B15 (New York City bus)
{{Short description|Bus route in Brooklyn, New York}}
{{for|additional information on the current bus service|List of bus routes in Brooklyn#b15{{!}}List of bus routes in Brooklyn}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox bus line
|box_width = 300px
|number = {{NYC bus infobox header |title=b15 15px}}
|logo =
|logo_width =
|logo_alt =
|subheader = Marcus Garvey Boulevard / New Lots Avenue Line
|image = File:Eastern Pkwy Ralph Av td (2022-09-26) 02a.jpg
|image_width = 300px
|image_alt =
|caption = A 2022 XD40 (7890) on the Lefferts Boulevard-bound B15 at Ralph Avenue/Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn in September 2022, due to construction at JFK Airport.
|system = MTA Regional Bus Operations
|operator = New York City Transit Authority
|garage = East New York Depot
|vehicle = New Flyer Xcelsior XD40
New Flyer Xcelsior XDE40
Orion VII NG HEV
|livery =
|pvr =
|status =
|open =
|close =
|predecessors =
|night =
|locale = Brooklyn and Queens, New York, U.S.
|communities = Bedford–Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Ocean Hill, Brownsville, East New York, Lindenwood
|landmarks = John F. Kennedy International Airport
|termini =
|start = Bedford–Stuyvesant – Woodhull Medical Center
|via = Marcus Garvey Blvd (southbound) / Lewis Avenue (northbound), East 98th Street, New Lots Avenue, Linden Boulevard, Conduit Avenue{{cite NYC bus|B15}}
|end = John F. Kennedy International Airport – Lefferts Boulevard AirTrain station – or
East New York – Linden Boulevard / Drew Street
|otherroutes =
|compete =
|ibus =
|level =
|level1 =
|frequency =
|alt_frequency =
|time =
|zone =
|timetable_link= [https://new.mta.info/document/6991 B15]
|annualpatronage = 2,833,642 (2023){{cite web | title=Subway and bus ridership for 2023 | website=mta.info | date=April 29, 2024| url=https://new.mta.info/agency/new-york-city-transit/subway-bus-ridership-2023| access-date=May 2, 2024}}
|transfers = Yes
|map_link =
|map = {{B15 RDT|inline=yes}}
|map_state = collapsed
|map_name =
|previous_line = B14
|next_line = B16
|notes =
}}
The Sumner Avenue Line and New Lots Avenue Line were two streetcar lines in Brooklyn, New York City, running mainly along Marcus Garvey Boulevard (formerly Sumner Avenue), East 98th Street, and New Lots Avenue between northern Bedford–Stuyvesant and New Lots. Originally streetcar lines, the two lines were combined as a bus route in 1947. That bus route became the present B15 Marcus Garvey Boulevard / New Lots Avenue service, operated by MTA New York City Bus' East New York Depot in East New York. The B15 continues east from New Lots to John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens.
Route description
The B15 bus route runs between the Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center and Flushing Avenue ({{NYCS Jamaica west local}}) subway station in Bedford–Stuyvesant, and John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 5 in Queens. Alternate buses during rush hours and weekends short turn at Drew Street/Elderts Lane on Linden Boulevard in Spring Creek, at the border with Lindenwood, Queens.{{cite web|title=Transit & Bus Committee Meeting April 2013|url=http://www.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/130422_1000_Transit.pdf|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004213110/http://www.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/130422_1000_Transit.pdf|archive-date=October 4, 2013|url-status=dead|date=April 2013}}
The B15 bus route heads south through Bedford–Stuyvesant along Marcus Garvey Boulevard (southbound) and Lewis Avenue (northbound). After crossing Fulton Street, buses use a number of streets through Crown Heights and Ocean Hill, eventually turning south on Ralph Avenue and southeast on East 98th Street. In Brownsville and East New York, buses head east on Hegeman Avenue and New Lots Avenue, then south to Linden Boulevard and merging onto Conduit Avenue after entering Queens. B15 buses then terminate at the AirTrain JFK's Lefferts Boulevard station, within the grounds of John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Between the 1990s and September 2013, the short-turn B15 Spring Creek terminus was a separate branch, directly serving the Brooklyn General Mail Facility via a turnaround loop at the north end of the facility south of Linden Boulevard. The JFK and Postal Facility branches were combined during midday and overnight hours. The loop is still served by terminating {{NYC bus link|B14}} and {{NYC bus link|B20}} buses, and through {{NYC bus link|B13}} service to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Bushwick or the Gateway Center in the southern portion of Spring Creek.{{Cite NYC bus map|B}}
