The Eisteddfod will take place at the Renaissance Charter School (TRCS), 35-59
81st St, Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City 11372. TRCS is close
the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway or BQE. The BQE is an old highway that
was incorporated into I-278. Just to make things confusing, the BQE
runs north-south while I-278 runs east-west. Taking the BQE north is
the same as taking I-278 east. Taking the BQE south is the same as
taking I-278 west. When driving follow the signs for I-278, but when
asking direction ask for the BQE.
To add to the confusion.
Both Brooklyn and Queens are physically located on Long Island, but are
boroughs of New York City. However, when people say “Long Island” they
usually mean just the suburbs, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. And when
they say “New York City” they sometimes mean just Manhattan. If asking
directions, be sure to specify Queens.
The school is located at 35-59 81st Street,
between 35th and 37th Avenues. There is no 36th Avenue in that part of
Queens. From Northern Blvd. turn onto 82nd Street and go 3 long
blocks to 37th Avenue. Turn right on 37th Avenue and go 1 short block
to 81st Street. Turn right on 81st Street. The school will be the
first building on your right. It has red doors. Look for parking. If
you can’t find any, there is a commercial parking garage (82nd Street
Park) one block east on 82nd Street just before 37th Avenue. Circle
around the block to your right to get to it. The entrance will be on
your left just before 37th Avenue. You will get a $2 discount if you
are attending the Eisteddfod and you get your ticket stamped at the
festival registration desk.
From the South (southern NJ, MD, DE, DC, etc.)
Exit
from the NJ Turnpike at exit 10, follow signs for Rte. 440, Outerbridge
Crossing, and Staten Island. After toll on Outerbridge, keep right and
follow signs to Staten Island Expressway, Rte. 440, North. Follow 440
to the split at I-278. West (left) fork goes back over to NJ, take the
RIGHT fork, I-278 East, (and also still 440), to Verrazano Bridge and
Brooklyn.
FROM I-278: On I-278, Rte. 440 will exit to
the right. Ignore it. You are done with it. Continue on I-278 East
almost all the way to the school. After the Verrazanno Bridge
(either level is fine), go straight ahead, avoid the forced left exit
for the Belt Parkway, you are still on I-278 East. After a few miles
you will come around a sweeping left turn and merge with traffic coming
from the right. After this merge start moving to the right (traffic can
be very heavy here). The left two lanes are actually an exit for the
Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. You do not want this. The right two lanes look
like an exit, but they are not. Keep right (still I-278-East, now says
Brooklyn Queens Expressway -- BQE--).
FROM BQE:
Continue on the BQE (after 3:30 this will likely be very heavy
traffic indeed). You are actually going north, but it is still I-278
East. You will see a fabulous view over the harbor and the lower tip of
Manhattan on your left. Continue across the Kosciuszko Bridge to
Queens, and avoid the forced right exit to the Long Island Expressway.
Continue straight, pass the Queens Blvd. exit, and the next ext (#40)
is "Broadway Roosevelt Ave." Exit right. As you go up to the
ramp, do not take the hard right turn at the top, go straight up to the
light, and turn soft right at the light on to 37th Avenue.
From 37th Avenue:
Continue straight on 37th Avenue 11 blocks to 81st Street, and turn
left. The school is immediately on your right at the end of the bus
stop.
FROM MIDDLE NJ:
If
you are coming from NJ but too far North to go over the Outerbridge
Crossing, you have a couple of options. If you would pass near NEwark
Airport, get on the Turnpike to exit 13, which I believe is I-278,
follow I-278 to the Goethals Bridge to Staten Island. Continue as above
"From I-278". If you are north of the airport and want to come
into the city via the Lincoln or Holland tunnels, please email for
further directions. Please do not try this at rush hour! The
alternative is to take the Turnpike up to I-95 North, to the George
Washington Bridge. See below.
FROM NORTHERN NJ, EASTERN PA:
Come East on I-80, which becomes I-95 North, or NJ Rte. 4, to the George Washington Bridge. See below From George Washington Bridge.
FROM ROCKLAND COUNTY NY, CATSKILLS, UPSTATE NY (west side of the river):
If
you are near the Palisades Parkway, just take that South to the George
Washington Bridge. If not, take the NY Thruway to Exit 13, "Palisades
Parkway South", and continue on that to the Bridge.
FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE:
Probably
you are on the upper level of the bridge. On the Manhattan side, the
right lanes exit for the West Side Highway and local streets. Do not do
that. Keep left, staying with I-95, go under the apartment buildings
(if you come in from NJ and find yourself on the lower level of the
bridge, the right and left are reversed -- keep right). From the upper
level, after you go under the apartment buildings, keep right and exit
for "Harlem River Drive" (from the lower level, this exit is on the
left)*. Come down the ramp on to the Harlem River Drive, proceed
to the (right) exit for the Triboro Bridge at 125th Street. Take exit
ramp up on to the Triboro Bridge,
FROM TRIBORO BRIDGE:
Proceed
through toll, following signs for "Queens, Long Island" (keep
right if coming out of Manhattan, keep left if coming through the
Bronx). At end of bridge do not exit onto the surface streets, go
straight ahead on to the highway (right lane of bridge is forced exit).
Exactly 3/4 mile after end of bridge, exit right on to
Brooklyn-Queens Ezpressway, I-278 towards Brooklyn. Keep left until
past the first exit (Northern Blvd.) and then keep right (it sounds
weird, but just do it) and exit at "Broadway-Roosevelt Avenue". At end
of ramp, turn left, then stay in middle lane, avoid left entrance ramp
on to highway the other direction, go through light with soft left turn
and you should now be on 37th Avenue, East. Follow directions above:
"From 37th Avenue."
UPSTATE NY (East side of the River):
You
can come down to NY on the Taconic Parkway, which is pretty
convenient from upstate if you are already on the East side of the
Hudson. Follow Taconic almost to the end. It becomes automatically the
Sprain Brook Parkway. (There is an exit for the old Taconic, which goes
past some cemeteries. We don't need that today.) On the Sprain
Brook, continue straight down until you see the large body of water on
the left, then keep right. You want to exit at Rte. 100. This is a
little tricky, because there is a sign a ways before the exit, and at
the exit it only says "Exit" I think. Rte. 100 will go under the
Thruway and then bend left, and then there is a left entrance on to the
Thuruway. Take this and follow the Thuruway down to the Triboro Bridge
to Queens. See above "From Triboro Bridge".
FROM SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND:
Come
down via the CT Turnpike, I-95, into NY State and ultimately into the
Bronx. After some miles inside NY City, the road will widen to four
lanes, then divide two lanes each side. KEEP RIGHT (still I-95). Bend
around to the right, keep in far right lane, and after a mile or two
you will see a right exit for "I-678 Whitestone Bridge." Take this.
Once you have exited from I-95, CAUTION. Keep to the left and almost
immediately you will make a rather sharp left turn, there is a large
sign saying "I-678 - Whitestone Bridge". It is well marked but it comes
up on you quickly.
FROM WHITESTONE BRIDGE:
Follow over the
Whitestone Bridge, on the Queens side, keep right, road will split.
Still on I-678. After the split keep right (I-678 will exit left, let
it go) and keep a sharp eye for the sign to “Northern Blvd. Rte 25A
West”. This exit will take you underneath the highway. Keep straight,
there is forced exit to the right to Astoria Blvd. You don’t want this.
FROM INBOUND NORTHERN BLVD. Continue straight in on Northern
Blvd. to 82nd St. Left on 82nd St, three blocks to 37th Avenue (big
commercial street). Right on 37th Avenue and right again on 81st St.
The school is immediately on your right at the end of the bus stop.
FROM BOSTON AREA AND NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND:
You
can just come all the way in on I-95 and follow the directions “From
Southern New England.” If I am coming from Vermont or Boston, I prefer
to take either Mass Pike to Exit 9 (I-84) or I-91 to I-84 (West). Take
I-84 into NY State, and take exit (second exit in NY I think) for I-684
toward NY City. You can follow I-684 all the way to the Whitestone
Bridge and follow directions above “From Whitestone Bridge.” Coming
down I-684, you will cross I-287, just go straight and ignore
references to I-95. I-684 will turn into the Hutchinson River Parkway,
just go straight. After a while there will be a LEFT exit on to the
Bronx River Parkway, and to continue on the Hutchinson you must keep
right. The Hutchinson goes right into the Whitestone Bridge (see
above).
FROM LONG ISLAND:
Come
in on the Northern State/Grand Central Parkways. Once inside Queens,
keep right, left lane is forced exit on to the Jackie Robinson Pkwy.
You will cross under the L.I.E. After this keep LEFT. The road will
divide and you must be on the left side of the divider. While road is
divided, exit left for “Rte. 25A, Northern Blvd. West”.
FROM INBOUND NORTHERN BLVD. Continue straight in on Northern Blvd. to
82nd St. Left on 82nd St, three blocks to 37th Avenue (big commercial
street). Right on 37th Avenue and right again on 81st St. The school is
immediately on your right at the end of the bus stop.
Alternate for local New Yorkers coming from Manhattan
If
you don’t want to or don’t need to take the BQE, here is what you can
do. Take the Queensborough (59th Street) Bridge lower level into
Queens. Follow the signs for Northern Boulevard. Take Northern
Boulevard to 82nd Street, turn right, and follow the directions at the top of the page..