New York Is My Campus, The Rest Of The World Is A Step Away

Newark-Liberty Int'l Airport is a short trip from Fordham

Happy Easter future rams! While this blog has provided an abundance of information on life in New York City, although NYC is the greatest city in the world, as they say it is possible to have too much of a good thing. What's great about Fordham and our location in New York City, however, is that when you do want to get away for a weekend or Easter break it's very easy. 

My Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio

If you come from a family like mine, holidays are meant for family time and any opportunity to take a vacation is soaked up to it's fullest. With much of my family in the Great Lakes and the South, driving home isn't such an attractive option when it comes time to go away for breaks like Easter. Luckily for us, Fordham is located in the midst of the biggest transportation hub on the east coast. NYC's 3 airports (JFK, Laguardia, and Newark-Liberty) make up the busiest airport system in the US, so finding a direct flight is never a challenge. The Ram Van even operates as a shuttle between the Rose Hill campus and LaGuardia and JFK during busy travel seasons such as Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring break. If you're like myself and typically fly through Newark Liberty (the east coast hub for United), getting there is a breeze. The cheapest way is to take the D train from Fordham Road down to 34th street, and walk one block over to Penn Station where you catch an NJ Transit train to the airport. The subway stretch takes about 30-45 minutes and will cost you just $2.75 and the NJT takes about 15-20 and costs $12.50. Substituting the D train with Metro-North is also a popular, but more expensive option, as are taxis and car services like Uber.

Cumberland Falls in Cumberland Gap National Park

This Easter, I was lucky enough to go visit my family in Cincinnati, and meet a friend in Tennessee for the day. I flew in direct from Newark-Liberty to Cincinnati (oddly enough the main airport is in Kentucky) and drove a few hours down to the beautiful Cumberland Gap National Park to spend a day with my friend. The best part of my flight is that it was completely free, including my checked bag! 

If there's any recommendation I have for future or current Fordham students who live outside the Northeast Corridor, it's to enroll in a frequent flier program. I've been racking up miles with United since the airline was called Continental, and my flights to New Orleans and Charleston over Christmas and Thanksgiving have allowed me to fly for free between NYC, Cincinnati, and really anywhere I'd like to go.

I love being able to visit my family in Charleston, SC

For those of you who live close-by to Fordham, or are afraid of flying; you're in luck too! Fordham has it's own stop on the Harlem and New Haven lines of Metro-North that serve downstate New York and coastal Connecticut. To avoid back-tracking through Penn Station, Metro-North is also a convenient way to get to Stamford Connecticut and transfer to Amtrak trains to Providence and Boston. From Penn, New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Railroad serve the rest of the NYC area and Amtrak has numerous routes stretching across the country.

Getting Around Town

I'm originally from a small town outside of Cleveland, Ohio, and before coming to Fordham, I had never been to NYC.  One of the reasons I chose to attend the Rose Hill campus was because it had the typical college campus feel with lots of green space, yet it was close to Manhattan and all of the amazing opportunities that come with being one of the greatest cities in the world.  Before I arrived at school, I had never taken any form of public transportation, but three years later, I consider myself a pro at navigating the city.  Here is a breakdown of the usual ways Fordham students make their way around.

It's easy to get around and explore the city that's your home

Ram Van- The Ram Vans run between the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses, with vans leaving each campus every half hour.  Each ride can take anywhere from 30 mins to an hour depending on if you're travelling during rush hour or not.  Students taking classes away from their home campus can get free passes, but anyone else can take the Ram Van for $3.50 a ride.  You can even reserve your seat for a van in advance online.  The Ram Vans are driven by students, so if you are looking for a job on campus consider being a driver. 

Ram Van also offers transportation to and from JFK and LGA airports for breaks.  I personally love this service.  I just enter my flight information and Ram Van will schedule me for a van that takes me from Rose Hill right to my terminal and gets me there in plenty of time without any hassle, all for $20.  When I'm coming back, I again provide my flight information and am scheduled for a Super Shuttle van for Fordham students that brings me right back to campus.  This inbound service costs $30.  Of course there are many other ways of getting between campus and the airport (and I've used different ways when I'm travelling and it's not a break for school), but I much prefer the Ram Van service because I know it's very safe and convenient.   

Metro North (Harlem Line)- The Metro North station is literally right next to campus.  It is about a 20 minute ride to Grand Central.  Heading back to campus, you usually hop on a train going to North White Plains, and Fordham is between the second and forth stop the train makes (depending on if the train is local or express).  During peak-hour, a ticket is $8.75, while an off-peak ticket is $6.50.  One of the great things about Metro North is that on the weekends there is a City Ticket, which is only $4.25 and you can use it to travel to or from Grand Central.  