Originally named after abolitionist Charles Sumner, Sumner Avenue was renamed Marcus Garvey Avenue in 1987, and later Marcus Garvey Boulevard after Pan-Africanism proponent Marcus Garvey.{{cite news|title=New Name: Avenue Becomes a Boulevard|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/22/nyregion/new-name-avenue-becomes-a-boulevard.html|access-date=March 29, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=October 22, 1987}}{{cite web|title=Bedford Stuyvesant/Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District: Designation Report|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/2496.pdf|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=July 4, 2016|date=April 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313091831/http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/2496.pdf|archive-date=March 13, 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|author1=Leonard Benardo|author2=Jennifer Weiss|title=Brooklyn by Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges, and More Got Their Names|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3sTCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA91|access-date=July 4, 2016|date=July 1, 2006|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=978-0-8147-9945-1|page=91}}
History
=Sumner Avenue Line=
The Yates Avenue and Flatbush Railroad was organized in 1881 to build a branch of the Broadway Railroad, beginning at Broadway and Yates Avenue (present-day Marcus Garvey Boulevard) in Bedford–Stuyvesant, continuing south on Yates to Fulton Street, then east on Fulton, where it ran over the Brooklyn City Rail Road's Fulton Street Line to Troy Avenue, and continued south on Troy to end at Bergen Street.{{cite news |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |title=A New Street Railroad |date=March 13, 1881 |page=4}} The Broadway Railroad leased the line on December 31, 1881.{{cite news |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |title=Railroad Bills |date=March 8, 1883 |page=4}} The Brooklyn, Queens County and Suburban Railroad, owned by the Long Island Traction Company (later the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company or BRT), leased the Broadway Railroad in early 1894, and the line was electrified in late October.{{cite news |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |title=Real Estate Market |date=October 24, 1894 |page=14}} The BRT would become the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) in 1923.{{cite journal|title=Municipal Operation of Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Cars Began 80 Years Ago|journal=New York Division Bulletin|date=December 2003|volume=46|issue=12|pages=1, 4|url=http://issuu.com/erausa/docs/2003-12-bulletin|access-date=January 21, 2016|publisher=Electric Railroaders Association}}
=Conversion to bus service=
==20th century==
Beginning in the 1920s many streetcar lines in Brooklyn and the rest of the city began to be replaced by buses, particularly after the unification of the city's three primary transit companies (including the BMT) under municipal operations in June 1940.{{cite book|last=Sparberg|first=Andrew J.|title=From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oktGCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA111|date=October 1, 2014|publisher=Fordham University Press|isbn=978-0-8232-6190-1}}{{cite web|author1=Seyfried, Vincent F.|author-link=Vincent F. Seyfried|title=Full text of "Story of the Long Island Electric Railway and the Jamaica Central Railways, 1894-1933 /"|url=https://archive.org/stream/storyoflongislan00seyf/storyoflongislan00seyf_djvu.txt|website=archive.org|publisher=F. E. Reifschneider|access-date=December 20, 2015|date=1961}} The New Lots Avenue Line was converted to buses in mid-1941, running from the Canarsie Depot at Rockaway Avenue and Hegeman Avenue continuing east along Hegeman Avenue and Linden Boulevard to Atkins Avenue/Berriman Street in East New York.{{cite news|title=Public Notices|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/52998345/?terms=%22New%2BLots%2BAvenue%2BLine%22%2Bbus|access-date=March 29, 2016|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|via=Newspapers.com|date=August 11, 1949|page=19}}{{cite news|title=Notice of Public Hearing: Franchise Matters|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%25205%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Eagle%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Eagle%25201941%2520Grayscale%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Eagle%25201941%2520Grayscale%2520-%25205436.pdf&highlightsFile=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fultonhistory.com%2Fhighlighter%2Fhits%2F657dc98b4dd6d02d486e61b3d2770009#page=1|access-date=March 29, 2016|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|agency=Fultonhistory.com|date=July 15, 1941|page=16}} The service was assigned the B10 designation.{{cite web|title=1976 Brooklyn Bus Map|url=http://www.wardmaps.com/viewasset.php?aid=14047|website=wardmaps.com|publisher=New York City Transit Authority|access-date=March 28, 2016|date=1976}} On July 8, 1947, the B10 was extended to replace Sumner Avenue trolley service. The Sumner route was cut back from Williamsburg Bridge Plaza to its current terminal at Broadway and Sumner Avenue with direct Bedford–Stuyvesant-Red Hook service unreplaced.New York Board of Transportation, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Vd1ftrcbofgC Report for the Three and One-half Years Ending June 30, 1949] Sumner trolley service was fully eliminated in 1949.
