B33 (New York City bus)

The B33 was a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, running mostly along Hamilton Avenue between Bay Ridge and Hamilton Ferry at the north end of the avenue in Red Hook. Originally a streetcar line known as the Hamilton Avenue Line, it was replaced by a bus route, but is no longer operated.

b33
Hamilton Avenue Line
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	New York City Transit Authority
Began service	1854—1855 (Horsecar service) ? (Streetcar service) March 29, 1942 (Bus service)
Ended service	March 29, 1992
Route
Locale	Brooklyn
Route map ← B32  {{{system_nav}}}  B35 →

Route description

The westbound terminal of the route was at Van Brunt Street and Hamilton Avenue. Service continued east along Hamilton Avenue over the Gowanus Canal before merging onto 17th Street and then turning north onto 6th Avenue. After a block, service turned right onto Prospect Avenue. Service continued along Prospect Avenue until Greenwood Avenue. Buses turned east onto that street and made a right at Prospect Park Southwest, before heading east along Parkside Avenue. Service then headed north along Ocean Avenue until it reached the terminal at Empire Boulevard. Westbound service then turned south onto Flatbush Avenue and west along Lincoln Road to return to Ocean Avenue. Westbound service followed the route of eastbound service along Parkside Avenue, Prospect Park Southwest and Greenwood Avenue. Buses then turned right onto Prospect Avenue before merging into Hamilton Avenue, continuing until the terminal at Van Brunt Street.[1]

History

The route on Hamilton Avenue was not one of the original franchises granted to the Brooklyn City Rail Road in 1853,[2] but was added soon after. The portion south of Court Street, which was one of the original routes, opened on September 4, 1854 as part of the Court Street Line to Greenwood Cemetery,[3] and the rest opened in early June 1855, at first operated as a shuttle between the ferry and Court Street.[4]

Eventually the route was operated along Third Avenue south to the 65th Street Depot in Bay Ridge as the 33 Hamilton line.[5] The 33 designation was kept when the route changed and instead ran southeast from the end of Hamilton Avenue along Prospect Avenue to Prospect Park, and around the south side of the park on a route once followed by the Franklin Avenue Line and Lorimer Street Line, ending east of the park at Prospect Lefferts Gardens, near the then-Ebbets Field.[6] Ridership dropped in 1942 with the discontinuation of the Hamilton Avenue Ferry, and in 1957 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, who played at Ebbets Field, moved to Los Angeles.[1]

The route was discontinued on March 29, 1992 as part of a systemwide cuts in bus service due to low ridership.[7] Discontinuing the route, which was used by about 100 daily riders, was estimated to save the New York City Transit Authority $73,000 annually. At the time of its discontinuance, its service had been reduced to rush hours only, with service only running every 40 minutes between 7 and 9 a.m.., and from 3 to 5 p.m..[1]

References

1. Chang, Dean (January 26, 1992). "B-33 let set to roll down memory lane". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
2. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, City Railroads - Report of the Railroad Committee, December 20, 1853, page 2
3. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn City Railroad, September 4, 1854, page 2
4. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, The Railroad Co. and the Grumblers, June 8, 1855, page 2
5. 33 Hamilton Line Map (TheJoeKorner)
6. 1969 Brooklyn and Staten Island bus map
7. Chang, Dean (March 28, 1992). "Bus runs pared: TA is cutting service on 35 routes". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 3, 2020.