B52 (New York City bus)

The B52 is a bus route that constitutes a public transit line operating in Brooklyn, New York City, running mostly along Fulton Street, Greene Avenue, and Gates Avenue between Downtown Brooklyn and Ridgewood, Queens. The B52 is operated by the MTA New York City Transit Authority. Its precursor was a streetcar line that began operation by 1874, and was known as the Greene and Gates Avenues Line. The route became a bus line in 1941.

b52
Gates Avenues Line
A Ridgewood-bound B52 bus in Downtown Brooklyn.
Overview
SystemMTA Regional Bus Operations
OperatorNew York City Transit Authority
GarageFresh Pond Depot
VehicleOrion VII NG HEV
New Flyer Xcelsior XD40
Began service1874 (streetcar)
PredecessorsGreene and Gates Avenues Line streetcar
Route
LocaleBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
Communities servedRidgewood, Bushwick, Bedford–Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn
StartDowntown Brooklyn – Cadman Plaza and Tillary Street
ViaFulton Street, Greene Avenue, Gates Avenue
EndRidgewood Terminal – Wyckoff Avenue & Palmetto Street
Length5.7 miles (9.2 km)
Other routesB26 Halsey/Fulton Streets
B38 DeKalb/Lafayette Avenues
B54 Myrtle Avenue
Service
OperatesAll times[1]
Annual patronage1,996,446 (2022)[2]
TransfersYes
TimetableB52
← B49  {{{system_nav}}}  B54 →

Route description

The B52's western terminus is at Cadman Plaza West south of Tillary Street near the Jay Street–MetroTech station in Downtown Brooklyn. From here, eastbound service heads north on Cadman Plaza West, east on Tillary Street and south on Adams Street before heading east on Fulton Street. Service continues along Fulton Street until it turns left onto Greene Avenue. Buses then turn right onto Franklin Avenue, before turning left onto Gates Avenue. Buses continue on Gates Avenue until they make a right at Irving Avenue, after which they turn left onto Palmetto Street before terminating at the Ridgewood Intermodal Terminal at Palmetto Street and Wyckoff Avenue near the Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues station in Ridgewood.[1]

Westbound service continues north on Palmetto Street and then makes a left onto St. Nicholas Avenue. Service then turns left onto Gates Avenue, and continues via this street until it makes a right onto Classon Avenue. Buses then make a left onto Greene Avenue, and a right onto Fulton Street, which then becomes Joralemon Street. Service then turns right at Court Street, which turns into Cadman Plaza West, and reach the terminal.[1]

History

The Brooklyn City Railroad opened a branch of their Fulton Street Line along Greene Avenue, Franklin Avenue, and Gates Avenue to Broadway by 1874.[3] By 1897, the line was extended northeast along Gates Avenue past Broadway to Myrtle Avenue, and east along Myrtle Avenue on trackage built for the Bushwick Avenue Line to Ridgewood, Queens.[4] Buses were substituted for streetcars on October 5, 1941.[5]

The B52 was rerouted to run two-way on Gates Avenue between Spring 1991 and October 1993 to accommodate the reconstruction of Greene Avenue and Quincy Street, which was subsequently deferred. The B52 returned to running eastbound on Quincy Street and Linden Street and running westbound on Gates Avenue. The local community then requested reinstating two-way service via Gates Avenue because the street was wider, there was less congestion, and because there were greater housing development densities on that street. Brooklyn Community Boards 2, 3 and 4 supported the change, and a public hearing was held on June 16, 1994.[6] The change went into effect in January 1995.[7]

References
  1. MTA Regional Bus Operations. "B52 bus schedule".
  2. "Facts and Figures". mta.info. August 28, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  3. J.B. Beers and Company, Brooklyn, 1874 (with Brooklyn City Rail Road lines overprinted)
  4. Rand McNally, Brooklyn and vicinity, 1897 Atlas of the World
  5. "Gates Ave. Trolleys Replaced By Buses". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. October 6, 1941. p. 9. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  6. "Public Hearing B52 Route Changes Planned". New York Daily News. May 4, 1994. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
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