| The Staten Island Ferry is a fabulous institution. It is a | | | | although I have to say, the crowd showed |
| huge ferry that departs from a very modern, glass | | | | compassion and shock at what had happened. The |
| enclosed terminal, holds several thousand people and | | | | minute the bus came to a stop, the two guys |
| in just about 20 minutes whisks you over to Staten | | | | jumped out and ran away.Everybody was shocked. |
| Island, very close to the Statue of Liberty, and all | | | | The Latino kid was sitting there, rumpled, stunned, |
| this for free! One thing we really noticed about New | | | | not seriously hurt, but had a very pained expression |
| York City is that we definitely love the public | | | | on his face. After he had calmed down he explained |
| transportation system. With our week long pass we | | | | that about 8 kids were trying to extract money |
| have been hopping on an off subways as we please | | | | form him at the bus stop, he said he didn't have any |
| and we have found the transit system to be very | | | | and gave them an expired transit pass and 2 of the |
| efficient, pretty clean and quite safe (for the most | | | | guys followed him onto the bus.I have never |
| part).The Staten Island Ferry is a great insiders way | | | | personally witnessed public violence, so this was very |
| of sneaking a peak at the Statue of Liberty since it | | | | shocking to me and I was glad that the kid wasn't |
| passes pretty close by Ellis Island. Not close enough | | | | really hurt. But I did feel very sorry for the victim |
| to take really great pictures with a simple digital | | | | and the whole event left a bad taste in my mouth, |
| camera like mine, but I gave it a shot anyway.As we | | | | particularly since we had had the impression that New |
| got off the ferry terminal on Staten Island I had a bit | | | | York City had felt so clean and safe. As a matter of |
| of a hare-brained idea: I suggested that we board | | | | fact we had commented on that a number of times, |
| one of the buses that was waiting there, just to hop | | | | of how little litter there was in the street, how few |
| on and ride around and see the island. Of course I | | | | street people or hustlers there were, how there was |
| didn't have a bus map with me, didn't have any | | | | no graffiti in the subways, and how safe it felt to be |
| literature about Staten Island, so didn't know where | | | | taking transit at all hours of the day. We heard that |
| we were going or what the major destinations were | | | | former mayor Rudy Giuliani as well as current mayor |
| on the island. So we got on the #46 bus without any | | | | Michael Bloomberg have really been cleaning up the |
| idea where we were going or how long it was going | | | | city, and it shows. I guess it still doesn't prevent all |
| to take. (I guess I figured how big can the island be? | | | | violence from happening.After our return to |
| Well, it's bigger than I thought...).But we saw a good | | | | Manhattan we subwayed it all the way up to 103rd |
| chunk of Staten Island's neighbourhoods and there | | | | Street and essentially walked all the way down |
| are some pretty nice residential neighbourhoods, | | | | through Central Park, admiring all the recreational |
| although I had expected a more upscale, more | | | | facilities and the beauty of this giant green space. |
| landscaped environment. The ethnic mix in the area | | | | Further south we strolled over to 5th Avenue and |
| seemed to be very much characterized by Blacks | | | | then down into the Broadway Area just north of |
| and Latinos, at least those were pretty much the | | | | Times Square, where we had some quick Italian food |
| only people getting on the bus. School had just ended | | | | at Ray's Pizza. The evening was pretty chilly, |
| so a bunch of highschool kids had gotten on with | | | | probably only about 12 degrees or so and past 11 we |
| us.Well, we rode the darn bus until the end, which | | | | headed back home on the Q train, processing the |
| ended up being a non-descript shopping mall called | | | | memories of another packed day and studying the |
| "West Shore Plaza", where we ended up having a | | | | behaviour of our fellow transit riders all the way |
| sandwich and strolling around in a sports store which | | | | back.Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website |
| had amazingly good prices on most merchandise. | | | | called Travel and Transitions( Travel and Transitions |
| Then finally another bus showed up and we had to | | | | deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of |
| run to catch it.It was a pretty non-eventful bus ride, | | | | advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews |
| people of all ages got on and off, then two young | | | | with travellers and travel experts, insights and |
| black teenage boys got on, but didn't pay. The bus | | | | reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many |
| driver didn't question them and we just continued the | | | | other features. You will also find stories about life and |
| ride. All of a sudden, I heard a big noise, like someone | | | | the transitions that we face as we go through our |
| fists hitting another person and all the people in the | | | | own personal life-long journeys.Submit your own |
| bus turned around, and the two young men were | | | | travel stories in our first travel story contest( and |
| beating up a young short Latino teenager. It all took | | | | have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise |
| just a few seconds, right before a bus stop. The | | | | on the Amazon River. |
| whole event was too quick for anyone else to react, | | | | |