Safe at 11:00 p.m....

coming from JFK via Airtram to take Subway to Church/McDonald in Brooklyn by myself? I usually cab it when going since I%26#39;m with others to split cab fare with, but this time I%26#39;m flying solo and thought I%26#39;d try this to save me about $60.00 in cab fare. Just a little nervous at 11:00 p.m. by myself with a small carry-on and looking lost. Thanks.

Safe at 11:00 p.m....

You are unlikely to experience any problems but peace of mind is priceless.

Take a cab.

Safe at 11:00 p.m....

I agree re taking a cab - and it should cost you less than $60 from JFK to Church Avenue/McDonald SAve in Brooklyn - I%26#39;m guessing maybe $45. Just make sure the cab driver at the airport knows how to get to that part of Brooklyn.

But if you want to go like a native you would pick up the AirTrain at your terminal at JFK and take it to the Howard Beach Station. Exit there and take the ';A'; train subway toward Manhattan/Uptown. The ';A'; goes through Brooklyn before entering Manhattan. You would get off the ';A'; train at the Jay Street/Borough Hall station, go upstairs and cross over to the downstown side and take the ';F'; train to Church Ave/McDonald Avenue - 8 station stops away

Although the A train is very safe it is important to note that it does go through some of the most economically underprivileged areas in New York City. Sadly, some of the areas the A train travels through happen to have a higher rate of criminal activity than many other parts of the city. All this being said I have taken the A train to and from Kennedy Airport MANY times and I have never had a problem. I typically ride in the center of the train near the conductor if it is night time.

Now that we have the AirTrain I typically spend the extra couple dollars on the Long Island Rail Road from Jamaica to Manhattan.

You can take the AirTrain to Jamaica and get the Long Island Rail Road to Brooklyn (you may feel even safer on the LIRR) however you still need to get the F train and you may not feel entirely comfortable walking along Atlantic Avenue to the F train.

You can request the taxi use the meter, I have friends that live in Brooklyn, they ask the taxi to take the local streets (much more direct and therefore much less expensive than the way the taxi drivers prefer to go [drivers prefer the Van Wyck to LIE to BQE - fast and expensive]). My friends say the meter is seldom more than $35.00.

Again, if you take the A train, just sit near the conductor and you are fine. You can print the schedule for the A train on the MTA website, www.mta.info (they%26#39;re a little less frequent at JFK because alternate trains split for Lefferts until Midnight or so)

Thanks for the advice. I%26#39;m still sort of torn. The cab is the easy way with no adventure, but the safe way. Hmmm. Thanks again!

It isn%26#39;t safe vs dangerous. Its more ';comfortable'; vs ';adventurous.'; I have taken the train many times. I would not ride in the back of the train, back in the 1980%26#39;s, twenty years ago, the criminal activity always occurred in the back of the train, I%26#39;ve always tried to bear this in mind when I%26#39;m on the train very late at night. Several of the stations I use have exits I use toward the rear of the train, I simply don%26#39;t use the last car super late at night if there are very few people in the car, its basic rules of thumb like that.

If you want to take the train then take the train. The JFK Airport station has a whole team of staff, its perfectly safe. The AirTrain is of course fine. You can wait upstairs for the subway where it is warm and where all the staff are, you can see the train approaching and gingerly stroll downstairs. When you reach the platform you are close to the center of the train anyway.

Jay St, where you change from the A to the F train, is where the MTA takes all the money it collects from the token booths and machines, its like a fortress. Its actually interesting to see, it all goes on at night. Jay St. is downtown Brooklyn and MTA Headquarters, Marriott Hotel, etc.. I am not familiar with the McDonald Avenue / Church St. station

MoreFFmiles, thanks. I think I%26#39;ll try the train for the adventure of doing it by myself. I%26#39;ve taken the trains all over, but have my girlfriends who live there in charge so I don%26#39;t pay as much attention to the details. I%26#39;ll look for the middle of the train! Should be fun :)

I usually take the Airtrain/E train combo - sometimes even later. I%26#39;m usually wired after a long flight and there are so many TSA and other airport workers on the train night and day I%26#39;ve never felt unsafe.

See how you feel when you get in - if you%26#39;re tired and less likely to be alert, jump in a cab.