My commute to Baruch starts in the Riverdale/Kingsbridge neighborhoods of the Bronx. In 1939, the Federal Writers Guide described Riverdale as a “quasi-suburban residential community of fine estates, smaller one-family dwellings and some apartment houses.” There are many educational institutions in Riverdale such as Manhattan College, The College of Mount St. Vincent, and the Horace Mann School. Riverdale was a very rural neighborhood and became more populous after the completion of the Henry Hudson Parkway and Henry Hudson Bridge, which provided people an easy way to access the area.¹

Riverdale is home to 16,450 residents, most of them white, and the median household income in the area is $74,654.² Kingsbridge, on the other hand, is home to fewer people and is not as wealthy as Riverdale. There are 11,461 residents in Kingsbridge, most of them Latinos.The median household income in this neighborhood is $38,103.³ While the two neighborhoods are close to each other, then, they are fairly different.

In Kingsbridge I get on the 1 train at 238 street or 231 street.

238 street 1 station

238 street 1 station

When I get on the 1 train around 8 o’clock, there are seats available, but I usually stand because I know it will get crowded quickly and there will be people on the train who need a seat more than I do. However, it is moments like these when I wish that the 1 line had some of the newer subway cars that are wide and have a lot of room and seats. I don’t know if this is possible though, because a lot of the underground stations on the 1 line are narrow and might not be able to fit some of the newer subway cars.

The riders of the 1 train are diverse; there are Latino, black, and white. My train ride is aboveground for five stops and then goes underground. At 181st Street, the 1 intersects with the George Washington Bridge, which you can read about in this post. At this point on my commute I usually fall asleep, if I have a seat. After several stops underground,  I am awakened by the bright light of the sun as the 1 train goes above ground for one more stop at 125 Street. This stop has a nice view of the Hudson River, New Jersey, and Manhattan’s West Side.

Bright light coming through the window at the 125 street stop

After a few more stops, the most notable one being 116th Street/Columbia University, I get off at 96th Street and transfer to the downtown 2 or 3 train. However during morning rush hour, the 2 train can be so packed that I do not get on and wait for the 3. Sometimes the excess crowd packs the 3 train and I just take the 1, which is less crowded. A lot of the time though, the 3 train comes right after the 2 and many people pack themselves onto the 2, leaving the 3 relatively empty. If I make this transfer I can save a lot of time as it takes about seven minutes to get to 42 Street instead of 15 minutes or more on the 1.

At 42 Street I transfer to the downtown N or R train and take that to 23 Street. From 23 street, I walk about four blocks to my final destination, Baruch College. I enjoy this walk because I get to walk through Madison Square Park and look at the nice architecture of the buildings in this area. My commute is finally done.