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NYC Climbers - How Do You Get to the Crag?

Original Post
MattH · · CO / NM / ME · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 1,226

Hey MP,
I'm looking at Columbia for grad school and trying to figure out how to maintain my climbing habit while living in the city. Do most of you live outside downtown? If I lived a bit north of the city, am I hosed in terms of commuting to campus? Is there anywhere I could live that...

  • Has a reasonably low crime rate
  • Is within a 30-40 minute commute of Columbia
  • Has straightforward parking
?
If not, how do those of you living downtown manage to get out to the Gunks,ADK,etc.? Zipcar? Friends elsewhere?
Thanks,
Matt
Tylerpratt · · Litchfield, Connecticut · Joined Feb 2016 · Points: 40

I know many people that live in the city and take the bus to New Paltz. The problem for them is getting from New Paltz to the preserve... lol

Jon H · · PC, UT · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 118

No longer a denizen of the great city, but most climbers keep cars in the city. Often they live in the outlying boroughs (BK and Queens, primarily) where it's (a little) easier to keep a car. Make no bones about it though, being a climber in NYC is more expensive than average (just like everything else).

You can also catch a NY Trailways bus direct to New Paltz. Hitching up to the cliffs from there is pretty easy on the weekends with a cardboard GUNKS sign.

IMO, if you're gonna be on campus 3 or more days days per week, just live in the city. Do the city thing for 1-2 years so you can say you did, then get out. The alternative of commuting down to NYC (most likely a train to Grand Central or Penn, then another 30-40 minutes uptown on the A) every day will crush your soul.

Generally speaking though, the closer you live to the GWB, the easier it is to get in/out of the city. Look for housing in Harlem or Washington Heights. You could also live in NJ just over the bridge (Fort Lee, Englewood, Palisades Park, etc) and have a fairly easy commute into the city via bus or bicycle and a MUCH easier/cheaper time of getting up the Gunks/Dacks/anywhere. Let me know if you need more info on that.

Find partners here on MP and at the gym. Arrange carpools on your days off. Etc.

Unless you think you're going to spend more time at the crag than at school, just live closer to school.

MattH · · CO / NM / ME · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 1,226

Unfortunately I'm going for a PhD so it's not a matter of surviving the daily grind for a year or two - more like 5 years. If it's feasible to live in one of the outer boroughs and make it work, that sounds like the best option. Thanks for the advice

Marnix · · Amsterdam · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 0

I live in Harlem and keep a car in a garage here. If your schedule is flexible you could find street parking also. It's about 1.5hrs to the gunks from here but can be longer on the return if traffic is bad

Depending on how often you need to be at CU (and which campus) you could go all the way up to Riverdale in the bx and still have reasonable access on the 1 train. Send me a PM if you want to talk through living options, I think I can be helpful there

Marc801 C · · Sandy, Utah · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 65

I have a climbing friend who lived in NYC for over 40 years and regularly climbed at the Gunks. Given the cost of ownership, insurance, and garage in Manhattan, he never owned a car until he moved to Colorado a few years ago. He would rent one for each weekend he went climbing.

Jon H · · PC, UT · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 118

Keep in mind that most of the outer boroughs are all even further away from climbing. Look at Bronx, Westchester, and other points northwest of Columbia. Don't go South or East. Not if climbing access is important.

Oh, and just to address one of the points in your post - there is NO "straightforward" parking pretty much anywhere in NYC. Even many of the more suburban areas have alternate side parking, street cleaning restrictions, etc. Moving your car 1-3x per week is pretty standard. Rent a garage space ($250-$500/month) or be diligent about moving your car.

Only place with actual straightforward parking would probably be NJ. When my wife and I were dating (2014, not that long ago) she lived in Fort Lee, NJ. She rented a small house (2BR, 1BA with garage) in Fort Lee NJ with a friend. Her share of the rent was $800 + util. Her commute to CU would have been about 35-40 minutes including transfers. It's only about 13 miles - biking is a great option. The ride across the river over the GW Bridge is actually amazingly beautiful and fun.

