B52 (New York City bus)


The Greene and Gates Avenues Line is a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, running mostly along Fulton Street, Greene Avenue, and Gates Avenue between Downtown Brooklyn and Ridgewood, Queens. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the B52 bus route, operated by the New York City Transit Authority.

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. 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. Buses were substituted for streetcars on October 5, 1941.
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. The change went into effect in January 1995.