blackmons

A friend of mine and I have been traveling together to New York with our mothers every few years for over 25 years. This year we would like to venture out more and visit the Brooklyn Museum. My mother has some difficulty walking long distances. Is it pretty easy to take a subway or bus to the museum from Manhattan? Once there, how difficult is it to catch a cab if we want to also include the Coop Art Library in the Williamsburg neighborhood? Or, even better, if not too expensive, could we just take a cab to and from Brooklyn? Would it be difficult to find a cab in Brooklyn to take us back to Manhattan? Just don't want to leave my mother stranded with having to walk long distances once we're there.

Thanks,
Laurie

nyer

You're not likely to find regular yellow cabs in Brooklyn. You'd have to call a local car service (perhaps someone on this board can recommend one) How much a car servcie to/from Manhattan would cost would depend among other things on the exact location in Manhattan. A just barely educated guess woud be $25 - $30 each way, perhaps more.

It is easy to get to the museum by subway since several trains stop nearby http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/directions.php

Few buses travel between the boroughs so that wouldn't be practical.

nytraveler

For 4 people I would just cab to and car service back. Cabs are very rare in Brooklyn - except for picking up at a cruis ship terminal etc.

Sorry - I don;t know local car services there.

october_fun

We had difficulty getting a cab to go from Manhattan to Brooklyn when we had a dinner reservation at the River Cafe. Each cab the doorman hailed either didnt want to go there or wanted us to give them directions. Something to be aware of if you decide on a cab. Luckily there were town cars on hand at the restaurant for the trip back which cost $45 but I think even that was discounted because of the time of night. I would check out rates on the net if you go that way.

nyer

Sorry you had trouble October_fun, but it's against NYC law for yellow cab drivers (unless off duty, which is indicated on the cab lights on top) to turn down a fare to a destination anywhere in the 5 boroughs. The doorman (at your hotel?) should have know that and just had you get into the taxi and THEN tell the driver the destination.

I suggest blackmons do the same (but do note the cab's medallion number in case there's a problem). Once passengers are inside, it's very unlikely the driver will do anything inappropriate and turn you away.

october_fun

nyer we even got in a couple but they said we had to give directions as they didnt know Brooklyn. As we couldnt give directions we had no choice but to get out of the cabs. The doorman was as frustrated as we were. Finally got one to take us but the Brooklyn Bridge was closed to traffic earlier than he thought and he had to go via Manhattan bridge and then detour because of roadworks in Brooklyn itself. We were an hour and a half late for our dinner reservation. Our taxi ride took an hour and cost $90. My husband was not amused. Luckily our reservation was kept and the rest of our night was perfect.

nytraveler

It sounds like you were taken for a ride. The Brooklyn bridge doesn't close to traffic.

However, It's true that many cabbies know only Manhattan south of 96 st and the airports. To go anyplace in brooklyn go to Yahoo maps and print out directions for the driver.

hpluss1

From Manhattan, take a yellow cab to Brooklyn. If driver gives you a hard time (doubtful) then just wait for the next cab.

From the Brooklyn Museum you can call a car service to take you back to Manhattan. (1) Arecibo: (718) 783-6465 and (2) Northside: 718-387-2222.

These car services are the same price as a yellow cab but I like it better because you tell them your exact location and they tell you "5 minutes" or "10 minutes" and they're there, and you don't have to worry about hailing a cab. Those are the car services I always use.

Once you are in Williamsburg, just call Northside car service to go back to manhattan. Northside is based in Williamsburg and is always whereever you are in 5 minutes. 718-387-2222.

blackmons

Thanks so much for the great advice! I appreciate you taking the time to help.
Laurie