The B33 was a

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

line in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, running mostly along Hamilton Avenue between

Bay Ridge Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base and ...

and Hamilton Ferry at the north end of the avenue in Red Hook. Originally a

streetcar line A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

known as the Hamilton Avenue Line, it was replaced by a

bus route A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ...

, but is no longer operated.

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 The Gowanus Canal (originally known as the Gowanus Creek) is a canal in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, on the westernmost portion of Long Island. Once a vital cargo transportation hub, the canal has seen decreasing use since the mid-20 ...

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.

History

The route on Hamilton Avenue was not one of the original

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

s granted to the

Brooklyn City Rail Road The Brooklyn City Railroad (BCRR) was the oldest and one of the largest operators of streetcars (horsecars and later trolleys) in the City of Brooklyn, New York, continuing in that role when Brooklyn became a borough of New York City in 1898. I ...

in 1853, 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 A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...

, and the rest opened in early June 1855, at first operated as a shuttle between the ferry and Court Street. Eventually the route was operated along

Third Avenue Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...

south to the 65th Street Depot in

as the 33 Hamilton line. 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 The B48 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, running along Lorimer Street, Franklin Avenue, and Classon Avenue between Flatbush and Greenpoint. Originally the Lorimer Street streetcar line, it is now a bus rou ...

, ending east of the park at

Prospect Lefferts Gardens Prospect Lefferts Gardens is a residential neighborhood in the Flatbush area of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The community is bounded by Empire Boulevard (formerly Malbone Street) to the north, Clarkson Avenue to the south, New York A ...

, near the then-

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five p ...

. Ridership dropped in 1942 with the discontinuation of the

Hamilton Avenue Ferry Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilton ...

, and in 1957 with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

, who played at Ebbets Field, moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The route was discontinued on March 29, 1992 as part of a systemwide cuts in bus service due to low ridership. 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..

References

{{Brooklyn bus routes B033 B033 Railway lines opened in 1854 1862 establishments in New York (state) Streetcar lines in Brooklyn