25th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)
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The 25th Street station is a local
station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
on the
BMT Fourth Avenue Line The BMT Fourth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway, mainly running under Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. The line is served by the D, N, and R at all times; the R typically runs local, while the D and N run express dur ...
of the
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
. Located at the intersection of 25th Street and Fourth Avenue in
Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn Greenwood Heights is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, named partially after the adjacent Green-Wood Cemetery by real estate developers. Greenwood Heights is a part of Brooklyn Community District 7 along with Windsor Te ...
, 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. 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 59th Street station may refer to: *59th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line) in Brooklyn, New York; serving the trains * 59th Street (IRT Third Avenue Line) a demolished elevated station in Manhattan * 59th Street (IRT Ninth Avenue Line) a demolished e ...
. The station's platforms were lengthened in 1926–1927, and again during a renovation in 1968–1970.


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. The Rapid Transit Commission was succeeded on July 1, 1907, by the
New York State Public Service Commission The New York Public Service Commission is the public utilities commission of the New York state government that regulates and oversees the electric, gas, water, and telecommunication industries in New York as part of the Department of Public Se ...
(PSC), which approved the plan for the line in late 1907. 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 (). The
New York City Board of Estimate The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the amendments eff ...
approved the contract on October 29, 1909. Construction on the segment started on December 20, 1909, and was completed in May 1912. As part of negotiations between New York City, the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate railway lines in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using ...
(BRT), and the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT ...
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 The Dual Contracts, also known as the Dual Subway System, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the New York City, City of New York. The contracts were signed on March 19, 1913, by the ...
, was signed on March 19, 1913. 25th Street opened on June 22, 1915, as part of an extension of the subway to
Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...
, which included the Fourth Avenue Line north of
59th Street 59th Street station may refer to: *59th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line) in Brooklyn, New York; serving the trains * 59th Street (IRT Third Avenue Line) a demolished elevated station in Manhattan * 59th Street (IRT Ninth Avenue Line) a demolished e ...
as well as the entire Sea Beach Line. The station's opening was marked with a competition between two trains heading from
Chambers Street station Chambers Street may refer to: Streets * Chambers Street, Edinburgh, Scotland * Chambers Street (Manhattan), New York City, U.S. * Chamber Street, once known as Chambers Street, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England New York City Subway 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.


Station renovations


1920s

On June 27, 1922, the New York State Transit Commission commissioned its engineers to examine platform-lengthening plans for 23 stations on the lines of the
Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940. Today, together with the IND subway sy ...
(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 to . Though the Transit Commission ordered the BMT to lengthen these platforms in September 1923, no further progress was made until February 16, 1925, when the
New York City Board of Transportation The New York City Board of Transportation or the Board of Transportation of the City of New York (NYCBOT or BOT) was a city transit commission and operator in New York City, consisting of three members appointed by the Mayor of New York City, m ...
(NYCBOT) commissioned its engineers to examine platform-lengthening plans for this and eleven other stations along the Fourth Avenue Line. It estimated the project would cost $633,000 (). The NYCBOT received bids for the project on February 25, 1926. The contract was awarded to the Corson Construction Company for $345,021 (). The extensions opened on August 1, 1927.


1950s and 1960s

The city government took over the BMT's operations on June 1, 1940. In July 1959, the
New York City Transit Authority The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...
(NYCTA) announced that it would install
fluorescent lighting A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, to produce ultraviolet and make a phosphor ...
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. In the 1960s, the NYCTA started a project to lengthen station platforms on its lines in Southern Brooklyn to to accommodate 10-car trains. 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 () in preparation of the construction of platform extensions. 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. Funding for the renovation projects came out of the NYCTA's 1969–1970 Capital Budget, costing $8,177,890 () in total. As part of the renovation project, the station's platforms were extended, and the station's elaborate mosaic tile walls were covered over with 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".


Station layout

This underground station has four tracks and two
side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, ...
s. The R stops here at all times; some rush-hour W trains stop here in the peak direction; and the D and N stop here during late nights, but use the center express tracks to bypass the station during daytime hours. The station is between to the north and to the south. White tiled curtain walls separate the express tracks from the local tracks, with several openings that allow a view of the express tracks from the platforms. The walls were intended to improve ventilation, as passing trains would push air forward, rather than to the sides of the tunnel. 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. These columns are I-beams and are painted cream-colored. 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. However, the original trim line is still visible in the fare control areas behind the token booth and
MetroCard Vending Machines metroCARD is a contactless smartcard ticketing system for public transport services in the city (and surrounding suburbs) of Adelaide, South Australia. The system is managed by Adelaide Metro and is usable on their bus, train and tram services ...
. It is in the standard BMT format with "25" number tablets in it at regular intervals. 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.


Exits

Each platform has a same-level
fare control In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A s ...
area in the center. As a result, there is no free transfer between directions. Each fare control area has a
turnstile A turnstile (also called a gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce One-way traffic#One-way traffic of people, one-way ...
bank, token booth, and single street stair. The staircase on the Bay Ridge-bound platform goes up to the southwestern corner of 25th Street and Fourth Avenue, while the one on the Manhattan-bound side goes up to the southeastern corner of the same intersection.


Nearby points of interest

The 25th Street station is the closest station to the main entrance of
Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...
, located one block to the east of the station. The entrance dates back to 1862, and is a
New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and c ...
, made of New Jersey brownstone with sculpted groups.


References


External links

* * The Subway Nut â€
25th Street Pictures

25th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View

Platform from Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:25th Street (Bmt Fourth Avenue Line) BMT Fourth Avenue Line stations New York City Subway stations in Brooklyn Railway stations in the United States opened in 1915 1915 establishments in New York City