Parent | GTJ Reit Incorporated |
---|---|
Founded | 1925 |
Defunct | 2006 |
Headquarters | 165-25 147th Avenue Springfield Gardens, NY 11434-5295 |
Green Bus Lines, also referred to simply as Green Lines, was a private bus company in New York City, United States. It operated local service in Queens and express service to Manhattan until January 9, 2006, when the city-operated MTA Bus Company took over its routes. It was managed most recently by Jerome Cooper (1928–2015).
Green Bus Lines routes primarily operated in the Jamaica, Ozone Park, Howard Beach, South Jamaica, and the Rockaways areas of Queens, along with service to the passenger and cargo areas of John F. Kennedy International Airport. [1] [2] At the time of its closure, Green Lines operated more local and limited bus routes than any other private company in the city. [1]
Stockholders of Green Bus Lines also held control of other private bus companies in Queens and Brooklyn as Transit Alliance. These companies were Triboro Coach, Jamaica Buses, and Command Bus Company, all of which were absorbed into the MTA Regional Bus operations. [3] [4] The company reorganized as GTJ Reit Inc., a real estate investment trust, shortly after MTA takeover.
The company was incorporated on April 3, 1925 by William Cooper (1895-1985, aged 90) and Martin Klein to provide local service in several boroughs. Cooper originally began operating a single bus line, a portion of today's Q8 101-Jerome Avenue route in 1922. [5] The company was formed from several independently-operated bus lines, whose owners operated the buses, and would become stockholders and employees in Green Lines. [5] [6] [7] [8]
The company acquired several Manhattan routes (including the current M22, M50, M79, M86, and M96) in 1933, but these were transferred to the Comprehensive Omnibus Corporation in 1935 and New York City Omnibus Corporation in 1936. [9] That year, Green Lines took over the operations of Liberty Bus, and the borough's bus system was divided into four lettered "zones", with each zone being served exclusively by one bus company. [10] [11] [12] [13] Green Lines was awarded the rights to all of "Zone C" in southern Queens, which included Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, Howard Beach, and the Rockaways. [10] [11] With that move, Green Lines assumed the operations of seven other companies in the region. [6] [7] [10] [14] Green also acquired the Manhattan and Queens Bus Corporation, which had operated the ex-Manhattan and Queens Traction Company Queens Boulevard Line into Manhattan (the Q60) since 1937, in 1943. [15]
Green stockholders acquired two other transit companies that continued to operate independently: Triboro Coach Corporation in October 1947, and Jamaica Buses in April 1949. [4] [5] Jointly these three companies formed Command Bus Company in 1979 to take over the routes that had been previously operated by Pioneer Bus Corporation, which went out of the transit bus business following a bitter strike earlier in 1979. [4]
The QM23 was started in the 1950s to replace Long Island Rail Road service to the Brooklyn Manor station on the Rockaway Beach Branch. [16] It was discontinued in 2010. Four more express routes began operation in the 1970s.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(October 2022) |
Green Bus Lines, Inc.; Triboro Coach Corporation; and Jamaica-Central Railways, Inc. were each owned by individual shareholders. Jamaica-Central Railways, Inc. had a wholly owned subsidiary, Jamaica Buses, Inc. Several subsidiary corporations were owned 40 percent by Green Bus Lines, Inc.; 40 percent by Triboro Coach Corporation; and 20 percent by Jamaica-Central Railways, Inc. These jointly owned subsidiary corporations included Command Bus Company, Inc., and G.T.J. Co., Inc. (originally Varsity Transit, Inc.). Among the wholly owned subsidiaries of G.T.J. Co., Inc. was Transit Facility Management Corp., which provided Access-A-Ride paratransit service using the name TFM Paratransit; Varsity Transit, Inc. (originally Varsity Coach Corp. until 1989), which provided school bus service within the City of New York; and Varsity Coach Corp. (incorporated 1989), which provided school bus service outside the City of New York.
On June 23, 2006, GTJ REIT, Inc. was formed under the laws of Maryland as a real estate investment trust. Two weeks later, on July 7, 2006, three wholly owned subsidies of GTJ REIT, Inc. were formed: Green Acquisition, Inc.; Triboro Acquisition, Inc.; and Jamaica Acquisition, Inc.
A special meeting of the shareholders of Green Bus Lines, Inc.; Triboro Coach Corporation; and Jamaica-Central Railways, Inc. was held on March 26, 2007 for the purpose of obtaining the consent of a majority of the shareholders of each company to be merged into the GTJ REIT, Inc. subsidiaries. A majority of shareholders of each company voted in favor, and on March 29, 2007 Green Bus Lines, Inc. was merged into Green Acquisition, Inc.; Triboro Coach Corporation was merged into Triboro Acquisition, Inc.; and Jamaica-Central Railways, Inc. was merged into Jamaica Acquisition, Inc. Shareholders exchanged their old shares in the bus companies for new shares in GTJ REIT, Inc. Command Bus Company, Inc. and Varsity Coach Corp. were both dissolved on January 21, 2010. Jamaica Buses, Inc. was dissolved on May 13, 2010.
During 2011 and 2012, the Company underwent a process of shedding all businesses and assets that were no longer compatible with its real estate focus.
In January 2013, the Company closed on a transaction with a privately held joint venture in which the Company acquired ownership interests in a portfolio of 25 commercial properties located in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. As a result of subsequent acquisitions, the company owns 45 properties, approximately 5 million square feet and 338 acres of land.
