Tag: New York

Actual experience with NYC’s congestion relief zone tolls, a pro and a major con

Bradley FarlessLeave a comment
A screenshot from the NYC 311 website showing information about excluded roads

If anyone is wondering how it’s going now that it’s implemented, I thought I’d leave a few thoughts here.

I drive to work daily. I live in the central Bronx and work in south Brooklyn by the Verrazzano Bridge. My commute takes me down the Westside Highway into the HLC Tunnel or down the FDR and across the Brooklyn Bridge, then down 278. So, I don’t go into the CRZ daily, but the change in traffic patterns affects me because I use the same roads for a leg of my trip as people who do.

The implementation of the toll has been both good and bad for me, but more good than bad, if I can get a billing issue fixed.

Pro:

Improved Commute Times

Initially, traffic was heavily reduced to the point that I was getting from the central Bronx to the Verrazzano in about 45 minutes. After about a week, traffic evened back out as people figured out new commutes and/or decided what they could no longer afford in order to get to work every day.

My commute time to work is about the same as it was before. I leave my residence in the Bronx around 7:20 AM and it takes me about an hour to get to my place of employment in south Brooklyn. Some days it’s 50 minutes and some days it’s 70 minutes, bust it’s usually about 57 minutes. That is consistent. The return trip is where I’m seeing massive gains. It used to take me an hour and a half to two hours to get home most days. Now, my trip home is about 50 minutes to 70 minutes.

I’m saving time on my way home mostly because of reduced traffic going into the Hugh L Carey tunnel that connects Brooklyn to the southern tip of Manhattan. Without traffic backing up onto 278, I can either roll through the tunnel quite rapidly or continue up to 278 to the Brooklyn Bridge, continuing my trip north on either the West Side Highway or the FDR.

Basically, I’m saving about three and a half to four hours a week on my commute times. That’s a huge bonus for me because it gives me more time in the evenings to relax by myself or with my wife before jumping into the regular routine of getting ready for the next day.

Con:

False positives on toll cameras

The biggest issue I’m facing right now is being incorrectly billed for trips into the CRZ that I didn’t make.

Despite my staying outside of he CRZ on my daily commutes, I noticed on my EZPass billing that I was being charged the CRZ $9.00 toll every single day. Why? I followed the rules. I didn’t want to be tolled so I didn’t go into the toll zone. Not that I have any reason to leave the highways on my daily commute anyway. Was someone spoofing my plate?

Nope. Turns out that EZPass is incorrectly billing anyone who uses the HLC the CRZ Zone Toll automatically, no matter if you turn onto the West Side Highway and continue out of the congestion zone or not. As soon as you exit the tunnel, they’re tolling you for both the tunnel and the CRZ.

This isn’t supposed to happen. The West Side Highway and the HLC Tunnel are excluded roadways. The only time you should encounter the CRZ toll in relation to the HLC Tunnel is if you exit the tunnel and turn onto Trinity Place, which is a local road with a right exit just before you hit the West Side Highway.

I had a long conversation about this with an EZPass employee who at first was trying to tell me, based on information from her supervisor, that using the HLC makes you subject to the CRZ Toll. I had to point out that the plan as presented by the city and on the 311 website says otherwise. She wound up putting in a ticket for me to have the charges removed from my account, but it could take up to 21 business days for me to see whether or not that happens.

EZPass is illegally tolling people who are following the rules and they don’t even seem to be aware in general that moving from the excluded HLC to the excluded West Side Highway is supposed to be congestion relief zone toll-free.

How was this flaw overlooked during their supposed testing phase? And why would EZPass employees not have an understanding of how tolls are supposed to be applied in relation to the Congestion Relief Plan? Do I have to call back every month to dispute charges? Or will this get fixed? We’re only 21 days into this new program, but these seem like pretty big flaws.

Summary

I was very opposed to the CRZ toll when I first heard about it. It wasn’t until about a month before it was implemented that I realized that it would probably make my commute faster since I have to travel past Lower Manhattan. If I had to pay $9 when I occasionally visited my mother or went shopping in Lower Manhattan, I was ok with that. And I’m still ok with that, as long as EZPass stops billing me for not going into the CRZ.

A view of the Verrazzano Bridge and Staten Island at sunset

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This is a really nice spot to sit and relax on Fort Hamilton, despite the cars going by on the highway below. There’s fresh air and you can actually smell trees, the grass, and the soil. That alone is a nice change from most of New York. If I lived anywhere nearby, I’d spend more time there just to relax. Another bonus is that because it’s in a controlled access area, you don’t have to worry about the regular parade of New York City lunatics walking up on you when you’re just trying to unwind.

