Electric Scooter Adventure from Queens to Times Square

The electric scooter ride from Astoria to Times Square showcases New York City's vibrant, yet chaotic urban landscape.

### Electric Scooter Adventure from Astoria to Times Square
* 🛴 On October 2nd, 2021, I decided to ride my electric scooter from Astoria, Queens to Times Square instead of taking the subway due to a **detour that required multiple transfers**.
* 🌉 The ride included navigating the **narrow bike and pedestrian lanes** of the Queensboro Bridge, which can be tricky with the **express subway trains operating nearby**.
* 🚧 As I approached Broadway Station, I noted the ongoing street closures and construction that often **complicate travel in the city**, especially when I usually **opt for the bus** during such disruptions.
* 🏙 Upon reaching Fifth Avenue, I encountered the **bustling atmosphere** with iconic stores like **Burberry and Louis Vuitton**, and even spotted some **unexpected minion costumes** in Times Square.
* 🎭 I wrapped up my video in Times Square, highlighting its **vibrant energy and talented street performers**, inviting viewers to **like and subscribe for more adventures**.
* 🚦 The ride back was marked by heavy traffic and construction, especially around the Central Park area, where I noted **significant skyscrapers like 432 Park Avenue** facing **structural issues**.
* 👩 I also witnessed a minor accident where a pedestrian fell, emphasizing the **importance of caution** while navigating the **busy streets of New York City**.
* 🌆 Overall, the trip was a mix of challenges and excitement, showcasing the **dynamic nature of urban commuting** and the need for **careful navigation amidst construction and traffic**.

What's up, everyone? I recorded this video on Saturday, October 2nd, 2021, and it's 73 Fahrenheit (23 Celsius). It's about 2:15 in the afternoon. I'm in Astoria, Queens, and I'm going to ride my electric scooter to Times Square. I was going to take the subway, but they have this crazy detour going on today where you have to ride it one stop to Astoria Boulevard and then take the train going the opposite way, going express. So, I figured since I have the scooter anyway, I'll just go to Manhattan with this. The thing I don't like is the Queensboro Bridge with the narrow bike lane and pedestrian lane, but we'll just have to deal with it, I guess. There's a subway now using the center tracks to go express, so [Music] gets a little bit dicey sometimes here on the train tracks. [Music] Here's Broadway Station. [Music] Not related to the Broadway of Manhattan which

I'll actually be ending this video at because uh Broadway Times Square. Broadway's synonymous with uh the Times Square area pretty much [Music]. So there's a lot of street closures and construction right now, even in the subway as he uh as I explained. Usually, if I'm going by foot and I um decide to go into the city and I know there's construction going on like this, I'll take the bus to the other subway station. This Q102 bus, it pretty much goes down 31st Street and follows this elevated train. I'll get off at the Queen's Plaza station and I'll go downstairs for the train. Wow, look at this. Even underneath the tracks here, it's blocked off. So I guess I have to take another route, man. Um, I guess I'll make a right here and I'll take 30th Street or 29th Street [Music]. This is why there's a construction on the subway probably. They're doing something to the tracks that they need the road here for our maintenance trains and crew.

I guess we'll take 30th Street. 30th Street is, uh, better, I think. All right, I'm going left. Craziness over here. I also said I was going to take 29th Street, but 29th Street is one way going northbound, so there's no way I can go there. This way is the only way that really makes sense. Oh, are you okay? You all right? You hit your head? Oh, gosh, yeah, she fell down running across the street. Yeah, are you sure? Wait, yeah, I saw her fall. She fell like on her hand. I don't think she hit her head, so that's good, you know? Yeah, your hand looks a little cut up, but that's okay. Yeah, you need, yeah, I know. I was halfway up the block, and she ran across and tripped. Yeah, and sometimes, yeah, you could break your bone or anything. Yeah, yeah, you know, this is very dangerous, of course. Yeah, I've fallen a lot, so wow, it looks like she'll be fine. Those wasn't that bad. All right, have a great day. You too.

