the MTA present a balanced $12 billion budget to its board last month. The budget included savings from service cuts and reductions, including cost saving changes made to the Access-a-Ride program for disabled riders. But advocates for riders who use wheelchairs say the cuts violate federal law guaranteeing them equal access to the same transportation system used by non-disabled riders. "The combination of all these cuts means people with mobility impairments don't have transit options," said Jane Stevens, director of litigation for the New York Legal Assistance Group, which is representing one of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs want the MTA to restore eliminated and reduced bus and Access-a-Ride service. The MTA declined to comment. The TLC approved its van program last month and had planned to have the vans on the road yesterday, but a TLC spokeswoman says the vans won't be on the road until mid-September. The TLC's foray into territory normally reserved for the state-run MTA has also drawn the attention of the largest union representing transit workers, the Transport Workers Union Local 100, which filed an application to operate a van along one of the five bus routes. Awarding the union workers a contract could pit against each other two historical allies-the TWU and disabled riders. It's unclear whether the TWU would operate wheelchair accessible vans if awarded the contract. The TLC is not requiring the vans be equipped with wheelchair lifts. The three disabled riders who sued the MTA recounted in the lawsuit how the service changes made taking public transit more difficult. RueZalia Watkins, who lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but works in Manhattan for the Mental Health Association of New York, claims the bus cuts have made it almost impossible to commute to work and to travel for her work. She's used a wheelchair for 17 years because of a combination of serious heart and lung ailments. She depends on Access-a-Ride to get to work but says it's not practical to use Access-a-Ride for work trips during the day because it was too complicated to book trips. She doesn't use the subway because some gaps between the platform and the train cars are too wide. Earlier this year, she was unable to board a C train at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station. To make it onto the next train, she had to call the police.For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor.
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"Btw, the coop walkers aren't supposed to come this far... but I've definitely seen them go past Underhill, if not Washington. Maybe they'll come out here if they're having a slow night? Worth asking!" I always cross the street when I see those food coop shopping cart walkers with the flourescent safety vests walking towards me... They make me nervous - I mean, who in their right mind would walk 20 blocks to escort a healthy coop member in order to ensure the return of the borrowed shopping cart?? They must have too many coop members without enough to do in order to make up crazy jobs like this (Of course, I respect when these walkers are assisting someone who really needs help). Better that they use these people to take some of the food items that might go to waste and deliver them to those in need. I have no issue with coops - I am currently a director in 2 cooperatives - but this is just silly. (disclosure - I am not a PS food coop member. I went to the orientation, but could not bring myself to join after hearing about some of the nonsense there. Another disclosure - I was a member of Puget Consumers Coop (PCC - Seattle) for 5 years.)food is my life
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Don't worry, with 15,000 members PSFC has enough people to cover it. They have walkers and also distribute food to CHIPS. It isn't an either/or thing.
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