BusTalk

[Q65A]

Crosstown Depot, located at Commercial & Box Streets in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was built by the NYC Board of Transportation in 1948 as a surface car house and trolley coach depot. It actually was the 2nd transit facility bearing that name at the location. The land on which the depot stood originally had been acquired by the BOT in 1940 upon NYC takeover of the BMT. Standing on the site at the time was the Crosstown Surface Car House, a venerable brick facility built by Brooklyn City R.R. in 1896. The 2nd Crosstown Depot serviced streetcars and trolley coaches until 1951; bus-only operation commenced in 1955. The depot was not a large building, with only 14, 552 sq. ft. of space on 2 floors. The ground floor had 2 longitudinal servicing pits, a bus washer, a farebox station, plus office space. The 2nd floor had additional bus storage space plus a locker/swing room. The basement held storage areas as well as a gas fired boiler. Outdoor parking lots totaling 61, 200 sq. ft. had room for 104 buses. A staff of 350 employees worked there, including 260 bus operators and 34 bus maintainers. The 88-bus fleet assigned to Crosstown in 1976 consisted of the following units:
1966 GMC TDH-5303 #’s 8031-8097 (“batwing” Fishbowls with A/C)
1972 GMC T6H-5309A #’s 6310-6329
1975 Flxible 53102-6-1 #’s 7530-7544
Seven local bus routes originated at Crosstown: B18 Wyckoff Ave. (today part of the B13), B24/29 Greenpoint-Meeker-Marcy (today's B24), B39 Williamsburg Bridge, B48 Lorimer Street, B59 Grand Street (today called Q59), B61 Crosstown, and B62 Graham Avenue (the northern portion of which became part of today's B43). These routes carried 13, 789,100 passengers in 1976, generating $4.4 million in revenue for the TA. To move all these Brooklynites, nearly 917,000 gallons of diesel were consumed that year. The busiest route was also the longest: the 8.77-mile long B61 Crosstown route (which at that time ran from 11th Street & Jackson Avenue in Long Island City to Vandyke & Richards St. in Erie Basin) carried 4.6 million passengers. Crosstown Depot shut down in November 1981. Routes were assigned to either Fresh Pond (B18, B24, B39, B48, Q59) or Fifth Avenue (later renamed Jackie Gleason; B43, B61. Crosstown Depot was converted into an NYCTA bus paint shop, a role in which it continues to operate to this day.

[B53RICH]

Units assigned to Crosstown Depot as I remember:
6310-6334 original delivery.
6330-6334 later sent to FP.

7530-7544 original delivery as already mentioned.

9030-9039 New Look Flx original delivery.
I believe there were also 9000 series Old Looks.

8041-8080 batwings received from JAM.
8031-8040 were at FP from 1971-1976? I remember these sent to XT, I would have thought later than 1976 but perhaps it was 1976.

I also remember some 3700's and 100's