Lirr on Evan Hoffman

New York City commuter winter survival kit

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 22:28:18 +0000

Since I started working in Manhattan again a couple years ago I’ve learned a couple of things about surviving the winters on the LIRR platform. This winter in particular has been pretty lousy, temperatures below 20ºF and gusty most of the mornings for the past couple of weeks when I’m waiting for the train. Here are some of the things that have made it bearable. This is kind of a hodge-podge as a result of complete trial & error, but when fully geared I’m totally comfortable in the biting wind and snow even as others visibly shiver.

Why I love and hate Citibike

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 08:29:21 +0000

When I first heard about Citibike, I had just started working in Manhattan. I walk about ten blocks each way between Penn Station and my office on 6th Ave & West 23rd Street, which takes about 15 minutes or so, so the prospect of reducing that time was pretty appealing. Also, I should add that I just fundamentally hate walking. It’s just too slow. Before I got a car at the age of 17 I rode my bike everywhere. When I went to college I rode my bike to every class, even in 3-foot snowdrifts of a New Hampshire winter. After I took this job I looked into some folding bikes that I could actually bring with me on the train to work. That’s kind of a huge pain in the ass, plus the folding bikes start at around $700, so that wasn’t realistic for me. So I was pretty excited at the prospect of Citibike.

Tall Ships - Greenport, NY - May 26, 2012

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:48:00 +0000

We decided to go to the Tall Ships festival in Greenport a couple of weeks ago, and I found a deal the LIRR was running where the cost of a round-trip train ticket & admission to the ships cost $10.50, whereas buying the admission ticket alone cost around $15. Plus, this way we could park in Riverhead and not have to worry about parking in Greenport during a fair. Seemed like a great idea.