The body of water shown in the image above and video below is The Narrows on the right and Lower New York Bay on the left. The bridge is the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and is the only crossing between Staten Island and the rest of New York City. There are other bridges that go to the island, but they leave you in New Jersey. Alternatively, there’s a ferry service that takes you to the Financial District in Manhattan, but it’s time consuming. The lack of fast access is one of the reasons Staten Island is so underpopulated compared to the other four boroughs of New York City and, as a result, the island’s culture more closely resembles that of rural New York and New Jersey.

View this on YouTube and set the quality to 4K:

iPhone 16 Pro Max 4k 60 FPS Apple ProRes Sample. Video captured Friday, October 25th. The video was recorded directly to an SSK 1 TB external drive and uploaded with no post processing.

I decided to create this video using a new TODI 63″ Phone Tripod (Amazon affiliate link) that I picked up. I like how compact and portable the tripod is. The way it folds up, I can keep it in my backpack, meaning I can take it with me on walks around the city and pull it out when I see something interesting. My only concern about it was that it was a little wobbly in the strong, constant breezes coming off the ocean on The Bluff, but it didn’t tip over. It just made me a little nervous. I kind of wish there were flat, protruding feet on the bottom that I could stand on to anchor it better. For what it is and costs, though, it worked very well and the iPhone’s software was able to compensate for the slight wobbling so I wound up with a great video.

Architecture of Doom

Bradley Farless2 Comments

A few months ago, or maybe half a year ago now, I came across a Tumblr blog called “Architecture of Doom“. As it’s name suggests, the blog is home to images of terribly uninspiring and depressing architecture. The effect is elevated by the clean, minimalist white blog theme that seems almost cheery by comparison.

Every time I walk past this set of four buildings in Upper Manhattan, I think of that blog:

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These buildings literally straddle I-95.

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That’s a highway, running below them. Is it an odd feeling, I wonder, knowing that every day thousands of vehicles roll beneath your feet, under your apartment? What would happen if there were an earthquake? Though I suppose if there were an earthquake in New York City it wouldnt’ matter if there were a highway under most of these buildings or not. They would almost all collapse anyway.

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There’s something terribly depressing about this facade. It radiates poverty, depression, and despair. Whether that is true of the people that live there or not, I don’t know.

I walked past these buildings on Tuesday because I was going to the library on 179th Street. I discovered that there’s an app called Overdrive Media Console for iOS that makes checking out digital copies of the New York Public Library’s collection a snap. I hadn’t used my library card since I got it 3 years ago, so it had been canceled. Maybe they thought I was dead?

The Merchant’s House Museum

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There’s a building on 4th Street in Lower Manhattan that is a museum. It doesn’t really look like a museum. Not when you’re standing there in front of it and mentally comparing it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Guggenheim, but it was well worth the time I spent inside looking around. It takes about an hour and a half or two hours to look at everything. Maybe a bit longer if you want to just hang out and soak up the atmosphere. It’s not pricey either. 10 bucks for adults, 5 bucks if you have a student ID.

The building was built in the early 1800s and the furnishings and personal effects in the home were the property of the original owner, who bought the place in 1835. There have been a few modifications, like the addition of a fire escape for safety, bars on a few windows for security, and the removal of the outdoor latrine for sanitary purposes. Part of the garden was paved over with additional marble paving stones. Two indoor toilets were added for museum visitors. But, most everything else is authentic, like the cooking implements, clothing, hats, wash basins, and furniture. There’s even a pail of coal in the kitchen that one can pick up to experience the carrying load of a household servant or slave.

It’s a cool place and I’m looking forward to going again with my wife. I went by myself on a weekday afternoon. We’re particularly interested in attending one of the summer evening lectures in the outdoor private garden.

Visiting Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island

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Guyon-Lake-Tysen House c. 1740 with kitchen addition in 1820s.

Before this month I’d never heard of Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island. The place isn’t heavily advertised and the carpenter in the recreated shop there told us that he wasn’t surprised, because a lot of people that live there in Staten Island have never heard of the place either. You almost wouldn’t know it was there if you rode by on the bus or in in a car. Maybe that says more about the quality of buildings on Staten Island in general than it does about the site, though, that it’s hard to tell buildings that are almost 300 years old apart from the rest of what Staten Island has to offer.

