Dormitory Address is 101 Johnson Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Here is a Dormitory Neighbourhood Map. It is just steps from Marriott Hotel (just around the corner) and at walking distance from Brooklyn Bridge. Note that the dormitory is NOT a part of Brooklyn College where the conference will take place. The dormitory belongs to Polytechnic University. And here is the map of the Polytechnic University campus as well as travel directions from their website: map and directions. More detailed directions are below.
From JFK (Kennedy Airport) to dormitory:
At the airport take
Free Yellow, White, and Blue
Long-Term Parking Lot Bus to "Howard Beach" subway station.
(to my recollections, those free buses are just blue,
may be with some white/yellow stripes).
Connect to "A" subway train.
Get off at Jay Street-Borough Hall.
Free bus at the airport is running every 15 minutes 24 hours.
Taxi is around $26-$30.
Driving directions:
take the Belt Parkway west to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway
(BQE) east, to Tillary St. exit, left onto Jay St.(one block),
left on Johnson
St. Othmer Residence Hall first building on the left.
From LGA (LaGuardia Airport)
to dormitory: (Rather long but easy
to explain) Take bus M60 to Astoria Blvd subway station.
Take "N" train to
to Lawrence Street-MetroTech (if arriving on weekend, take "W")
(walk one block North on Lawrence Street).
You can also take a 10-dollar express bus to Midtown Manhattan.
The "N" train makes too many stops. If you want to arrive
to dormitory faster, you can transfer at "57-th St" to "Q"-train
to "DeKalb Avenue".
Taxi is around $17 - $20.
Driving directions:
Take the Grand Central Parkway to the Long Island
Expressway west to the BQE west, to Tillary St. exit, left onto Jay
St.(one
block), left on Johnson St. Othmer Residence Hall first building on the
left.
From EWR (Newark International Airport): Take airport free
AirTrain to Newark International Airport Station.
From there take NJ Transit train to "New York Penn Station" ($11.55).
Takes about 25 minutes.
(Do not get off at Newark Penn Station which is one stop before)
Trains run quite often. Pick up time tables.
From "New York Penn Station"
either take "2" or "3" train to
to "Borough Hall" (these trains are right at the station).
Or go one block east along 34-th Street to
"34-th - Herald Sq" subway station. Take either "R" train to
"Lawrence St" or "Q" train to DeKalb Av" or
"F" train to "Jay St-Borough Hall".
Taxi is probably (not sure) around $30-$40.
Driving directions
Take the Holland Tunnel to the Brooklyn Bridge, cross the
bridge, at the light turn left onto Tillary Street, right onto Jay St.(one
block), left on Johnson St. Othmer Residence Hall first building on the
left.
If you are leaving from Newark or from LGA then follow the above instructions in the reverse order. If you are leaving from JFK, then the reverse order of the above instructions works too except one little thing: there are two kinds of "A" trains, one is going to "Ozone Park/Lefferts Blvd" and the other is to "Rockaways". You will need to take an "A" train to "Rockaways". The only way to tell a right "A" train from a wrong one is to look for train's destination on cars of trains.
DIRECTIONS FROM DORMITORY TO BROOKLYN COLLEGE:
All subway lines are at walking distance from the dormitory building. Consult this map to spot subway stations. I traveled several times form Brooklyn College to the dormitory. It always take me not more than 30 minutes from door to door. But for first-time visitor it might take longer. I prefer "Q"-trains (especially during weekends).
Method 1: Take "Q" train at "DeKalb Av" subway station. There are two kinds of "Q" trains. One is express and another is local. To tell one from another look for letter "Q" on the cars of a train (they are in yellow). If "Q" is inside of a rhombus then it is express. If it is inside of a circle then it is local. You can take any.
If you take "Q" local (the one with "Q" inside a circle) get off at stop "Avenue H". When you get off you need to exit in the direction opposite to the side of the train (that is when you go down for exit take right) and you will see Brooklyn College and go in its direction along avenue H (that is you need to go east along avenue H).
If you take "Q" express (the one with "Q" inside a rhombus) get off at stop "Newkirk Avenue" and wait for "Q" local (should not take more than just 7 minutes) and proceed as above. Or you may choose to walk. Walk parallel to the subway line until H-avenue and proceed as above. I think walking is faster than waiting.
Method 2: Take "R"-train at "Lawrence ST" station. Transfer to "Q"-train on "DeKalb Av" and proceed as in Method 1. Note, transferring from "R" to "Q" is not painful at all. Just get off and wait for "Q". No need to go anywhere.
Method 3: Take "2"-train at "Borough Hall" subway station to "Flatbush Av.-Brooklyn College" (last stop). Inside subway take the exit which is at the head of your train. Right after you exit subway make several steps ahead and then turn right and you will see Brooklyn College.