Systematic · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2015 · Points: 317

Are you still considering other institutions for grad school? Depending on your interests, I may be able to suggest other really good universities in the area. In the Bronx, living expenses are quite a bit lower and even indoor parking can be pretty cheap. You don't have to drive through the traffic in the city on your way north so you can get to the gunks in about 75-90min. There's also an okay gym in New Rochelle, which can be about a 10-15 min drive if you live anywhere near the hutchinson pkwy / I95.

I'd be happy to talk to you more about grad school in the city + climbing if you want. Just shoot me a PM.

Dylan Weldin · · Ramstein, DE · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 1,715

Renting a car and filling it with friends each time you head for the hills is the preferred option if you are hesitant to bus then hitchhike. Good luck in the city! Lots of great gyms to keep you busy while you're borough-bound

Andrew Emerick · · CA · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 2

Hi Matt. I'm currently in year 3 of a PhD at Columbia and can talk to you at length about climbing while being in the city if you'd like. I usually get to the Gunks about 1-2 times a month, but know plenty who get out far more often. NYC isn't the most convenient place to have a climbing addiction, but it is certainly feasible to make it work.

FYI Columbia does have a climbing club that is cheap to join ($35 a semester) that has ~ weekly, free trips outdoors when the weather is good. I'll send you a message with my e-mail if you want to chat further.

Happiegrrrl · · Gunks · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 60

Without a car, getting to the Gunks will definitely be more difficult if you don't live within NYC.

With a car, you'll definitely suffer trying to find parking, if you live within NYC. Unless you can afford a parking lot site.

If it were me, and I did not have a car, I would definitely live somewhere that I can easily get both the bus to New Paltz AND subway to Columbia. Best options would be West Side of Manhattan, pretty much anywhere. But the subway system is pretty reliable, so anywhere you can catch the train will work - just becomes part of your commute.

rgold · · Poughkeepsie, NY · Joined Feb 2008 · Points: 526

I kept a car without using garages while I was living in NYC and working on my PhD. I did already own the car, as I had worked for seven or eight years after college before returning to graduate school. Using street parking required playing the alternate side of the street parking game, which could be unpleasant and stressful at times, but was facilitated by a grad school schedule. In the outer boroughs, alternate side of the street regs are typically for one day a week rather than two days a week in Manhattan, and I'd think that would be pretty manageable.

I already had the car and appreciated my ability to escape at a moment's notice. For example, during daylight savings, if you can break loose in the early afternoon, you can get up to the Gunks for a few routes before dark.

Whether renting would be better than the expenses associated with ownership I don't know, but not having a monthly garage fee would change the calculation significantly. However, if you replace the garage fee with tickets, you're no better off. I never even once got a parking ticket, but you do have to be vigilant and learn about the ticketing conventions for double parking in the neighborhoods you are using.

Happiegrrrl · · Gunks · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 60

I don't know how parking was when you were doing it Rich, but when I lived in Chelsea and was considering buying a vehicle, I took notice of the "parking game" near my place. It was absolutely brutal. People would either sit in their cars, or PAY someone to do the same, and wait for the street sweepers to come. When within sight, the people would start their engines and as the sweepers approached, shuffle their car out of the way. Once the sweeper passed, they go right back into place. This was in the year 2005. I can only imagine parking is even worse in Manhattan now.

My parking spot cost $300/month. I joked that I had upgraded from a studio to a one bedroom - but that the bedroom was my van and it was parked in the (outside) lot on 10th Avenue, three blocks away.

rgold · · Poughkeepsie, NY · Joined Feb 2008 · Points: 526

That does sound bad. BITD you used to be able to double-park your car for the two or so street-cleaning hours.