Getting to Richmond Town from Upper Manhattan was a little bit of a struggle. The A train kept stopping in the tunnel and then went local below 59th Street. I know they’ve been doing some construction on the tunnels during the week, at night, but it would be nice if the city could keep the trains running on time when they’re not doing work on the tracks, otherwise what’s the point of the new construction schedule the city pushed? The ferry ride was nice, at least. I always enjoy the views of the city from the boat. The bus ride from the ferry to the town was about 25 minutes, which isn’t too bad.

When we got to Richmond Town we were afraid it was closed because the place was so quiet and empty. I guessed that it was because this is Memorial Day weekend and most people probably stayed home to relax or went out of town for barbecues. When we got to the ticket counter in the gift shop, the clerk there said that Memorial Day weekend is usually really quiet and cited the same reasons I suggested. I didn’t really care that the place was empty of people. Getting away from the crowds in New York City, seeing some trees, grass, fresh air and open spaces was just fine with me.

The fact that most of the buildings were closed was a problem, though. No one there was in costume. When we went on the 3:30 tour, our guide used a set of keys to open up each building we went into and had to take time to open the shutters so there would be light inside. She kept mentioning that the buildings saw regular, period-style use during the week. I wonder who has time to go out there during the week? I’m going to have to do some research and make some phone calls to find out if we can go back on another weekend and see the place completely up and running.

That being said, the tour was really good and our guide knew quite a bit about the houses she was showing us. She was also ready to answer random questions about the facilities and other buildings we were walking by. I was not disappointed at all. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the place:

Street leading up to the 3rd County Courthouse 1837
Recreation of an 1830-1860 rural carpenter’s workshop.
Interior of the carpenter’s shop.
A horse hitch. Below this is a big stone that passengers alighting from carriages would step on to avoid falling or stepping in mud.
Guyon Store/Tavern c. 1865
A dairy delivery cart.
Lincoln Logs
Puppets
Guyon Store/Tavern c. 1865
Guyon-Lake-Tysen House c. 1740 with kitchen addition in 1820s.
Left to right: popcorn maker, toaster, waffle iron, iron. Back: meat roaster.
Guyon-Lake-Tysen House c. 1740 with kitchen addition in 1820s.
Guyon-Lake-Tysen House c. 1740 with kitchen addition in 1820s.
Guyon-Lake-Tysen House c. 1740 with kitchen addition in 1820s.
Guyon-Lake-Tysen House c. 1740 with kitchen addition in 1820s.
General Store c. 1840, with later additions.
Colon Store/Tinsmith Shop
Colon Store/Tinsmith Shop

Better quality images and more details can be found in my Historic Richmond Town Flickr gallery.

Twitter Banner on New York Stock Exchange on IPO Day

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My wife took these photos this morning. She said it was ok for me to try to take credit for them. 😉

Twitter Banner on NYSE for IPO
Twitter Banner on NYSE for IPO

Twitter Banner on NYSE for IPO
Twitter banner close-up.

NYSE with Twitter Banner
Around 4:30 PM.

I’ve seen a lot of people saying they think Twitter’s stock is overpriced, but didn’t a lot of people say the same thing about Facebook? I was under the impression that turned out ok. Maybe the difference is that Twitter hasn’t found a very effective monetization method, yet. But, I think they’ll do ok. I wasn’t really keeping up with this until my wife sent me these photos. Now I wish I’d planned ahead and jumped on the bandwagon early. Maybe next time around.

Ripped Books

Bradley FarlessLeave a comment

I’d like to take some time later to write a long post about my experiences over the past week in Lower Manhattan in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, but I want to mention something I saw today that made me realize that some things in New York City never change.

When I was on my way home, I saw an older man pushing shopping cart down the street. He stopped by the trash can, peered in, and then reached into a box in his cart.  He pulled out a book, looked around as if he were making sure no one was watching him, and then ripped the front and back cover off the book and tossed it in the trash can.  He then reached into his box and pulled out another book.  At this point, he saw me watching him and turned away from me and hid clutched the book to his chest.  He looked over his shoulder at me and then ripped the covers off the book.  He tossed the remains of the book into the trash can along with the first one and then hurriedly crossed the street, where he peered briefly into the trash can on the corner before moving on, presumably to find more suitable trash cans to receive his defaced books.

I had stopped to watch this guy, so I’d missed the light to cross in the direction I was going.  When I did cross over to the other corner, I found a man in dirty, rumpled clothing singing to a pile of dirty clothes in a shopping cart.

