b20, b83
Pennyslvania Avenue
A Gateway Center-bound B83 traveling west on Gateway Drive.
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	New York City Transit
Garage	Fresh Pond Depot (B20) East New York Depot (B83)
Vehicle	Orion VII NG HEV New Flyer Xcelsior XD40 New Flyer Xcelsior XDE40 (B83)
Began service	November 30, 1931 (B20) February 27, 1966 (B83)
Route
Locale	Brooklyn and Queens, New York, U.S.
Communities served	Ridgewood, Bushwick, East New York, Spring Creek
Start	Ridgewood - Putnam Avenue & Forest/Fairview Avenues (B20 full route) East New York - Van Sinderen Avenue & Broadway Junction (B20 short turn, B83)
Via	Summerfield Street (B20 SB), Schaeffer Street (B20 SB), Decatur Street (B20 NB), Pennsylvania Avenue, Wortman Avenue (B20), Linden Boulevard (B20), Van Siclen Avenue (B83), Gateway Drive (B83)
End	Spring Creek - Gateway Center Mall (B83) Spring Creek - Brooklyn General Mail Facility (B20)
Length	4.4 miles (7.1 km) (B20 short turn) 7.3 miles (11.7 km) (B20 full route) 5.3 miles (8.5 km) (B83)
Service
Operates	All times except late nights
Annual patronage	1,133,186 (B20, 2022) 1,243,236 (B83, 2022)
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	B20 B83
Route map ← B17 ← B82  {{{system_nav}}}  B25 → B84 →

The B20 and B83 constitute bus routes between Broadway Junction and East New York, running primarily on Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City. They are operated by the New York City Transit Authority, with the B20 being based out of the Fresh Pond Depot and the B83 being based out of the East New York Depot.

Route Description

B20

The B20 begins at the Forest Avenue station. The B20 then heads west to Fresh Pond Road, and then head south on that road to Myrtle Avenue. It then heads southwest on Summerfield and Schaefer Streets (Decatur Street northbound), with the southbound route taking a detour at Wyckoff Avenue via Covert Street. After reaching Broadway, it turns east on Broadway until reaching Broadway Junction. It then heads east on Jamaica Avenue, later turning south on Pennsylvania Avenue until Wortman Avenue, where it turns east to serve the Linden Houses until turning north on Ashford Street, then east on Linden Boulevard. After reaching Eldert Lane, it turns south there, and right onto Stanley Avenue, and finally turning left on Postal Facility Road and running on it until reaching it southern terminus at the Brooklyn General Mail Facility.

On weekdays, every other B20 trip only runs between Broadway Junction and Brooklyn General Mail Facility.

Northbound B20 picking up passengers on Wortman Avenue

B83

The B83 begins at Broadway Junction and shares the same route with the B20 until reaching New Lots Avenue. It runs east on New Lots Avenue until Van Siclen Avenue, then running south on it until Vandalia Avenue, which it travels west on to return to running on Pennsylvania Avenue. It runs onto the Belt Parkway and leaves the parkway at the next exit in either direction, and then turns left onto Erskine Street, and left again on Gateway Drive and running on it until reaching the Gateway Center Bus Terminal.

Northbound B83 on Gateway Drive, heading towards Broadway Junction

History

The B20 began service on November 30, 1931, by Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit. It initially operated via Linden Boulevard between Pennsylvania Avenue and Eldert Lane until 1978. It was rerouted in 1978 from Linden Blvd to serve the Boulevard and Linden Houses via Wortman Avenue between Pennsylvania Avenue and Ashford Street. The rest of route was unchanged.

The B83 began as a new route on February 27, 1966, on a six-month trial basis.^[1] At the time of its inception, its northern terminus was Livonia Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, while the original southern terminus was Cozine Avenue and Schenck Avenue. On November 13, 1966, the route was extended five blocks from Schenck Avenue and Cozine Avenue to Ashford Street and Cozine Avenue to serve the Boulevard Houses development.^[2] It was extended north to Broadway Junction at an unknown date and in 1978, it was rerouted from Pennsylvania Avenue to run along Van Siclen Avenue and into Spring Creek Towers in. It was then extended to Gateway Mall via Pennsylvania Avenue and the Belt Parkway on November 18, 2007.^[3][4] On August 31, 2014, it was extended even further to the new bus terminal at Gateway Center North.^[5]

On December 1, 2022, the MTA released their draft plan for the Brooklyn Bus Redesign. As part of the plan, B20 service north of Broadway Junction would be discontinued, with service on Broadway and service north of Broadway replaced by the B53 and B7 local bus routes, respectively. It would also be rerouted from Wortman Avenue to Stanley Avenue and become a "Rush" route, making limited stops on Pennsylvania Avenue. The B83 would become a "Local" route and run straight down Pennsylvania Avenue to Belt Parkway instead of deviating to Van Siclen Avenue. It would become the local service along Pennsylvania Avenue and have increased frequency to compensate for the loss of B20 local service along the corridor and would gain overnight service, which will terminate at Spring Creek Towers. Closely spaced stops along both routes would be eliminated.^{[6] [7] [8]}

References

External links

• Media related to B20 (New York City bus) at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to B83 (New York City bus) at Wikimedia Commons