Brooklyn

Understand

The borough of Brooklyn is coterminous with Kings County—the counterpart of Queens County to the north—but hardly anyone calls it that except in occasional official correspondence.

Brooklyn was once a separate city independent from the City of New York. The cities merged at the end of the nineteenth century, forever after lamented by some Brooklynites as "The Great Mistake of 1898." Although Brooklyn is very diverse, what makes Brooklyn so different from the other boroughs are its distinct cultural neighborhoods. Manhattan is frequently referred to as "the city" by residents of the other boroughs — for example, in the phrase "I'm going to the city." Many Brooklynites have a great deal of pride in their borough, and most New Yorkers consider Brooklynites to have an identity distinct from that of other New Yorkers. In any case, remember while speaking to Brooklynites that referring to Manhattan as "the city" is acceptable but calling Manhattan "New York City" is not.

Visitor information

Get in

By subway

From Manhattan

Most lines pass through Downtown Brooklyn and stop at Atlantic Avenue - Barclays Center, the largest subway stop outside Manhattan. From here, you can transfer between and get to almost any destination in Brooklyn. You can also walk about two blocks north of the station to find Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue stations. To use these, however, you have to pay another fare or have an unlimited rides card.

For northern parts of Brooklyn, the crosses into Williamsburg and Bushwick, then continues further east. The lines will get you to those same neighborhoods but a bit further south.

From Queens

There are four lines you can take to get directly from Queens to Brooklyn. The snakes from Long Island City through Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn before ending near Prospect Park. Although it's seemingly the most direct route from Queens to Brooklyn, the service is notoriously slow and irregular, to the point where sometimes it's faster to get to Brooklyn through Manhattan. The goes from the Rockaways in Queens, connecting with the JFK AirTrain at Howard Beach, and through the eastern edges of Brooklyn into Bedford-Stuyvesant and Downtown Brooklyn before continuing in Manhattan. The go from Jamaica in Queens (accessible via AirTrain from JFK) into Bushwick and Williamsburg. The travels from central Queens to Bushwick and Williamsburg, but on weekends its service terminates at Myrtle Avenue, requiring a transfer to the for further service into Williamsburg and Manhattan.

By LIRR

The Long Island Rail Road has a major station at Atlantic Terminal (Atlantic Avenue subway station), which is accessible from the Atlantic Avenue/Barclays Center subway station, served by the 2, 3, 4, 5 (on weekdays), B (on weekdays), D, N, Q, and R lines and near the Lafayette Avenue station of the C train and the Fulton Street station of the G train. Other LIRR stops in Brooklyn are Nostrand Av. at Atlantic Avenue (served by the A and C subway lines a few blocks away on Fulton Street) and East New York (served by the A, C, L, J, and Z a few blocks away at Broadway Junction and the L at Atlantic Avenue, though Broadway Junction is probably a safer bet). Eastbound trains continue to Jamaica Station in Queens, from where passengers can change to most LIRR lines for points further east or take the AirTrain to John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK). The LIRR no longer runs in Brooklyn during late nights (midnight to around 5AM), so to get to JFK from Downtown Brooklyn then, you have to take the A.

By bus

Brooklyn is covered by an extensive network of MTA buses, for which a map is essential . The B39 travels over the East River on the Williamsburg Bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Another route of note is the B15, which runs between JFK Airport and the Woodhull Hospital in South Williamsburg. Service on that route is provided around the clock. Possibly the longest mostly straight-line bus route in Brooklyn is the B41, which runs nearly the length of Flatbush Avenue from the line's northern terminal near Borough Hall just west of Flatbush Avenue itself to Kings Plaza at Avenue U (with a branch to the Mill Basin and Bergen Beach areas), about 9 miles away. Other long routes run a limited-stop service that stops at major intersections and points of interest. Limited-stop service is provided on the B6, B41, B44 (along Nostrand/Bedford Avenues), B46 (along Utica Avenue), and B35 (along Church Avenue). That pattern is in effect from around 6AM-10PM daily on these routes (5AM-11:30PM on the B46). The B49 has southbound limited-stop service on weekday mornings, mainly tailored for college students traveling to Kingsborough Community College. The B103 is a limited-stop route between Downtown Brooklyn and Canarsie, which runs on weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

One can also take express buses, with an X prefix, to/from Manhattan ($6.00 one way). Most express buses serve Southern Brooklyn, for the most part an area that's somewhat subway deprived, especially to the east. The X27 and X28 run daily from around 6AM-11:30PM. Other express routes run every day except Sunday and have a BM prefix.

