B25 (New York City bus)

This article is about the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation streetcar line. For the former elevated rapid transit line, also owned by the BMT, see Fulton Street Line (Brooklyn elevated).

The B25 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, running mainly along Fulton Street between Fulton Ferry and East New York. It was originally the Fulton Street Line or East New York Line streetcar line run by the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT). In 1941, the streetcar line was replaced by bus service, and it is now operated by the New York City Transit Authority.

b25
Fulton Street Line
A 2011 XD40 (4832) on the Broadway Junction-bound B25 on Smith Street near Fulton Mall in July 2018.
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	New York City Transit Authority
Garage	East New York Depot
Vehicle	New Flyer Xcelsior XD40 New Flyer Xcelsior XDE40 OBI Orion VII NG HEV
Route
Locale	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Communities served	East New York, Ocean Hill, Bedford–Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO
Start	East New York – Broadway Junction and Alabama Avenue
Via	Fulton Street[1]
End	Fulton Landing – Front Street and York Street
Length	6.1 miles (9.8 km)[2]
Other routes	B26 Halsey/Fulton Streets Fulton Street Line
Service
Operates	All times[1]
Annual patronage	1,463,540 (2023)[3]
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	B25
Route map Elizabeth Place Water Street Downtown Brooklyn – Fulton Landing  B25  Hicks Street Henry–Prospect Streets Middagh Street ​ Cadman Tower Clark Street Tillary Street Johnson Street Montague Street ​ Joralemon Street ​ Adams Street Smith–Jay Streets ​​​​ Hoyt Street ​ Bond Street Flatbush–Hudson Avenues Intermittent stops Ashland Place Lafayette Avenue Portland Avenue Greene Avenue Carlton Avenue–Adelphi Street Clermont–Vanderbilt Avenue Clinton–Washington Avenues Intermittent stops St. James Place Grand Avenue Classon Avenue Franklin Avenue ​ Bedford Avenue Nostrand Avenue ​ New York–Marcy Avenues Brooklyn–Tompkins Avenues Kingston Avenue Sumner Avenue Lewis Avenue Schenectady–Stuyvesant Avenues Utica Avenue ​ Buffalo Avenue Ralph Avenue Howard Avenue Saratoga Avenue Boyland Street Rockaway Avenue Eastern Parkway Sackman Street Van Sinderen Avenue ​​​​ Alabama Avenue  B25  ​ Legend Two-way stop One-way stop  B25  Terminal Subway connection ← B24  {{{system_nav}}}  B26 →

Route description

The B25 bus route runs along Old Fulton Street and Fulton Street between Fulton Ferry and the Broadway Junction subway station (A, ​C​, J​, L​, and Z) in East New York, except in Downtown Brooklyn, where a block of the street past Borough Hall is closed. Along the way, subway transfers can be made at Court Street–Borough Hall (2, ​3​, 4, ​5​, N, R, and ​W), Jay Street–MetroTech (A, ​C​, F, <F>​​, N, R, and ​W), DeKalb Avenue (B, ​D, ​N, ​Q, ​R, and ​W), and at various points along the IND Fulton Street Line. The route is based out of East New York Bus Depot.

History

An RTS bus on the B25 on Fulton Street near a streetscape

The Brooklyn City Rail Road opened a line along Fulton Street from Fulton Ferry on July 6, 1854;^[4] it reached East New York by 1874.^[5] Buses were substituted for streetcars on August 10, 1941.^{[citation needed]}

In 1998, the line was extended further into DUMBO to Water Street and Main Street during the daytime hours on weekdays.^[6] This was at the request of a real estate developer who had paid an annual fee of $90,000 to the Transit Authority to operate the service.^[7] The fee has not been paid since 2000, but the part-time extension remained in effect.^[7] Service to Main Street began operating at all times in 2011.^[8]

On December 1, 2022, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority released a draft redesign of the Brooklyn bus network.^[9][10] As part of the redesign, the B25 would maintain its existing routing, along with the elimination of closely spaced stops, but would end at Franklin Avenue overnight, with the B26 taking over service on Fulton Street west of this point.^[11]

A 2021 XDE40 (9526) on the B25 on layover in Dumbo, Brooklyn