yeah, she looks okay. Her dog's fine too. Be well, okay. Oh wow, they were doing construction on 38th street there with a crane over the subway tracks. Maybe track replacement or anything. Uh, let's see, can I make a left here and go back on to where I needed to go. All right, so looks like it was just that one or two blocks that was a little bit tricky with the traffic. Now this is the fun part. Good, thank goodness there's a new bike lane here. When this wasn't here, this was a big pain in the butt. And I still want to get uh, keep it very cautious. All right here, I'm going to lift my scooter up onto the sidewalk and we'll push it to the corner. Here's the subway station I'd normally uh, go to if I were to take the bus. But even today, if I took the bus, I think it would have had trouble going down 31st street because of all the construction here. This area always a madhouse for traffic. [Music] All right, here we go.

queensborough bridge. Thank you. We might even beat all these car drivers going to Manhattan on your left. I can't wait for the city to uh separate this combined pedestrian and cycling lane with the other side and make the other side pedestrian only. Would eliminate a lot of the conflicts here on the bridge. Well, this shouldn't be allowed on the bridge. It's actually a lot less busy on the bridge than I thought it was going to be on a nice autumn day like this. You'll see a lot more people running and exercising, so actually this kind of weather is perfect for cycling or going for a walk. You won't really sweat that much in this kind of weather. It's not humid. Got Roosevelt Island right beneath me coming up. I should make another trip over there soon. It's a nice place to go. Loosen up on the throttle. It's getting a little bit busy. This course is carrying a lot of stuff on his bike and plastic bags, and he's got a rack in the back carrying stuff.

see stuff like that over there where there was a lot of congestion can be alleviated if the lanes are separate. I don't know what the time frame is for the city to do that, but it'd be nice to do it soon. The city just recently finished the separated Brooklyn Bridge bike lane, which I've done a video about, and that one so far has been working well, although there are a few blind spots to worry about. But hopefully, those can be addressed with some signage or some mirrors or even some paints saying that you can't pass this bridge. You don't really have that issue, but what I do have an issue with is over here at the end with this turn. It is a horseshoe bend, and it gets pretty hairy sometimes because you have a conflict of traffic here. It gets narrow, and then you have the pedestrian traffic and people coming up, so just take it really slow here. Oh, this is new. They didn't have the green paint here before. It's good that they have this in here.

now though it could be a little bit smoothed out. It's really rough. All right, so I'm gonna make a right turn here, and we'll head across 59th Street to Second Avenue, and then I'll head over to the East Side. This over here says stop, but it's only really for the cars because they don't want them to go onto the outer roadway here. This is going to be the future pedestrian lane on the Queensboro Bridge. Since now I'm in the city and it gets a little bit more crazy or traffic, I'm going to lower down the speed of the scooter down to the drive mode, which goes a max of 15 miles an hour. The sport mode, which I was on before, that goes 18.6. Wow, kind of bold for that smart car to just cut in front of the other one. Let's go to 57th Street. Over here is where I want to turn up the speed because I'm not in a narrow bike lane anymore. We'll go to Broadway along 57th Street.

to see the progress of these Central Park super tall skyscrapers. First ones coming up on Park Avenue, 432 Park Avenue. That was formerly the tallest residential tower in New York City, but that's been surpassed by the Central Park Tower, which is the tallest building by floor height. The 432 Park Avenue has been in the news recently. It's been reported to have a lot of structural deficiencies. People have complained that the elevators have gotten stuck, that the soundproofing in the building is not good, there's leaks in the building, and other quality of life issues. So, the residents are actually suing the developer of the building for millions of dollars. Think about that. You have a great place to live on Park Avenue, and then you have your building with a lot of structural issues. Looks like the city blocked off Lexington Avenue going south, so we're going to have a lot of traffic going this way. This hole here, 135 57th Street, it's a big WeWork office. I'm not really sure how the future of

wework is going to be because right now there's a lot of commercial vacancies. Wow, bad driving around here. There's a lot of commercial vacancies around New York City. They can't find people that rental office space. It's not just limited office space too by retail still recovering in New York City. So I was going to go past on the right but I changed my mind after seeing that steam uh coming out. Don't want to get stuck above that. Oh, watch this taxi. They emerge without giving me too much space here on the corner of Madison 57th Street. You've got IBM. We're approaching the world-famous Fifth Avenue. Burberry, David Yurman. We got Louis Vuitton on the corner. This is where it's at. Thank you. Oh, what's going on here now? Stay behind this drive. Oh, we're merging and here I thought 57th was gonna be a good time. Wow, look at Fifth Avenue. It is busy here on Fifth Avenue. We'll just stay here. Here's Nine West 57th Street.

