Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How is the overall daily commute from Merrick to Penn Station? Is it hard to find parking around 8:30AM and is the train on time? Currently I ride the Port Washington line and it's fast from Penn To Douglaston.
How is the overall daily commute from Merrick to Penn Station? Is it hard to find parking around 8:30AM and is the train on time? Currently I ride the Port Washington line and it's fast from Penn To Douglaston.
Most trains are 50 minutes. There are a couple of express trains that do it in 40 minutes. I can't speak to parking.
I don't work a really predictable schedule, so i decided that was too long for me. I drew the line at regular service of 40 minutes or less. But 50 minutes is fine for most people and maybe I was a bit ridiculous about it... Merrick gets frequent service and the Babylon branch is pretty reliable. Port Washington line is the gold standard of the LIRR, but Babylon is a close second, in my opinion.
If it's a flood zone, be sure to look into flood insurance costs
This is the main reason we didnt buy in South Merrick. We opted to go north of Sunrise. What people dont realize is that..ok maybe the house you buy in Merrick wont require flood insurance NOW, but if FEMA updates the flood zone maps in 5-15 years, that can change. (this is what happened to us, our house was flood zone X in 2003 and by 2011 FEMA rezoned the street and we went from zone X to zone AE).
What people may also not realize is that even if their street is above flood zone elevation, the surrounding streets and homes may not be which impact whether you can get around when the next hurricane arrives (and I dont buy that attitude "Sandy was 1 in a 1000 chance storm, it will never be that bad again"- climate change is REAL and another Sandy is possible in our lifetime). This means your local area will be as impacted much more than areas centrally located.
Our old house in Baldwin Harbor only got minimal flood damage (comparatively) but because all the blocks around us were on or near the canals, we were just as %$&%# as the people who had their houses completely ruined. We couldnt drive down certain streets because waters hadnt receded, construction crews were rebuilding for months afterward, emergency crews were camped out, etc. My coworkers in Plainview, East Meadow, Hicksville, and in towns north of Sunrise Highway were pretty much back to normal a few weeks after the storm since their only issue was power outages. They didnt have to suffer through weeks of listening to bulldozers razing homes a mile away.
Just food for thought when you decide to be *that* close to any flood zone.
Good luck.
Last edited by LegalDiva; 09-20-2016 at 09:16 PM..
How is the overall daily commute from Merrick to Penn Station? Is it hard to find parking around 8:30AM and is the train on time? Currently I ride the Port Washington line and it's fast from Penn To Douglaston.
After 7am it gets very hard to find parking. Heck from what neighbor said it is starting to get worse lately when he goes to Bellmore station at 6am! When ever he goes in a bit later like by an hour...he said parking is much harder. But as far as commute he hardly ever has a problem. He gets the 6:15 Am out of Bellmore to Penn Mon-Fri. Gets to Penn at exactly 7AM. No transfer in Jamaica. Hardly ever has problems. But as morning rush progresses it can get worse & delays can happen.
As for on time. LIRR is not known for its good service in recent years. Usually he never has problem though. But coming home he gets the 5pm train out of Penn to Bellmore. Many times there are delays. But not bad at all. 45 min trip from Penn to Bellmore...Merrick is one stop west as you know. 45 min trip once you are on train....that is if there are no delays. He told me that his 6:15am train gets him to Penn in 45 min. About 99% on time record according to him & he has done it from here for a long time. Coming home it is a little worse of course. But remember he gets very early train in morning.
At 8:30 parking will probably be non-existent. How far is home you are considering from Merrick station? There are other options possibly for you. When my neighbor gets later train his wife drops him off. So he does not have to worry about missing train if he can't find spot. Also if not too far & you can handle it. You can walk or bike to train.
Then you have the Uber option. Or cab option. But that adds to commute cost. And the local cabs stink when you call for morning rush! They do not go from your home directly to train station! If you call for ride to LIRR they stop & pick up others that are also going to train too! ANNOYING! Uber does not do that & we had great luck with Uber to LIRR. They come fast. Never waited more than 10 min. Many times the driver was there for him in 5 min! Takes him right to the train...super fast & efficient.
This is the main reason we didnt buy in South Merrick. We opted to go north of Sunrise. What people dont realize is that..ok maybe the house you buy in Merrick wont require flood insurance NOW, but if FEMA updates the flood zone maps in 5-15 years, that can change. (this is what happened to us, our house was flood zone X in 2003 and by 2011 FEMA rezoned the street and we went from zone X to zone AE).