By car

The connections between Queens and Brooklyn are too numerous to mention, because the two boroughs share a land boundary, so almost every street on the border just continues into the other borough. (Prior to 1990, the street signs in each borough had different colors, but they have since all become green - with the exception of brown signs for historic streets - and can no longer be useful in distinguishing between the boroughs.)

The Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridges link Manhattan and Brooklyn, and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge links Staten Island and Brooklyn. Only the Verrazano is a toll bridge. There is also a toll tunnel, the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which links Brooklyn with the Battery (the southern tip of Manhattan).

By foot or bicycle

All the bridges between Brooklyn and Manhattan are now accessible to both pedestrians and cyclists. Prospect Park's main road is closed to cars and open to bicycles. There are numerous bicycle paths in the park. Along New York Bay to the southwest, there are many sections where one can bicycle. Ocean Parkway also has a bicycle path that runs from Coney Island at the southern end of Brooklyn to the neighborhood of Park Slope.

By ferry

The Water Taxi, at Fulton Ferry Landing, provides service from various points in Manhattan along the East River. The Water Taxi has service between southern Manhattan and Red Hook, often used by customers of the Red Hook Ikea.

Get around

By subway

The subway is overall the best way to get around Brooklyn, although there are some spots, notably Red Hook and parts of East Brooklyn (including most of the tourist attractions), where subway coverage is poor and bus transportation is encouraged. Using Google Maps transit directions is an easy way to get accurate directions throughout Brooklyn (as well as the rest of NYC). However, do check the MTA website for service changes, as Google Maps tends to miss out on those. You can also use the subway map on MTA website or pick one up for free at a station agent's booth.

Brooklyn is well served by some 18 subway lines. The biggest hub is Atlantic Avenue - Barclays Center. There you may transfer to most subway lines in Brooklyn, . In addition, the Fulton Street stop on the line and Lafayette Avenue on the line are close by, but require exiting and re-entering the subway system. Broadway Junction in Bed-Stuy and East New York is a minor hub between lines, which don't stop at Atlantic Avenue. Transferring there can be useful if you're going to Northern Brooklyn. Coney Island is a major hub for lines—it's possible to do a "loop tour" of southern Brooklyn by changing there. For example, taking the to Coney Island and then the back to Downtown (both elevated lines) will provide great views of residential Brooklyn.

By bus

Brooklyn has an extensive bus grid that proves very useful in accessing places where subway doesn't stop. The downside is that the buses are much slower than the subway (though not as slow as in Manhattan) and figuring out their route may be confusing. It's highly suggested to have a bus map handy (available free from any subway station agent) or to use Google Maps route planner, which incorporates bus directions very accurately.

As in the rest of New York City, some buses are limited (LTD) service, which means they skip certain stops along the route. However, even non-limited buses won't stop if the "Stop Request" light isn't on and no one is waiting at the bus stop (this is very common). If you plan to get off, make sure you press the "Stop Request" tape/button before you approach your stop, or else the bus may skip it.

By commuter rail

There is the option of taking the Long Island Rail Road if your starting and ending points are in the following neighborhoods: Downtown Brooklyn, near Atlantic Avenue/Flatbush Avenue, Bedford-Stuyvesant, near Atlantic Avenue/Nostrand Avenue, and East New York, near Atlantic Avenue/Van Sinderen Avenue. It isn't terribly convenient, due to the limited stops and relatively infrequent service, but if you need to go to exactly the areas it stops in, it's faster than the subway.

Stay safe

Brooklyn may have a tough reputation, but it is largely safe as of 2026. Just exercise normal precautions such as being aware of your surroundings and putting your wallet and phone in your front pocket, and you're very likely to be fine.

Go next

• Manhattan
• Queens
• Staten Island