1. ADDRESS: The official address is 2900 Bedford Avenue. Lectures will be in New Ingersoll Hall (rooms 113, 328, 329, 330). And here is a campus map: Brooklyn College Campus Map and here is a Brooklyn College Neighbourhood Map
2. ENTRANCES and SECURITY: The campus is very small and there are several entrances there. The main entrance is on Bedford Avenue. During weekdays all the entrances are open. On Sunday, only the main entrance may be open (though sometimes all the entrance are open). There is a security guard at each entrance. I will leave the list of all participants at each entrance. You will need to have some kind of picture ID to get in. If you approach the campus from "H" avenue and the closest entrance is closed, then go around the campus (so that the campus is always on your right) until you reach Bedford Avenue. Turn right and the main entrance is on your left. If you come by "2" train and the closest entrance is closed then keep going so that the campus is on your left until you reach Bedford Avenue, turn left and the main entrance is on your left.
3. PARKING: If you come by car and want to have a Brooklyn College campus parking, you will need to provide me with make of car, and license plate number. Please do it in advance.
The entrance to parking area is from Campus Rd. between Bedford Ave. and Ocean Ave. If you are traveling East on Campus Rd. from Ocean Ave. to Bedford Ave, it is on the right hand side, at about the point (at I 23rd St) where Campus Rd. jogs to the left.
4. LUNCH: There is a student's cafeteria on campus in Boyland Hall (across New Ingersoll Hall, where lectures will take place). It is open during weekdays. Also you may choose to have lunch somewhere on "J" Avenue. It is a nice area with restaurants. If you exit through the main entrance, turn left and go along Bedford Avenue until "J" Avenue. Turn right and go straight ahead until you find yourself in a shopping/eating district. (not longer than 10 minutes along "J" avenue)
1. When you arrive in NY. At the airport or at the first subway station you can always pick up free subway maps. It is very important to have such a map. Otherwise you will be lost.
2. If you take a taxicab, tipping is optional (but strongly recommended). Should you choose to tip the driver, the standard good service tip is 15-20% of total fare.
3. One ride in subway costs $2 plus free transfer.
It is strongly recommended to buy a 7-Day MetroCard for $21.
This card gives unlimited ride for 7 days on all buses and subway.
You can buy a card at every subway station
either from a teller or using an MTA machine.
In both cases you can get a receipt if you choose so.
Note that unlike tellers, MTA machines are multilingual.
If you choose to buy Regular (not unlimited) MetroCard,
then these are the fares:
$2 MetroCard pay for one ride and free transfer
$10 MetroCard pay for 5 rides and get 6.
$20 MetroCard pay for 10 rides and get 12.
And MetroCard gives free transfers within 2 hours.
4. It is useful to adopt the following terminology: In NYC and especially in Manhattan almost all avenues and streets are numbered. This makes it easy for orientation. When you are on Manhattan, to go up means going North along an avenue (in the direction of Central Park). And of course going down means going South along an avenue. When you go up numbers of streets increase. When you go down, they decrease. If you go along a street (that is perpendicular to an avenue) then numbers of avenues increases if you go West. Otherwise they decrease.
5. If you are lost, first consult a map. If it does not help, look for a person without a map and photocamera. Very often, those who are ready to help do not really speak English. Then speak your language, you might have a luck.
a. Elise Island + Statue of Liberty (the same tour). Tour starts at Battery Park City Take "R" to "Whitehall ST". If you consult you subway map it is the very south tip of Manhattan. My rating to Elise Island is ***** out of *****.
b. Metropolitan Museum of Arts (79-th Street East side , upper Manhattan). My rating is ***** out of *****
c. Staten Island Ferry. It passes Statue of Liberty at a very good distance which allows to make nice pictures. Located at the east side of Battery Park City. It is free. I give * for being free.
d. Central Park. Very beautiful. Take "Q" or "F" trains to "57-th St". It is not recommended to walk there at night though. My rating is *** out of *****
e. Montague Street and Brooklyn Hights Promenade. Montague is the main street of Brooklyn Hights with lots of restaurants and beautiful turn-of-19th-centuary brownstones and churches. The Promenade is at the end (or start?) of Montague Street. The view of the Manhattan skyline from the Promenade is the most beautiful view in New York. It is a walking distance from the dormitory. Go down along Adams street (where Marriott Hotel is) so that Marriott is on your right, turn right and go straight. Rating is ***** out of *****
g. Guggenheim Museum (not far from Metropolitan). Rating is *** out *****.
h. Brooklyn Bridge. Walking distance to the dormitory. Go along Adams up. Nice walk, nice view. The bridge takes you to downtown Manhattan. Rating is ***** out *****
.....and lots of other interesting places. At the airport pickup tourist booklets/guides.