Last week, Lower Manhattan was very dark and the streets were relatively deserted.  Thinking about it now, I don’t remember seeing anyone … weird… out there.  Not weird by NYC standards anyway.  But now, the power is back and the crazies are out again.  Some things just don’t change.

Occupy Union Square?

Bradley Farless1 Comment

Yesterday I went to Petco at Union Square to pick up two 20 pound boxes of cat litter while they were on sale.  Carrying that cat litter was a pain in the ass because I couldn’t get a cab and had to take the bus, but that’s another story.

On the way to Petco, I noticed a lot of people standing around the 14th street side of Union Square with signs.  I’m not surprised.  It seems like there’s a protest there at least once a month or more.  There was a protest there over the Trayvon Martin incident, for example.

Union Square

I can only assume this group is protesting police brutality, but I didn’t stop to ask for specifics.  There was something about the way most of the people looked, the way they carried themselves, that screamed low class and potentially dangerous.  One guy looked homeless and the girl in the purple tube top (just to the right of the pink tree on the left of the photo) kept pulling her top up and down, like she was moments from stripping naked to add flavor to the protest.  I wondered if they were drunk or on drugs.  I know it’s not good to just throw a judgment out there based on how people look, but on the other hand, if you want to be taken seriously, you should look serious.

Union Square

The group of people protesting wasn’t actually that large.  It’s hard to tell from the photos where the protesters end and the normal Union Square crowd begins, but they mostly seemed to be huddled into one corner near that pagoda subway entrance.

Union Square

There were police hanging around and I had things to do so I just minded my own business and kept going.  The reason I wonder if these people are trying to ‘occupy’ Union Square is because I saw them there again today, including the guy that looks homeless.  He had a ruck sack with what looked like a yoga mat.  Maybe he slept on it?  Also, a few of them seemed to have luggage with them (right side in above photo).  The police were still there today too.

Classic New York City Taxi

Bradley Farless10 Comments

Old fashioned New York City Taxi.

I saw this old fashioned taxi cab parked on the side of the road.  I assume it’s still being used, but I could be wrong.  Maybe someone bought it and is using it as a personal vehicle and they enjoy the novelty of driving it.

I don’t ride in taxis much here.  They’re way too expensive.  With a little foresight and time management, you could save yourself 20 dollars or more and just take the bus or train.  I guess a lot of people do use them though, because sometimes I get the impression that there are more taxis on the roads here in the city than any other types of vehicles combined.

Haagen-Dazs Boutique Ice Cream Stores in Singapore

Bradley Farless9 Comments

Haagen-Dazs Boutique Ice Cream

Singapore was the first place I got to sit down at a fancy restaurant that was designed just for the purpose of serving ice cream, like the Haagen-Dazs restaurants that are so common here in Singapore.

There are, of course, places like this in the US, but they’re mostly in major cities like New York City.  I wasn’t aware of them, so I never went to visit one.  I thought the ice cream you get in the grocery store was only available in the grocery store.

Two cones from the Marble Slab Creamery in Columbus, Georgia.
Two cones from the Marble Slab Creamery in Columbus, Georgia.

There were ice cream places I went to like Baskin Robbins, Brewster’s and Marble Slab Creamery, but these places are set up as fast food ice cream parlors.  The seats, if there were any at all, are the hard plastic kind that encourage you to enjoy your ice cream, but to do it quickly and make room for the next person.

Since I’ve never been to a Haagen-Dazs restaurant in the US I have no basis for comparison but the experience here was a good one.  The seats were cushioned and comfortable, the table we chose was low-set, and the dishes and silverware were good quality.  The ice cream was served with presentation in mind too.  So, eating Haagen-Dazs ice cream in Singapore can be a very luxury experience.

Haagen-Dazs Boutique Ice Cream 2

Unfortunately, it comes with a luxury price tag as well.  The two plates shown in this post came up to around 42 SGD (about 29 USD) and I remember being stunned at the bill.  In the US you can get a half-gallon of premium ice cream for about 13 or 14 bucks.  Or at least you could the last time I was there.  I’m finding out that a lot of foods I took for granted as being cheap in the US are a lot more expensive abroad.  I think it has a lot to do with how the corn industry is subsidized by the government in the US.  Ya, that’s kind of a weird stretch, right?  Watch Food Inc. and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

Anyway, it’s still a nice way to pamper yourself from time to time, if you have the money to spend.