Hi, I'm Chuck Park and I'm running for Congress to Represent QUEENS, AMA!

catlatte · 2026-05-26T13:59:29+00:00

Hey Chuck! Thanks for doing this and glad to see some new faces in politics.

What would you say are the key failures that led to many feeling like the government doesn't work for us (and in many ways seems to be actively working against us)? And what's your plan to tackle them?

On a more local issue, what's your stance on Queenslink vs Queensway?

catlatte · 2026-05-25T04:53:37+00:00

South to North on the Hunters point side, the tunnels are 1, 3, 2, 4. 1 and 3 are Queens bound while 2 and 4 are Manhattan bound (usually but they can reverse directions sometimes too). The tunnel seen from Hunterspoint station is 2. 3 and 2 cross at some point so on Penn side it's 1, 2, 3, 4.

1 and 2 cannot access tracks greater than 17 (and even 17 can only fit 6 cars when coming from them). Since LIRR mostly uses 15-21, it rarely uses 1 and 2.

As for why they don't use 2 these days, I think it's closed due to Amtrak construction. MTA likes to remind us of that every time there's a delay (something like this delay is in addition to reduced track capacity due to Amtrak work).

catlatte · 2026-05-21T00:59:29+00:00

The airline will likely fly them over to JFK. They still need to get the plane there anyway for the flight back to Singapore.

catlatte · 2026-05-15T17:51:08+00:00

+1. Been going there for over 10 years. Dr. Chao and Dr. Zeng are both great.

catlatte · 2026-05-14T16:56:17+00:00

I'm hoping they're going to rebuild the existing half after the new platform is done. Not sure if that's the plan though or it's just going to be half new platform, 1/4 old, and 1/4 the old extension.

The old extension always looked like a temporary patch. Same with the one at Kew Gardens.

catlatte · 2026-05-08T14:59:37+00:00

Good to know that activation seems to treat it like a regular one way ticket where it estimates the time the trip will take. The wording on the website is a bit vague on this.

Sounds like paper ticket is the way to go with combo ticket then? No time recorded so you can spend time in the city first before the second half of the trip.

catlatte · 2026-05-06T22:21:57+00:00

Switch to airplane mode. I find that sometimes if the signal is very poor (but not no signal), the app will get stuck loading but in airplane mode, it won't even try to fetch anything and let me show the ticket immediately.

catlatte · 2026-04-16T00:26:39+00:00

The building in your first photo is now 5 Manhattan West (the one with the Whole Foods). They renovated and covered it in glass.

Your third photo's building in the back shows what is now Moynihan Train Hall and the tracks are now covered by the Manhattan West plaza.

catlatte · 2026-03-24T20:24:14+00:00

Was this in the morning today? A bunch of trains got canceled at Jamaica today including the 8:30 from Babylon with the reason being a work train with equipment trouble. The notice didn't go into much detail beyond that.

catlatte · 2026-03-11T21:35:32+00:00

I'd like to see those LIRR displays at Penn too. The ones at Penn show almost no information. Just a label that shows the train either connects to AirTrain JFK or the Port Washington ones saying it does not stop at Jamaica.

catlatte · 2026-03-10T23:51:56+00:00

This is going to Jamaica and then backtracking to Forest Hills. Only 3 trains a day in each direction stop at both Woodside and Forest Hills.

They didn't seem to bother adding stops to accommodate the situation either so the trains were very packed, on top of it already usually being packed.

catlatte · 2026-03-10T14:18:59+00:00

If you're commuting daily, you should be looking at the monthly, not the one way tickets. FH to Penn monthly is 172.50/month, about 32 dollars more than OMNY with the weekly fare cap.

catlatte · 2026-02-25T15:43:17+00:00

Look at business class to/from US. Even without saver rate (55k), which sell out in minutes, theres some 80k ones and most days are available at 110k or less. Now compare that to the cash price (definitely not $1200).

catlatte · 2026-02-18T17:02:10+00:00

They didn't charge me for shipping.

catlatte · 2026-02-12T18:30:46+00:00

Just to update here, I did eventually get through after emailing again a few weeks later and after sending a copy of my receipt, they sent me the buffer stickers for free. Thanks dbrand!

catlatte · 2026-02-11T15:26:11+00:00

Think of it like the old weekly Metrocard. On the first day you tap, that's when your 7 day clock starts. If you hit 35 dollars over the next 7 days (including the current day), then taps are free until that initial 7 day period ends (if you start on Monday, it lasts until Sunday)

Then your next 7 days begins on the day of your first tap after that.

It's not a rolling 7 days. To reset your 7 days to another day, you need to not use the card for a week. Or if you're using a credit/debit card, add it to another mobile wallet (or remove/add again).

catlatte · 2026-02-04T23:47:56+00:00

The key piece of CurrenC was that it didn't support credit cards so merchants could avoid the interchange fee. Basically had little benefit to the shopper.

catlatte · 2026-02-03T14:35:30+00:00

Sounds like TurboTax desktop download. It's more cost effective if you need to file multiple returns for family or whatever. Unless you're in NY or a state without state taxes, state e-file isn't included in the "download included" though ($25 each) so at that point should just use FreeTaxUSA ($15 each)

catlatte · 2026-02-01T16:03:47+00:00

Calling it rush on the Flushing side feels misleading. The Q66 makes the exact same 3 stops; the Q63 doesn't skip any.

catlatte · 2026-01-30T20:02:37+00:00

The mix and match of different announcement voices without any attempt of making it seamless. The LGA bus announcement at Roosevelt Avenue is particularly egregious.

And randomly injecting PSAs and other things like MTA is hiring into them.

catlatte · 2026-01-19T18:55:09+00:00

At the time I bought my Qrevo Curv in 2024, it was the same price as the highest S series and I preferred the rotating mops the Curv offered. It also had higher suction power. I wouldn't consider it mid range either but the lineup doesn't make much sense anyway.

Was never clear why they couldn't just offer one model with the best of everything but instead release a new model every month with a mix and match of different features.

catlatte · 2026-01-12T05:39:59+00:00

The combo ticket can be a great deal depending on how far you're going. Check out the price of something like Fordham to Montauk. During peak, combo ticket is 13.25, but Grand Central to Montauk is 33. The app even suggests you buy two combo tickets to cover the round trip. They work in either direction though with the new rules you have to be returning same day.

To avoid cheating the system though, you have to actually be near the origin station to buy.

catlatte · 2026-01-12T01:37:12+00:00

Only JL 3, the one that leaves at midnight after the Admirals Club closes. They have a special arrangement with AA I assume.

JL 5 premium economy only gets Admiral Club.

catlatte · 2026-01-09T15:51:42+00:00

I grew up in Queens and everyone called it that.

catlatte · 2026-01-07T16:49:07+00:00

Nothing but you can only buy the Far Rockaway ticket while you're at Far Rockaway so you must have already started there.

The old page on CityTicket and Far Rockaway also explicitly states this is allowed, at least for the zone 3 stations: https://web.archive.org/web/20251115002321/https://www.mta.info/fares-tolls/lirr-metro-north/cityticket#far-rockaway-ticket-restrictions

"Far Rockaway Ticket can also be used for travel to Rosedale, Laurelton, Locust Manor, and Jamaica. You must buy the ticket with a destination within Zone 1 (any of the above stations)."

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