B70 (New York City bus)
Bus line in Brooklyn, New York City
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The B70 bus route is a public transit line in Brooklyn in New York City, running mostly on 8th Avenue and 39th Street between Sunset Park and Dyker Heights. The route was originally a streetcar line known as the Eighth Avenue Line, and is currently operated by MTA New York City Bus.
b70 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Eighth Avenue Line | |||
A 2011 C40LF (407) on the B70 to VA Hospital on 8th Avenue | |||
| Overview | |||
| System | MTA Regional Bus Operations | ||
| Operator | New York City Transit Authority | ||
| Garage | Jackie Gleason Depot | ||
| Vehicle | New Flyer C40LF CNG New Flyer Xcelsior XN40 | ||
| Began service | December 1, 1916 (streetcar) May 15, 1949 (bus) | ||
| Ended service | May 15, 1949 (streetcar) | ||
| Route | |||
| Locale | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | ||
| Start | Sunset Park – 3rd Avenue and 39th Street | ||
| Via | 39th Street, 8th Avenue, Fort Hamilton Parkway | ||
| End | Dyker Heights – V.A. Medical Center | ||
| Length | 4.9 miles (7.9 km) | ||
| Service | |||
| Operates | All times except late nights | ||
| Annual patronage | 1,606,346 (2025)[1] | ||
| Transfers | Yes | ||
| Timetable | B70 | ||
| |||
Route description
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Towards Dyker Heights
It begins at 2nd Avenue and 37th Street, similar to the B35 bus. It then turns right at 37th Street. Afterwards it turns right again to 4th Avenue and left at 39th Street. It continues until it turns right at 8th Avenue. It goes on 8th Avenue the whole way. It then turns right to Bay Ridge Avenue and turns left on 7th Avenue. It goes the whole length until at 92nd Street, when it turns left and then turns right at 7th Avenue again. Then it goes in the bus loop at VA Hospital, where it ends.
Towards 3rd Avenue & 39th Street
It begins at the bus route's terminus, VA Hospital. It continues at 7th Avenue until at 92nd Street, where it turns left and then at Fort Hamilton Parkway it turns right. It then turns right onto Bay Ridge Parkway and then turns right back to 7th Avenue. It goes there until 8th Avenue, when it turns right and continues until 39th Street. It turns left onto that street and continues until it turns right at Fourth Avenue and turns left at 36th Street. It then turns left at Third Avenue and then turns right back into 39th Street. It then ends at the 39th Street & 3rd Avenue stop, the same terminus as the B35 bus. Buses do not keep passengers on the stretch back to 2nd Avenue.
History
The Eighth Avenue streetcar line was built and opened on December 1, 1916. It was the last streetcar line built in Brooklyn.[2] It ran on Eighth Avenue, from its terminus at Bay Ridge Avenue, through what is now Sunset Park. Streetcars continued to run until May 15, 1949, when it was converted to bus operation.[3]
In April 2001, the MTA Board announced that it planned to reroute the B70 to run along 92nd Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway instead of Seventh Avenue and 86th Street in Fort Hamilton. The change would eliminate difficult turns at Fort Hamilton Parkway and 86th Street, and to improve connections with the S53 and S79 bus routes. The change was to be implemented in June 2001.[4]
On June 27, 2010, due to budget cuts, the B37 bus was discontinued and the B70 bus was rerouted from 7th Avenue to 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge. When the B37 bus was restored on June 29, 2014, the B70 bus was rerouted back from 3rd Avenue to 7th Avenue in Bay Ridge.[5]
On December 1, 2022, the MTA released a draft redesign of the Brooklyn bus network.[6][7] As part of the redesign, B70 service would be slightly extended to 3rd Avenue and 30th Street at its northern end to serve Industry City.[8] Closely spaced stops would also be eliminated.[6][7]
Starting from 2023, the B35 and B70 had its terminal changed in Sunset Park due to NYCDEP sewer work. Rather than terminating at 39th Street and 1st Avenue, instead it would make a right onto 2nd Avenue, then terminate and start at 37th Street. However, due to the lot buses used to turn around at Sunset Park being repurposed after NYCDEP work, this became a permanent service pattern, starting January 11, 2026.