B51 (New York City bus)

The **B51** was a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, running mostly along the Manhattan Bridge between City Hall, Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. Originally the Manhattan Bridge Three Cent Line, it was replaced by a bus route, but no longer operated.

## Description

The route began at Chruch Street and Park Place, and continued until it turned right on Broadway, and left onto Park Row. It then continued on Park Row until it went on Frankfort Street. It then continued on Frankfort Street until it turned right on Pearl Street, and continued on the length of the street until it went on Chatham Square, and then Bowery. It then continued until it turned right onto the Manhattan Bridge, where it continued for most of its length. When it reached Brooklyn, it turned right on Tillary Street, and then continued until it turned left on Cadmen Plaza West, and continued on Cadmen Plaza West and Court Street, until it turned right on Livingston Street. it the continued in the street for some of its length until it turned left on Smith Street, and continued, until it ended there.

For buses heading to Lower Manhattan, it began on Fulton Mall and Smith Street, where it went on Fulton Mall for some of its length, until at Court Street, where it turned right. Then it continued on Court Street and Cadmen Plaza West until at Tillary Street, where it turned right again on the street. It then goes on the street until it turns left on Flatbush Avenue Extension, and the Manhattan Bridge, for which it goes on for most of its length. When it reached Manhattan, it went on Canal Street and turned left on Lafayette Street, right on Chambers Street, left on Broadway, right on Murray Street, left on West Broadway and again on Park Place. It then continued until it ended there.

Initially based out of the Jackie Gleason Depot, the B51 was moved to the East New York Depot, then the Grand Avenue Depot in Queens upon the depot's opening in January 2008.

## History

### As a streetcar line

The B51 was originally the Manhattan Bridge Three Cent Line, which operated cars over the Manhattan Bridge between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York City. As the name implied, the fare was only 3 cents per ride. The line operated as a shuttle across the bridge using the south tracks of the bridge.

When the Manhattan Bridge was opened on December 31, 1909, it had tracks which were intended to be used by the subways of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT). There were no tracks on either side to connect them to, however. The MBTCL began to run streetcars in 1912, and until 1915 was the only operator of transit over the bridge. In 1915, the trolleys were moved to the upper roadways of the bridge, and the BRT subway lines were connected to the former MBTCL's tracks. The trackage was shared by the Brooklyn and North River Railroad MBTCL intended to sue the B&NR January 1916 over alleged franchise violations.

The MBTCL operated from Fulton Street and Flatbush extension in Downtown Brooklyn to a three track loop at Bowery and Bayard Street in what is today part of Chinatown. The two track terminal at Fulton Street was shared with the Third Avenue Railway System cars that used the north tracks of the bridge. When the bridge first opened, the streetcars used what are now the subway tracks. When the BMT subway was ready to use the bridge, the streetcar tracks were relocated to the upper level, where auto roadways are over the subway tracks today.

The MBTCL continued operating trolleys over the bridge until November 13, 1929, by which time patronage had declined due to the popularity of the automobile, as well as rapid transit.

### As the B15

Buses were substituted for streetcars on November 13, 1929. It was designated the **B15**, running on the same route as the Manhattan Bridge Three Cent Line. It ran between Hanson Place and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, and Baxter Street and Canal Street in Manhattan. It was then discontinued between 1969 and 1977.

### As an extension of the B63

When the B15 designation was finally discontinued on 1977, it became an extension of the B63.

### As the B51

On September 9, 1985 service over the Manhattan Bridge was restored and re-designated as the **B51**, replacing the portion of the B63. Unlike the original route, the B51 bus now ended at Beekman Street and Park Row in Manhattan, and Fulton and Smith Streets in Brooklyn.

On November 14, 2005, bus service was restored on Park Row between Chatham Square and City Hall. Buses had been running on Frankfort St and St. James Place.

During sometime, the B51 was moved to the East New York Depot, from the Jackie Gleason Depot.

On January 6, 2008, the B51 was then moved to the newly opened Grand Avenue Depot, with three buses allotted to route.

It was finally discontinued on June 27, 2010 due to a budget crisis. At the time of discontinuation, the route ran on weekdays only, from 6:30 AM to 8 PM.

## References

1. ↑ New York City Transit (2000). 2000 Insider's Guide 10. Retrieved on April 16, 2022.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Goldman, Sam (December 27, 2007). GRAND AVE. DEPOT SET TO OPEN 1/6: Board 5 Gets Details On MTA Project. *Times Newsweekly*. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved on April 19, 2022.