25th Street station (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)

25th Street is a local station on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 25th Street and Fourth Avenue in Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, it is served by the R train at all times. The D and N trains also stop here during late nights, and some rush-hour W trains stop here in the peak direction.

25 Street
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Southbound platform
Station statistics
Address	25th Street & Fourth Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11232[1]
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Greenwood Heights
Coordinates	40°39′38″N 73°59′53″W
Division	B (BMT)
Line	BMT Fourth Avenue Line
Services	D  (late nights) ​   N  (late nights) ​   R  (all times) ​   W  (limited rush hour service only)
Transit	NYCT Bus: B63 (on Fifth Avenue); B37 (on Third Avenue)[2]
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	June 22, 1915
Station code	031[3]
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2019	1,153,842[4]  0.4%
Rank	337 out of 424[4]
Station succession
Next north	Prospect Avenue: D  ​N  ​R  ​W
Next south	36th Street: D  ​N  ​R  ​W
Location
Track layout to Prospect Av to 36 St
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

The 25th Street station was constructed as part of the Fourth Avenue Line, which was approved in 1905. Construction on the segment of the line that includes 25th Street started on December 20, 1909, and was completed in May 1912. The station opened on June 22, 1915, as part of the initial portion of the BMT Fourth Avenue Line to 59th Street. The station's platforms were lengthened in 1926–1927,[5] and again during a renovation in 1968–1970.[6]

History

Construction

The 25th Street station was constructed as part of the Fourth Avenue Line, the plan for which was initially adopted on June 1, 1905.[7] The Rapid Transit Commission was succeeded on July 1, 1907, by the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC), which approved the plan for the line in late 1907.[8][9] The contract for the section of the line that included the 25th Street station, Route 11A3, which extended from 10th Street to 27th Street, was awarded on May 22, 1908, to the Tidewater Building Company and Thomas B. Bryson for $2,043,162.31 (equivalent to $58,139,000 in 2019). The New York City Board of Estimate approved the contract on October 29, 1909.[8][10] Construction on the segment started on December 20, 1909, and was completed in May 1912.[7]

As part of negotiations between New York City, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company for the expansion of the city's transit network, the line was leased to a subsidiary of the BRT. The agreement, known as Contract 4 of the Dual Contracts, was signed on March 19, 1913.[8] 25th Street opened on June 22, 1915, as part of an extension of the subway to Coney Island, which included the Fourth Avenue Line north of 59th Street as well as the entire Sea Beach Line.[11][12] The station's opening was marked with a competition between two trains heading from Chambers Street station in Manhattan to the Coney Island station, one heading via the West End Line and the other via the Sea Beach Line; the latter got to Coney Island first.[12]

1920s

On June 27, 1922, the New York State Transit Commission directed its engineers to prepare plans to lengthen the platforms at 23 stations on the lines of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), the successor to the BRT, to accommodate eight-car trains. As part of the project, 25th Street's platforms would have been lengthened from 435 feet (133 m) to 530 feet (160 m).[13][14] Though the Transit Commission ordered the BMT to lengthen these platforms in September 1923, progress on the extensions did not occur until February 16, 1925, when the New York City Board of Transportation (NYCBOT) directed its engineers to prepare plans to lengthen the platforms at this and eleven other stations along the Fourth Avenue Line. It estimated the project's cost to be $633,000 (equivalent to $9,228,000 in 2019).[15] The NYCBOT received bids for the project on February 25, 1926.[16] The contract was awarded to the Corson Construction Company for $345,021 (equivalent to $4,983,000 in 2019).[17] The extensions opened on August 1, 1927.[5]

1950s and 1960s

Original mosaic tiles

In July 1959, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced that it would install fluorescent lighting at the 25th Street station and five other stations along the Fourth Avenue Line for between $175,000 and $200,000. Bids on the project were to be advertised on August 7, 1959 and completed by Fall 1960.[18]

