Op-Ed: My 35-Minute Commute to Work This Morning—Across Boro Park

By: Yehuda Alter 

The gridlock in Boro Park that seems to be getting worse feels unprecedented. 

This morning, my commute which normally takes 10 minutes at 7:30 a.m. took thirty-five minutes. The same thing repeated itself on my return to the area an hour later. The streets are simply clogged, gridlocked. 

Between sanitation trucks, school buses, and enormous construction vehicles—who seem to have no problem taking up an entire lane—drivers this morning were better off taking long detours to avoid the jam. School buses, desperate to make the light, jump out into the intersection at the last second—resulting in gridlock, and leaving a large number of drivers stuck. 

With our growing population, ka”h, it is unlikely that our shtetl will soon turn into a drivable suburban town where a horn is used for strict emergencies. 

But perhaps—as we head into a new year—if each driver would take a moment to consider their actions and driving patterns, striving for a bit more mentchlichkeit and consideration for others, we would all benefit during our commutes about town, and for that matter, our entire day. 

The opinions expressed here are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Boropark24.