That said, my daughter, who lives in Brooklyn (or Brokeland, as she calls it), says dealing with once-a-week alternate side is not much of a problem. I do know that whenever we go to visit her, we never have any real problem finding a parking space. (Bushwick)

But Brooklyn would not be an ideal mass transit commute to Columbia. Washington Heights, Spuyten Duyvil, and Riverdale would be better I think, but I don't know what the parking issues are up there.

MattH · · CO / NM / ME · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 1,226

Hmm... The situation sounds pretty dire. Damn. I thought Columbia would be the perfect mix of top department (for my field) and local climbing - hell, Sasha Digiulian goes there, how bad could it be. I'm finding it hard enough to play the street parking game in Cambridge so I dread seeing how bad it is in NYC.

Boston's been perfect for the ability to live in the city and leave the car parked during the week, relying on walking/biking/ the T, and then getting out of the city quickly on the weekends to climb/bike/explore. Maybe an outer borough would get me the same in NYC but the housing is so dense for so far that I doubt it.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll probably look around at housing options and such but unless my stipend turns out to be gigantic I don't see any way I can afford 5 years of Manhattan living plus a garage on a grad student salary.

Maybe I'd be able to rely on the climbing team vans, but that makes it hard to explore all those under the radar crags in the NYC area (I'm usually keen on the quieter crags). It seems like there's a lot of less-trafficked crags at the gunks beyond the trapps. Is it difficult to find an obscure spot to climb on the weekends? (not asking for any local secret beta, just whether such quiet spots exist)

Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
Tylerpratt wrote:I know many people that live in the city and take the bus to New Paltz. The problem for them is getting from New Paltz to the preserve... lol
Cheap cab easily available at new paltz bus station
Happiegrrrl · · Gunks · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 60

"Cheap cab" is relative. It was $16 one way a few years ago, not including a tip.

On the other hand - I have hitch-hiked back and forth between NP and the cliffs frequently. On weekends, some climber IS going to pick you up. Ask people leaving Rock and Snow if they have room for you, or walk down Main Street passed the bridge over the Wallkill and stick out your thumb. Watch out for police coming, and retrieve that thumb before they see it, since hitching isn't legal.
That space, between the bridge and Springtown road on the right allows a driver plenty f time to see you, decide, and safely pull over to pick you up.

On the return, I might wait atop the Steel Bridge and ask climbers heading out if they have room, or go stand at the entrance to the scenic overlook. That, again, allows people coming down the mountain to see you, decide and safely pull in to the overlook to load. A few years ag the overlook got a renovation, and is not as "easy" for a hitchhiker, as the parking spots are fewer. You can't simply swing in and out - congested.

Personally - I would save the money and go without a car, at least to start(unless you already own one that you like). NYC mass transit is reliable and good.

rgold · · Poughkeepsie, NY · Joined Feb 2008 · Points: 526
MattH wrote: I'm finding it hard enough to play the street parking game in Cambridge so I dread seeing how bad it is in NYC.
In my experience, Boston is worse than NYC for this.
rogerbenton · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 210

Rent is cheaper in upper manhattan (wash heights) than in the conveniently accessible parts of the outer boro's.

There is an NYC > GUNKS carpool facebook page: facebook.com/groups/3614120…

Zipcar works out reasonable well once you get 4 people in the car splitting costs.

There's at least 5 rock gyms in the city, meeting partners is easy.

chris vultaggio · · The Gunks · Joined Dec 2008 · Points: 535
MattH wrote: Is it difficult to find an obscure spot to climb on the weekends? (not asking for any local secret beta, just whether such quiet spots exist)
Not if you can make friends
Adam Gellman · · Bellingham WA/Burlington VT · Joined Mar 2015 · Points: 261

living in New Jersey, though not as sexy as living in NYC, gives really good commuter access to the city as well as being easier to keep a car for the weekends. Trains alone will take you to the powerlinez (not the gunks but still fun), and it is easier to have a car while not living in the city. Hitching rides to the gunks with friends is always my go-to and generally works well.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northeastern States
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