34 St-Herald Sq — Local services in New York

Stepping off the F train at 34th Street was like walking into a time warp—back to a New York I had tried to forget. After living in Spain, where the subways are clean, the trains gleam, and the air smells of... well, nothing, 34th Street was a full-on assault to the senses. The familiar cocktail of stale air, mystery odors, and the endless hum of city life greeted me like an old acquaintance I never wanted to see again. Had it not been for some pressing paperwork dragging me back to the city, I’d have happily stayed oceans away, avoiding the chaos entirely.

Each step toward the exit was a reminder of the grime New York seems to wear like a badge of honor. Sure, I love the city—but it’s the kind of love you feel for an old car. The kind you’d abandon in a second if a shiny new ride came along. What happened to this place? I found myself half-wishing Giuliani could come out of retirement for another run at cleaning up the mess, while simultaneously dodging puddles of unknown human origin. It’s amazing how fast you can miss a city like Bilbao, where public transit feels more like a modern marvel than a ride through urban purgatory.

Still, it’s New York. Grit and all, it’s the city that never sleeps, because let’s be honest, it’s too loud and grimy to get a good night’s rest. But even with all its rough edges, there’s something magnetic about this place that keeps pulling me back. I just wish it came with a can of air freshener, a deep-clean crew and housing...

Overall it is a clean station, all trains that go to Coney Island stop here, and you have access to the Bronx, Queens, East side of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Q train: By far the best train to catch their because it runs express, it's clean and fast.

N train: Also a great and clean train to catch which is also fast amd reliable.

D train: It's express and is clean and reliable.

M train: I think the M is tied up with the D train for 3rd best train because you can always rely on it.

B train: It would be great if it went all the way to the Bronx during off peak hours and didn't take so long to come.

W train: Ever since it came back, it has done a great job replacing Q service to Queens and has a nice upgrade in car fleet too.

R train: It is old, slow and takes a while to come but the only plus is that it is reliable at times. Also it doesn't run express anywhere which is sad.

F train: By far THE WORST train to catch here. It comes every 10 to 15 minutes and 10 to 7 minutes during rush hour. Mostly it is always having a problem and is slow. This is why I rated Herald Square a 4 star and...

Overall, not a good subway station.

Pros: This station sees very frequent service, and it helps the overcrowding found in Times Square. Cons: The station itself is too large for the MTA to well maintain. Times Square and Grand Central are much busier stations, and they are so much better maintained than Herald Sq. There is always at least one escalator or elevator out of service. The station is one of the dirtiest in the system (and the poor lighting makes it look even dirtier). The passageway between Penn Station and this station has been closed for over 30 years (with no plans to reopen the passageway any time soon). Since the station is very confusing to navigate, it's very easy for the homless to hide down there. Therefore, the polices can't efficiently perform sweeps at this station like they do at...