Sunset Parkers Rely On Mass Transit Despite Long Commute Times, Says Study

Sunset Parkers have an average commute time of 43.2 minutes — ranked 20th city-wide and 8th Brooklyn-wide for the longest commute — and primarily use mass transit (69 percent), as opposed to cars/taxis (16 percent) and their own feet or bikes (13 percent). This, according to a new study released by the Center for an Urban Future

The study, called Fast City, Slow Commute, analyzes work-related travel for New Yorkers in 55 “census-defined” neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs. Researchers examined a range of information about commuting, including travel time, where people work, and how they get there.

The report revealed that in all but one New York neighborhood (Greenwich Village/Financial District), commute times generally exceed the national average of 26 minutes.

The long commutes have caused a sea change in how and where New Yorkers work. For instance, more and more residents are choosing to work from home, rather than commit themselves to the rush-hour slog. The number of people working from home rose by 68 percent between 2000 and 2014.

In Sunset Park, only 2.6 percent of neighbors worked from home in 2014, according to the study.

Park Slope and Fort Greene have the highest number of people who work at home. Bensonhurst and East Flatbush have some of the longest commutes in the city. And Borough Park — by a huge margin — has the greatest number of people who bike to work in Brooklyn.

Meanwhile, New Yorkers are increasingly finding employment in their own borough. In Brooklyn, that number grew by 37 percent between 2000 and 2014.

When it comes to commuting by car, most of neighborhoods with lots of motorists are predictably concentrated in the outskirts of the city: Places like the northern Bronx, eastern Queens, and Staten Island. (The highest percentage of drivers (75.6) is in Staten Island’s South Shore.)

Check out this interactive map from the Center for an Urban Future to see how people prefer getting to work in different New York City neighborhoods.

Reporting contributed by Heather Chin.