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Extreme Commuter: 4 hours to school - each way

By Marlene Naanes, amNewYork Staff Writer
More stories | MNaanes@am-ny.com

Jay Mundy's recent 21st birthday didn't end until 2 a.m. the following day.

That was the time Mundy arrived at his Monroe home in upstate New York after a 4 and a half commute from St. John's University in Jamaica Estates, where he studied journalism.

"I suppose my 21st birthday was a bit like others, what with coming home at 2 a.m. after a night in the city, ... but not because I was out partying, but because I was commuting," Mundy said. "I would have at least liked to spend the night in Manhattan having my first legal drink."

When his parents decided to move upstate from Old Mill Basin two years ago, Mundy followed in order to save money.

Since then, he has spent upwards of seven hours a day on at least days four days a week shuttling between home and school.

When he does see friends, they usually agree to meet briefly at Penn Station, one of the four stops on his commute.

"I'll call them in advance and let them know, 'OK, I'll have ten minutes, twenty minutes," he said. "That's all I can give. It's really unfortunate."

Mundy wakes up at 4:30 a.m. and drives from Monroe to Harriman, where he catches a Metro-North train at around 7 a.m. He transfers to a N.J. Transit train at Secaucus, N.J., and takes it to Penn Station. There, he takes an E train into Queens. Finally, at Kew Gardens, he hops on a Q46 bus to campus.

When classes get out around 9:30 p.m., he makes the same grueling trek in reverse.

Mundy said he tries not to sleep on the train because he's dozed off before, only to wake up well past his stop.

While Mundy recently graduated, his long commutes may continue because he's considering a return to St. John's in the fall for an advance degree in journalism.

"I love journalism," he said. "I can't have a social life or anything like that but I gotta do it. I gotta do it."

If you know of someone with an extreme commute, let us know. E-mail mnaanes@am-ny.com.