Originally Posted by Welcome2Miami
Thanks for the info.
I'm actually going to Broad Way & Exchange... but I figure having so many things in my mind for the interview, the least I want to do is worry about a bus and the subway.
Thanks again.
Cheapest and easiest won't be the same, as noted in earlier posts.
Cheapest: Bus & Subway. This will cost you $2.00 each way. If you want to do this, exit the terminal and look for the M-60 bus. For this ride to cost you only 2 bucks, however, you'll have to purchase a MetroCard at LGA, and I can't say with 100% certainty that it is possible to buy a MetroCard anywhere at LGA.
If you can't buy a MetroCard (you can't buy one on the bus), you'll need two dollars in change when you board the bus and then you'll need to pay a 2nd fare when you board the subway (in the old days they used to provide a paper transfer but this is no longer the case).
As far as buying a MetroCard the minimum pay-per-ride MetroCard will run you $4.00. This would be enough for one ride from LGA to lower Manhattan and back. You can always add to the MetroCard at any vending machine (which are in every subway station).
If you decide to do this, take the M-60 bus to the stop in Astoria, Queens where you can pick up the N/W subways (ask the driver to announce when the stop is coming up). You'll be getting off at Astoria Blvd & 31st Street
Get off the bus and climb up to the subway platform. Even though the subway is usually underground, it runs elevated in this part of Queens.
If you already had your MetroCard from the bus, simply swipe it through the tunstile and you'll get a free transfer. If not, you'll have to buy a MetroCard at one of the vending machines (they accept cash, credit cards and bank ATM cards).
Go to the Manhattan-bound platform and take the W (not the N, but the W) to Rector Place. That's 19 stops.
When you exit the Rector Street station you'll be one block from Broadway and Exchange Alley. You can either walk downtown (south) one block on Trinity Place and then turn left (east) on Exchange Alley or you can walk one block east on Rector Street and turn right (south) on Broadway and walk one more block to Exchange Alley.
Easiest: Hail a cab at LGA and let him/her do all the work. A cab will run you about $35. If you decide to take a cab, I'd suggest taking the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) to the Brooklyn Bridge. Most cabbies will take you via the Midtown Tunnel and the the FDR Drive or one of the eastside avenues, but the BQE tends to be a little less congested (although there will still be lots of traffic).
Good luck!