You can see campus from the Metro North station

Subway/Local Bus- Subway and bus fare is $2.75 per ride.  There is a D train stop about a 10 minute walk from campus and a 4 train stop just a little bit further from that.  If you don't feel like walking, you can take one of the local buses that stops outside of campus to the subway stations and transfer to the train for free.  Although it takes a little bit longer, I like to taking the subway because I can transfer between trains for free, meaning I can get to right where I want to go without having to take another form of transportation.  There are subway maps in each of the trains, but I found a handy smartphone app that lets me plug in a starting and ending station and it will tell me which train(s) I need to take.   

From 10pm-6am, Public Safety has vans waiting right outside of the D station on Fordham Road to take students back to campus.  One van doesn't leave until another one shows up, so there is always someone there waiting for students getting off the subway.      

Taxi/Uber/Lyft- Of course there are these stand-by methods of getting around the city, and prices vary depending on where you want to go.  

An iconic NYC taxi in the basement of Forever 21 in Times Square

I have used all of these methods of getting around, and I think that each has its own benefits.  When deciding what I'll use I take into account: the time of day I'm traveling, who I'm traveling with, where I want to go, and how much I feel like spending.  I also think that if you're living in New York you should embrace the "walking culture" (which is why I don't mind taking the Metro North to Grand Central and walking 20 minutes to Penn Station).  With all of these ways of getting around, it is easy to take advantage of Fordham's prime location.  Happy travelling!

Escaping the City: A Daytrip to Breakneck Ridge

The variety of things to do, places to explore, and opportunities to take advantage of in New York City is truly astounding. Nevertheless, it is still a city, and cities (as densely populated areas with countless buildings as tall and far as the eye can see) categorically have certain limitations. Namely, nature and green space is conspicuously restricted. Although Fordham's Rose Hill campus achieves an impressive balance between grassy areas and the buildings they surround, I sometimes find myself craving an inversion of the urban landscape: nature as far as the eye can see interrupted only by the odd building or two, rather than the other way around.

Campus is even more beautiful in autumn.

To this end, my friends and I recently took a daytrip to go hiking. Although none of us have a car at school, there is a Metro North Railroad station just outside campus that enables practically door-to-door transportation to Breakneck Ridge, a mountain with a number of trails along the Hudson River in Cold Spring, NY.

Hiking at Breakneck is very popular with New Yorkers in the fall, so our train was standing-room only.

The train stop is about 300 feet from the entrance to the trail, which begins with a steep uphill climb. This ended up being the most challenging and tiring section of our hike, with some nearly-vertical sections that required minor bouldering. The effort was worth it though...

Looking south back towards NYC - over 50 miles away.

The view from the summit was astounding.

The view west across the Hudson. Hardly a cloud in the sky.

Although I'm originally from Massachusetts and very proud of New England's reputation for breathtaking vistas when the leaves begin to change color in the fall, I'll admit that I was impressed with the landscape at Breakneck.

A group of birds of prey circled nearby throughout the day.

The park offers a variety of terrain on several trails marked by colored tree markers along the way.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is just visible across the river from the southern end of the park.

We had packed lunches and ate on the mountain. Including breaks, our hike took about 5 hours from the time we got off the train until we reached the village of Cold Spring.

A great place to stop and take in the view.

After visiting the town of Cold Spring (where we each grabbed a well-deserved ice cream), we hopped back on the train and headed home.

There may not be any mountains, but Edwards Parade is still a great place to spend time outdoors.

The True Magnificence of Grand Central Station

Everyone has their favorite place in New York City. For some people, it's Central Park, or Times Square, or even a certain restaurant. For me, my favorite place in New York City is Grand Central Station. Originally built in 1871, the station has undergone many demolitions and reconstructions throughout the years, until the building that is currently standing was opened in 1913. 

Made almost entirely of marble, many would say that Grand Central Station is one of the most magnificent buildings in Manhattan, including myself. While standing on the first floor, you can look around at the beauty of the marble stair cases and the illuminating clock in the center of the room, with the sunlight beaming through the huge windows to your left. Then you look up and see the beautiful artwork on the ceiling of the constellations as seen from Earth. But then, and this is my favorite part, you take in the beauty and magnificence of all of the people around you. 

Grand Central Station brings people from all over New York and the tri-state area to one place, and that is what truly makes it such a unique place. There are tourists from all over the world and commuters from Connecticut. There are couples taking their wedding photos and two people who have never met before discussing their love for Magnolia Cupcakes (which is located in the lower level). There families coming to enjoy a weekend in Manhattan and college students heading home in the hope that their mom will do their laundry. The people of Grand Central are truly what make it such a special place.

I spend so much time at Grand Central Station because the Metro North train brings you from Fordham into Grand Central, located right in the middle of Manhattan, in about 20 minutes. The proximity into Manhattan is what attracts so many students to Fordham, including myself! But it can be so easy to rush through Grand Central, rushing to get to your train, weaving through all of the people who are around you. But sometimes, if you slow down while you are there, you will remember why there are so many people standing still and taking pictures, or looking up at the ceiling, or simply taking it all in. Because Grand Central is a place of beauty of all kinds.