On September 29, 1963, several Brooklyn streets including Sumner Avenue were turned into one-way streets; Sumner Avenue would become southbound only. Northbound B10 buses were rerouted onto Lewis Avenue at this time.{{cite news|title=600-Block Area In Brooklyn To Become Major One-Way Streets|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%252023%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520New%2520York%2520%26%2520Brooklyn%2520Daily%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520New%2520York%2520%26%2520Brooklyn%2520Daily%2520%25201962-1969%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520New%2520York%2520%26%2520Brooklyn%2520Daily%2520%25201962-1969%2520-%25200040.pdf&highlightsFile=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fultonhistory.com%2Fhighlighter%2Fhits%2Fe4030309cd45e50283b80b983c4cf40c#page=1|access-date=March 29, 2016|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|agency=Fultonhistory.com|date=September 25, 1963|page=3}} By this time, the B10 had been extended east along Linden Boulevard to Drew Street/Elderts Lane in New Lots/Spring Creek, near the Brooklyn-Queens border. This extension had been proposed around 1960 to serve the Cypress Hills and Louis Heaton Pink public housing complexes in New Lots.{{cite news|last1=Fitzgerald|first1=Owen|title=The Voice of Brooklyn|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520The%2520World%2520Telegram%2520and%2520Sun%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520The%2520World%2520Telegram%2520and%2520Sun%25201960%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520The%2520World%2520Telegram%2520and%2520Sun%25201960%2520-%25200958.pdf&highlightsFile=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fultonhistory.com%2Fhighlighter%2Fhits%2Fd2403756d01f71a8411fad7cdbbbfb1f#page=1|access-date=March 29, 2016|work=New York World-Telegram|agency=Fultonhistory.com|date=July 25, 1960|page=B2}} The bus would serve Brooklyn General Mail Facility in Spring Creek when it opened in 1991.{{cite web|author1=AKRF, Inc., Eng-Wong Taub & Associates, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc.|title=FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT for GATEWAY ESTATES II|url=http://www1.nyc.gov/site/hpd/developers/environmental-review.page|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development|access-date=November 16, 2015|date=February 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117032206/http://www1.nyc.gov/site/hpd/developers/environmental-review.page|archive-date=November 17, 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Brooklyn P&DC, Brooklyn, NY Area Mail Processing (AMP) Public Meeting: November 28, 2011|url=https://about.usps.com/streamlining-operations/public-meeting-presentation-brooklyn-11-28-11.pdf|publisher=United States Postal Service|access-date=November 18, 2015|date=November 28, 2011}} In 1993, the route was extended to its current terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 4 in Jamaica, Queens. When the route was extended to Kennedy Airport it was redesignated as the B15 (the previous designation for a route between City Hall and Downtown Brooklyn){{cite web|last1=Heller Anderson|first1=Susan|last2=Dunlap|first2=David W.|title=NEW YORK DAY BY DAY; . . . Bridge Experiment|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/25/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-bridge-experiment.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 30, 2015|date=June 25, 1985}} to avoid confusion with the {{NYC bus link|Q10}}, an existing route serving the airport, at the time operated by Green Bus Lines (now part of MTA Bus Company).