In the 1960s, the NYCTA started a project to lengthen station platforms on its lines in Southern Brooklyn to 615 feet (187 m) to accommodate 10-car trains.[6] On July 14, 1967, the NYCTA awarded a contract to conduct test borings at eleven stations on the Fourth Avenue Line, including 25th Street, to the W. M. Walsh Corporation for $6,585 (equivalent to $50,492 in 2019) in preparation of the construction of platform extensions.[19] The NYCTA issued an invitation for bids on the project to extend the platforms at stations along the Fourth Avenue Line between Pacific Street and 36th Street, including those at 25th Street, on March 28, 1969.[20] Funding for the renovation projects came out of the NYCTA's 1969–1970 Capital Budget, costing $8,177,890 (equivalent to $57,015,000 in 2019) in total.[21]

As part of the renovation project, the station's platforms were extended,[6] and the station's elaborate mosaic tile walls were covered over with 8-by-16-inch (20 by 41 cm) white cinderblock tiles. The latter change, which was also made to 15 other stations on the BMT Broadway and Fourth Avenue Lines, was criticized for being dehumanizing. The NYCTA spokesman stated that the old tiles were in poor condition and that the change was made to improve the appearance of stations and provide uniformity. Furthermore, it did not consider the old mosaics to have "any great artistic merit".[22]

Station layout

G	Street level	Exit/entrance
P Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward 71st Avenue (Whitehall Street late nights) (Prospect Avenue) ← toward 205th Street late nights (Prospect Avenue) ← toward Ditmars Boulevard late nights (Prospect Avenue) ← toward Ditmars Boulevard (select weekday trips) (Prospect Avenue)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward 95th Street (36th Street) → → toward Coney Island late nights (36th Street) → → toward 86th Street (select weekday trips) (36th Street) →
	Side platform

An entrance to the Manhattan-bound platform

This underground station has four tracks and two side platforms.[23] The R stops here at all times;[24] some rush-hour W trains stop here in the peak direction;[25] and the D and N stop here during late nights, but use the center express tracks to bypass the station during daytime hours.[26][27] White tiled curtain walls separate the express tracks from the local tracks.[28]

The platforms have no columns except for a section at the extreme north ends where they were extended in 1970. The ceiling in this area is lower.[29] These columns are I-beams and are painted cream-colored.[30]

Prior to the station's 1970 renovation, it was finished all in white and marble tile, and it had its own color scheme to allow regular passengers to identify the station based only on the color of the marble trimmings.[8] However, the original trim line is still visible in the fare control areas behind the token booth and MetroCard Vending Machines. It is in the standard BMT format with "25" number tablets in it at regular intervals.[31] Since the renovation, the station walls have consisted of white cinderblock tiles, except for small recesses in the walls, which contain orange-painted cinderblock tiles. The orange cinderblock field contains the station-name signs and white text pointing to the exits.[32]

Exits

Each platform has a same-level fare control area in the center. As a result, there is no free transfer between directions. Each fare control area has a turnstile bank, token booth, and single street stair.[33] The staircase on the Bay Ridge-bound platform goes up to the southwest corner of 25th Street and Fourth Avenue while the one on the Manhattan-bound side goes up to the southeast corner.[34]

Nearby points of interest

The 25th Street station is the closest station to the main entrance of Green-Wood Cemetery, located one block to the east of the station.[35][36] The entrance dates back to 1862,[37] and is a New York City designated landmark, made of New Jersey brownstone with sculpted groups.[36][38]

