[stomachmonkey]

Driving on LI is easy if you know how to do it. A nightmare if you don't.

They drive aggressively but are not aggressive if that makes sense. They will drive fast but also are in tune with each other and things work very nicely if you drive in a manner that is in keeping with the regional habits/expectations.

LIRR access from Hofstra is pretty good, top of my head I can think of at least 3-4 stations within a couple of miles. She's probably taking the Hempstead branch which sucks since you likely need to change trains in Jamaica. Westbury line is the same distance from Hofstra and is more direct. Hicksville is farther but you can get an express out of it.

Driving from Hofstra she's likely going to hit the Southern State which can be treacherous even in good weather. Quite a number of fast blind high speed curves and valleys. Better off on the LIE.

Hempstead is easy to get around without a car, plenty of buses but honestly to access anything beyond is a *****.

On LI a car is a basic necessity.

NYC may only be 30 miles or so from Hofstra but could easily take 2 hours driving.

Parking in the city is not easy or cheap either.

Personally I'd send her with a car. When she goes into the city let her drive and park at Hicksville, take the train from there. EDIT: Hicksville is a big well lit station, she's as safe there as she would be finding on street parking in NYC.

Best of both worlds.