==21st century==
On April 11, 2004, 24-hour service was added to the B15 between Brooklyn and JFK Airport. At the same time, service to all JFK terminals except Terminal 4 was replaced by a free transfer to the AirTrain JFK.{{cite web|title=Bus Service Advisories: Queens|url=http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/bus/bussrvnoqn.htm|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=February 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041205074610/http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/bus/bussrvnoqn.htm|archive-date=December 5, 2004|date=December 2004}} On October 12, 2009, buses on the B15 were equipped with luggage racks, as part of a ten-bus pilot program on airport bus services to improve passenger flow.{{cite web|last1=Donohue|first1=Pete|title=MTA to give buses to LaGuardia Airports and John F. Kennedy Airport luggage racks|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-give-buses-laguardia-airports-john-f-kennedy-airport-luggage-racks-article-1.381006|work=Daily News (New York)|access-date=December 26, 2015|date=October 12, 2009}}{{cite web|last1=Hirshon|first1=Nicholas|title=Travelers' delight: Luggage racks on airport bus routes off to a flying start|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/travelers-delight-luggage-racks-airport-bus-routes-flying-start-article-1.381225|work=Daily News (New York)|access-date=December 26, 2015|date=October 13, 2009}}{{cite news|last1=Grynbaum|first1=Michael M.|title=Bringing Storage, and Comfort, to a La Guardia-Bound Bus|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/bringing-storage-and-comfort-to-a-la-guardia-bound-bus/?_r=0|access-date=December 27, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=October 12, 2009}} On May 30, 2012, due to construction at Terminal 4, the B15 started terminating at a new stop at Terminal 5, near the former Terminal 6.{{cite web|title=Transit Committee Meeting June 2012|url=http://www.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/120625_1000_Transit.pdf|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=March 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813075205/http://www.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/120625_1000_Transit.pdf|archive-date=August 13, 2012|url-status=dead|date=June 2012}}{{Cite web|title=mta.info {{!}} Planned Service Notices: JFK Airport Terminal 4 Bus Stop Relocation |url=http://mta.info/nyct/service/JFK_Terminal4BusStop.htm |date=May 31, 2012 |access-date=December 30, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531230717/http://mta.info/nyct/service/JFK_Terminal4BusStop.htm |archive-date=May 31, 2012 }} On September 8, 2013, B15 buses stopped directly serving the Brooklyn General Mail Facility loop due to low ridership.{{cite news|last1=McKenzie|first1=Trista|title=NYC Traffic Report for Thursday, September 26: UN General Assembly Delays|url=http://www.allmediany.com/news/15091-nyc-traffic-report-for-thursday-september-26-un-general-assembly-delays|access-date=March 29, 2016|work=allmediany.com|date=September 26, 2013}}
In February 2022, the MTA announced that the B15 branch to JFK would be truncated to the AirTrain JFK's Lefferts Boulevard station the next month on March 27 to accommodate long-term construction at JFK Airport. The changes would remain in effect until at least 2026, when JFK's new Central Terminal Area was completed. The discontinued portion of the B15 would be served by an extension of the Q3 service.{{cite web | last=Mohamed | first=Carlotta | title=MTA announces bus route service changes to take effect in March amid JFK Airport terminal redevelopment – QNS.com | website=QNS.com | date=February 14, 2022 | url=https://qns.com/2022/02/mta-bus-route-changes-march-amid-jfk-redevelopment/ | access-date=April 1, 2022}}
On December 1, 2022, the MTA released a draft redesign of the Brooklyn bus network.{{cite web | last=Brachfeld | first=Ben | title=Draft plan for new Brooklyn bus network aims to finally end decades of slow, unreliable service | website=amNewYork | date=December 1, 2022 | url=https://www.amny.com/new-york/brooklyn/mta-draft-redesign-brooklyn-bus-network/ | access-date=December 2, 2022}}{{cite web | title=Brooklyn bus riders could finally get faster service under MTA redesign | website=Crain's New York Business | date=December 1, 2022 | last=Spivack | first=Caroline | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/brooklyn-bus-riders-could-finally-get-faster-service-under-mta-redesign | access-date=December 2, 2022}} As part of the redesign, the B15's eastern terminus would be truncated to the Brooklyn General Mail Facility, while the western terminus would be extended to the Montrose Avenue station at Bushwick Avenue and Montrose Avenue in East Williamsburg. Northbound service in Bedford-Stuyvesant would be rerouted to Kingston and Throop Avenues. Closely-spaced stops would also be removed. {{Cite web|title=Draft Plan: B15 Local|url=https://new.mta.info/project/brooklyn-bus-network-redesign/routes/b15-local|access-date=2022-12-05|website=MTA|language=en}} The B15's JFK Airport branch, as well as the B35 Limited bus, would be replaced by the B55, a new Select Bus Service route running from Kensington to JFK Airport via Church Avenue, New Lots Avenue, Linden Boulevard, and North and South Conduit Avenue.{{Cite web|title=Draft Plan: B55 SBS|url=https://new.mta.info/project/brooklyn-bus-network-redesign/routes/b55-sbs|access-date=2022-12-05|website=MTA|language=en}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{attached KML|display=inline,title|from=B15 (New York City bus)}}
- {{commons category-inline|B15 (New York City bus)}}
{{B&QT streetcar lines}}
{{Brooklyn bus routes}}
{{BMT companies}}
{{JFK Airport}}