What people may also not realize is that even if their street is above flood zone elevation, the surrounding streets and homes may not be which impact whether you can get around when the next hurricane arrives (and I dont buy that attitude "Sandy was 1 in a 1000 chance storm, it will never be that bad again"- climate change is REAL and another Sandy is possible in our lifetime). This means your local area will be as impacted much more than areas centrally located.
Our old house in Baldwin Harbor only got minimal flood damage (comparatively) but because all the blocks around us were on or near the canals, we were just as %$&%# as the people who had their houses completely ruined. We couldnt drive down certain streets because waters hadnt receded, construction crews were rebuilding for months afterward, emergency crews were camped out, etc. My coworkers in Plainview, East Meadow, Hicksville, and in towns north of Sunrise Highway were pretty much back to normal a few weeks after the storm since their only issue was power outages. They didnt have to suffer through weeks of listening to bulldozers razing homes a mile away.
Just food for thought when you decide to be *that* close to any flood zone.
Good luck.
So true. You never know. If we could all predict the future on things in life it would be grand wouldn't it?
We got hit hard by Irene in 2011 here in South Bellmore. But we are right smack on the water. Home next door was destroyed. It was rented. The place remained vacant for a while after Irene while it was fixed up. We were kind of lucky as we are higher up.
But when the next tenant moved in we were all outside hanging out in backyard watching all the fireworks on July 4th. We were talking about Irene & what happened to rental they moved into from that storm. And they were both saying oh Irene was a once in a lifetime event. I was saying nope....you never know. Low & behold almost 4 months later Sandy came & destroyed everything they owned. So sad. But our talk on July 4th...well it kind of freaked me out when storm hit. As we fought about the fact that we felt different about the fact as to whether another Irene type storm will hit us. And what is even sadder is the fact that they acted like they did not care about the coming storm! They were going away on a trip few days before storm hit. They said we have insurance!! They will pay for everything if something happens!
Well they got the shock of their lives when they found out renters insurance does NOT cover flood! So claim was denied completely. They just moved here & gave ins. new address. The agent should have advised them if she knew it was waterfront that they needed separate ins for flood. Like they do for homeowners! But also they should have realized they should have let ins know place they are moving to is waterfront. Then they probably would have advised them the rental ins. does not cover floods. Flood ins is like $400 year. Cheap. Worth the extra security.
So that tax amount varies depending on the current value of the house is that correct?
Also how is the area around Willis Avenue close to Meadowbrook road?
Well this notice was sent to all parents this morning. It is right where this area is. Right up the block from Calhoun HS. Happened last night.
Dear Parents:
Two girls were approached on the corner of Horatio and Schermerhorn on Tuesday night at 8PM. An older white male in his late 50s to early 60s in a dark sedan pulled up to them and said, "Just wanted to say hi, ladies". He pulled away from the girls, drove very slowly, and then he pulled a little further up on Schermerhorn parking next to the curb. The girls ran back to school and notified their parents. The police were notified.
Thank you for having continued conversations with your young people about safety and how to respond in these situations.
Ms. Hollings
Well this notice was sent to all parents this morning. It is right where this area is. Right up the block from Calhoun HS. Happened last night.
Dear Parents:
Two girls were approached on the corner of Horatio and Schermerhorn on Tuesday night at 8PM. An older white male in his late 50s to early 60s in a dark sedan pulled up to them and said, "Just wanted to say hi, ladies". He pulled away from the girls, drove very slowly, and then he pulled a little further up on Schermerhorn parking next to the curb. The girls ran back to school and notified their parents. The police were notified.
Thank you for having continued conversations with your young people about safety and how to respond in these situations.
Ms. Hollings
I remember hearing that the schools went into lockdown, possibly last year, because someone was spotted with a gun on Sunrise Highway (coming out of a gun store, having just purchased it).
I remember hearing that the schools went into lockdown, possibly last year, because someone was spotted with a gun on Sunrise Highway (coming out of a gun store, having just purchased it).
I don't recall that. But the type of thing that happened last night has been reported a few other times past few weeks. And was a white van. Back in May same thing happened. But was reported to be a white pick-up truck. My husband is doing nightwatch for now. He will go out in the overnight hours for a few hours until he sees Newsday delivery guy & just drives around a small square area where we live. The South Bellmore Civic Association has block captains here. Someone just has to sign up for it & cover area surrounding their home. Been really quiet at night now.
But we are not near this incident I posted about. As it is in N. Merrick....exactly where the poster was asking about.
20 years ago some old perv in a car catcalling some girls wouldn't trigger a panic. People need to get some friggen perspective.
Seriously.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
