How come there is no subway in Long Island but Queens and Brooklyn have one?

Question

If Queens and Brooklyn are connected to Long Island how come Long Island cannot have a subway.

Answer 1

well....most subways do not serve suburban areas. other commuter trains above ground are used because the congestion is not as bad. example. chicago. subway runs through downtown and the more populated areas of the city. and commuter trains service outer fringes of the city and near suburbs.

Answer 2

Because the subway covers New York City. Brooklyn and Queens are still part of the city. The rest of Long Island is not.

Answer 3

Long Island has the Long Island Railroad. Subway riders use the Subway to get all over the city in fairly short hops, say from Penn Station or Grand Central to go uptown, downtown or across town as well as some fairly long rides - The A train for example goes from well out in Queens to far uptown in Manhattan, a distance of several miles. The ridership of the Long Island railroad is predominantly residents of Long Island suburban communities commuting to New York city for work or for pleasure (theatre, museums, sports events, concerts). Relatively few Long Island railroad riders use the trains to travel between towns on Long Island.

Answer 4

I've lived in Queens and now live on Long Island...

As all the other posts mentioned..Long Island is not part of NYC therefore should not have the NYC subway system running through it.

Also...since we have the LIRR and LI Buses...we dont need a subway.

Also...I personally wouldn't want the subway system anywhere near my home...and I'm sure a lot of Long Islanders feel the same way.

Answer 5

Brooklyn and Queens are on Long Island, but they're a part of New York City and therefore have NYC subways. Long Island is very residential and suburban, so it makes more sense to have commuter trains.

Edit:
Goodache: please look at a map. Long Island is the name of an island. It goes from Brooklyn/Queens out to Montauk. Yes, tradionally someone from Brooklyn or Queens wouldn't be considered Long Islanders, but the boroughs are geographically located on Long Island.

Answer 6

There is a train, the long island rail road LIRR. Long island is just too spread out for it to need a subway. Suburbs dont have a subway usually. There however is a subway in parts of queens and brooklin that are on long island closer to the city.

Answer 7

There is the Long Island Railroad.... It wouldn't make sense to have a subway, because for the most part, the subways are leading into Manhattan...they're cheap and not very comfortable because they're meant for a short trip. The LIRR is basically an above ground version, only it's more expensive because most people are going a MUCH farther distance.

Answer 8

Long Island is outside of the city. They have the LIRR instead (which IMO is better than the subway). I live in a part of Queens with no subway service.

Answer 9

At the time the subways were built in Brooklyn and Queens, Nassau and Suffolk were largely very rural. There were many many farms. There was just no need for a subway. Today, expansion of public transportation is a very contentious issue. Many people want it, but no one wants to pay for it or give up their land for development of it.

Answer 10

This is about the third time I've seen some answers on these boards regarding Brooklyn and Queens beinq located on 'Long Island'.

'Long Island' consists of the New York State counties of Nassau and Suffolk. Brooklyn and Queens are not part of 'Long Island'. I understand that these boundries are Political, however that is what we recognize (Political boundries) and not geographical boundries.

Do we consider North Dakota as an extension of Canada?