big skyscraper as well. This driver could have been in the right lane. It would have made the turn a little bit easier. Here we've got another super tall skyscraper. This is 111 West 57th Street. They call this area Billionaires Row, and for a reason. Six and a half Avenue, the secret street that cuts across almost the Times Square area. I've done a video of that as well. Uses an ingenious combination of building lobbies and public spaces to create a through street right in between the block of 6th and 7th Avenues on 57th Street. Oh gosh, oh man. Good thing I didn't take 7th Avenue because the city is getting ready to resurface it. But here's Broadway. Here it is, Central Park Tower. I'm right next to it, otherwise known as the Nordstrom Tower. Okay, this pothole can be fixed. I'll report it. Fire can remember. Got a nice bike lane here on Broadway, and Times Square is straight ahead. I'm always a little bit careful going

past out to a restaurant, um, seating like this because you never know if someone is going to pop out behind it. You don't have a direct line of sight. Better to be on the cautious side. So, at Sullivan Theater, late-night show with David Letterman, now Stephen Colbert. David Letterman was the OG. I missed that guy. All right, we're getting close to Times Square. Oh wow, voices of gotham.org. Maybe there's a free performance that's going on today. Wow, the city is going to resurface 50th Street over here too. It's a short block, very short block, but I just walked my scooter across the street. It's a lot of pigeons here. All the pigeons got scared by the car honk. Only the ones that knew better stayed. The other ones got spooked off. Maybe those pigeons that flew off were new to New York. That's probably what it is. Let's go bye. What you don't want to do here is fight traffic, otherwise you'll get hit where unsurpris.

uh surprising left turn. Well, look at this. You got minions here in Times Square. I haven't seen minion costumes yet in Times Square. Usually, it's been the traditional Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Spider-Man, Batman, Incredible Hulk. All right, here we are across walls of the world. Let me take this off and we'll go for a walk. This is it. We're in Times Square, aka tourist central. Thank you [Music]. Oh, these dancers are very talented. They always drop a big reaction from the crowd [Music]. All right, everyone. Think I'll be ending my video here. If you enjoyed my scooter ride all the way from the story of Queens to Times Square, then smash the like button for me, subscribe for some more videos like these, and I'll see you next time. Goodbye, everyone. Take care [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

NYC Electric Scooter Ride : Astoria, Queens to Times Square (October 2, 2021)

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Electric Scooter Ride from Astoria to Times Square

The video documents a scooter ride from Astoria, Queens to Times Square on a warm October afternoon.

The narrator discusses the subway's detour and construction, opting for the scooter instead.

The ride features busy streets, commercial vacancies, and iconic locations along Fifth Avenue.

Navigating Congestion and Traffic in the City

Separating lanes could alleviate congestion, and the recently finished Brooklyn Bridge bike lane is working well despite some blind spots.

The horseshoe bend at the end of the lane presents a traffic conflict, making it important to take it slow.

The addition of green paint and cautious restaurant seating is a positive change, while the city's plan to resurface 50th Street and the presence of pigeons add to the urban dynamic.

The speaker is making a right turn onto Second Avenue, noting the future pedestrian lane on the Queensboro Bridge.

They lower the scooter's speed to 15 mph due to increased traffic in the city.

The speaker encounters construction on 38th Street and highlights the importance of the new bike lane for easier navigation.

The 432 Park Avenue, once the tallest residential tower in NYC, is now facing lawsuits from residents due to structural deficiencies and quality of life issues.

The Central Park Tower has surpassed it in height, becoming the tallest building by floor height.

The city's traffic is affected by road closures, and a nearby WeWork office's future is uncertain.

Exploring Times Square and Its Surroundings

The narrator observes the presence of minion costumes in Times Square, a departure from the traditional characters.

They highlight the area's tall skyscrapers, especially 111 West 57th Street, known as Billionaires Row.

The video ends with a scooter ride through the city, mentioning the importance of separating pedestrian and cycling lanes on the bridge and noting the perfect weather for outdoor activities.