It isn’t as bad as you fear. Earlier this month, I had an appointment in Bath Beach, Brooklyn at 10:30am on a Tuesday morning. From central NJ (exit 9) it took me around 1 hr 10 minutes. Maybe 15 minutes of traffic. Once that early work traffic eases up, it’s not so bad. Red hook is further, but you probably wouldn’t want to check in much before 11 anyway.