References

1. "Borough of Brooklyn, New York City". Government of New York City. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
2. "Brooklyn Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
3. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
4. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
5. "B.M.T. Stations Ready For Eight-Car Trains". Brooklyn Standard Union. August 1, 1927. p. 1. Retrieved April 9, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
6. New York City Transit Authority Annual Report For The Year June 30, 1960. New York City Transit Authority. 1960. pp. 16–17.
7. Rogoff, David (May 1961). "The Fourth Ave. Subway". New York Division Bulletin. Electric Railroaders' Association: 2–10. Retrieved May 8, 2017 – via Google Drive.
8. Fourth Avenue Subway, Brooklyn's New Transportation Line: A Part of the Dual System of Rapid Transit of the City of New York. New York City: Public Service Commission. June 19, 1915. p. 18. hdl:2027/uiug.30112067596715 – via HathiTrust.
9. "Fourth Avenue Subway Is Sent To A Committee". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 20, 1908. pp. 1–2. Retrieved May 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com .
10. "Fourth Avenue Subway To Be Political Issue". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 11, 1908. p. 1. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
11. Cudahy, Brian J. (2009). How We Got to Coney Island: The Development of Mass Transportation in Brooklyn and Kings County. Fordham University Press. pp. 217–218. ISBN 978-0-8232-2211-7. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
12. "Through Tube to Coney, 48 Minutes: First Train on Fourth Avenue Route Beats West End Line Eleven Minutes". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 22, 1915. Retrieved June 29, 2015 – via newspapers.com .
13. Legislature, New York (State) (1923). Second Annual Report of the Transit Commission (For the Calendar Year 1922). New York State Transit Commission. p. 100.
14. Proceedings of the Transit Commission, State of New York Volume III From January 1 to December 31, 1923. New York State Transit Commission. 1923. p. 1277.
15. "12 B-M. T. Stations To Be Lengthened". The New York Times. February 17, 1925. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
16. "Board Receives Platform Bids For B.M.T. Lines. Six Companies Submit Prices for Extending Subway Stations". The Brooklyn Citizen. February 26, 1926. p. 5. Retrieved April 7, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
17. "Brooklyn Wins Big Improvement Fund". Brooklyn Standard Union. March 18, 1926. p. 20. Retrieved April 7, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
18. "Our Subway Stations To Be Brighter". Bay Ridge Home Reporter. July 10, 1959. p. 2. Retrieved April 7, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
19. Minutes and Proceedings. New York City Transit Authority. 1967. pp. 379–380.
20. Engineering News-record. McGraw-Hill. 1969. p. 63.
21. Proceedings of the New York City Transit Authority Relating to Matters Other Than Operation. New York City Transit Authority. 1969. pp. 280, 435, 487.
22. Burks, Edward C. (February 21, 1970). "Subways' Colored Tile Gets Cover‐Up Job". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
23. Dougherty, Peter (2020). Tracks of the New York City Subway 2020 (16th ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 1056711733.
24. "R Subway Timetable, Effective November 8, 2020" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
25. "W Subway Timetable, Effective November 8, 2020" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
26. "D Subway Timetable, Effective November 8, 2020" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
27. "N Subway Timetable, Effective November 8, 2020" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
28. Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2009). "The Zebra stipes conductors stop boards in the middle of the basically bare Brooklyn-bound platform at 25 Street". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
29. Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2009). "Looking towards the Northern end of the Brooklyn-bound platform at 25 Street, where there's an extremely low cieling and lots of columns. This is because this part of the station was added later when platforms were extended". subwaynut.com. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
30. Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2009). "Another view of the portion of 25 Street's platform that was added later, with its cream colored columns and very low ceiling". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
31. Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2009). "The 25 in the trimline of the station entrance". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
32. Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2009). "A 25 Street sign above a painted arrow that points towards the station exit, on an orange portion of the platform wall". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
33. Cox, Jeremiah (June 5, 2009). "Looking out to the fare control area for the Brooklyn-bound platform at 25 Street. The area is quite small with a single staircase up to the street and a narrow token booth". subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
34. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Sunset Park" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
35. "Map of Green-Wood Cemetery". Green-Wood Cemetery. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
36. Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. (1995). The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 509–510. ISBN 0300055366.
37. Quennell Rothschild & Partners, LLP; Paul Cowie & Associates (February 2007). "Green-Wood Landscape Master Plan: Appendix" (PDF). The Interactive Community of Arboreta. p. 15. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
38. "Green-Wood Cemetery Gates" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. April 19, 1966. Retrieved May 17, 2020.

External links

• nycsubway.org – BMT 4th Avenue: 25th Street
• The Subway Nut — 25th Street Pictures
• 25th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View