GTJ REIT, Inc. is headquartered in West Hempstead, N.Y. Its portfolio of real estate investments includes the four garages (JFK Depot, LaGuardia Depot, Baisley Park Depot and the Far Rockaway Depot's older building) once used for transit bus operations, all of which are leased to the City of New York for use as bus garages by MTA Bus Company.
Just prior to MTA Bus takeover, Green Bus lines operated the following routes, which mostly continued to be based in Far Rockaway Bus Depot and John F. Kennedy Bus Depot. [17] Hubs for Green Lines operations included 165th Street Bus Terminal in Jamaica, the Mott Avenue subway station in Far Rockaway, and several stations on the IND Queens Boulevard Line. [2] [18] [19] [20] [21]
Route | Terminal A | Major streets of travel | Terminal B | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Queens Local | ||||
Q6 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bays 14, 15, 16 | Jamaica Avenue, Sutphin Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard, North Boundary Road | JFK International Airport North Cargo Road and Eastern Road, and USPS Airport Mail Facility | |
Q7 | City Line, Brooklyn Euclid Avenue and Pitkin Avenue at Euclid Avenue ( A C trains) | Pitkin Avenue, Rockaway Boulevard, 150th Street | JFK International Airport 148th Street and South Cargo Road |
|
Q8 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bay 17 and 18 | Jamaica Avenue, 101st Avenue, Fountain Avenue | Spring Creek, Brooklyn Gateway Center Mall |
|
Q9 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bay 19 and 20 | Jamaica Avenue, Supthin Boulevard, Liberty Avenue, 135th Street (Northbound), Van Wyck Expressway Service Road (Southbound), Lincoln Street. | South Ozone Park Rockaway Boulevard and Lincoln Street |
|
Q9A | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal | Lincoln Street, Linden Boulevard, Merrick Boulevard | South Ozone Park Rockaway Boulevard and Lincoln Street | |
Q10 | Kew Gardens 80th Road and Kew Gardens Road at Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike ( E F <F> trains) | Lefferts Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard, 130th Street, Van Wyck Expressway Service Road | JFK International Airport Terminal 5 |
|
Q11 | Elmhurst Queens Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevard at Woodhaven Boulevard ( E M R trains) and Queens Center Mall | Woodhaven Boulevard, Cross Bay Boulevard, then:
|
|
|
Q21 | Woodhaven Boulevard, 155th Avenue, 157th Avenue, Cross Bay Boulevard | Howard Beach 164th Avenue and 92nd Street |
| |
Q21A | Far Rockaway Mott Avenue and Beach 20th Street at Far Rockaway – Mott Avenue ( A train) | Edgemere Avenue, Cross Bay Boulevard, Pitkin Avenue, Linden Boulevard | East New York, Brooklyn Livonia Avenue and New Lots Avenue at New Lots Avenue ( 2 3 4 5 trains) | Discontinued in 1990, due to poor ridership. |
Q22 | Beach Channel Drive, Rockaway Beach Boulevard | Roxbury Beach 169th Street and Rockaway Point Boulevard | Originally owned by Long Island Coach Company, service began in 1912. | |
Q22A | Mott Avenue | Bayswater | ||
Q35 | Midwood, Brooklyn Avenue H and Flatbush Avenue at Flatbush Avenue ( 2 5 trains) | Flatbush Avenue, Newport Avenue | Rockaway Park Beach 116th Street and Newport Avenue |
|
Q37 | Kew Gardens Union Turnpike and Kew Gardens Road at Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike ( E F <F> trains) | Park Lane South, 111th Street, 135th Avenue | South Ozone Park 150th Avenue and 149th Avenue |
|
Q40 | Jamaica Sutphin Boulevard and Hillside Avenue at Sutphin Boulevard ( E F <F> trains) | Sutphin Boulevard, Lakewood Avenue, 142nd Street | South Jamaica 135th Avenue and 143rd Street | Originally operated by Midland Coach, service began on February 5, 1934. |
Q41 | Jamaica 165th Street Bus Terminal Bay 22 and 23 | 127th Street, 109th Avenue, Cross Bay Boulevard | Howard Beach 164th Avenue and 92nd Street |
|
Q60 | East Midtown, Manhattan Second Avenue and 60th Street | Queensboro Bridge, Queens Boulevard, Sutphin Boulevard | South Jamaica 109th Avenue and 157th Street |
|
Queens-Manhattan express | ||||
QM15 | Midtown Manhattan 6th Avenue | Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Woodhaven Boulevard, Cross Bay Boulevard | Howard Beach 157th Avenue and 102nd Street |
|
QM16 | Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Cross Bay Boulevard, Rockaway Beach Boulevard | Jacob Riis Park Parking lot |
| |
QM17 | Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Cross Bay Boulevard, Beach Channel Drive, Seagirt Boulevard | Far Rockaway Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue subway station ( A train) | ||
QM18 | Manhattan: 34th Street, 6th Avenue, 57th Street Queens: Queens Boulevard, Lefferts Boulevard, 135th Avenue | South Ozone Park 130th Street and 150th Avenue |
| |
QM23 | Midtown Manhattan 33rd Street and 7th Avenue at Penn Station | Manhattan: 34th Street Queens: Woodhaven Boulevard, Jamaica Avenue | Woodhaven 102nd Street and Jamaica Avenue |
|
Green Bus Lines' first southeast Queens depot (also known as Cornell Park) was located at 149th Street and 147th Avenue (148-02 147th Avenue) [50] in what was then South Ozone Park, Queens. [51] The facility, which contained an office building and a bus garage, opened in May 1939 at a cost of $250,000. [52] This area has since been de-mapped and is now on the grounds of John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Green Lines' second southeast Queens garage was located in Jamaica at 147th Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard (165-25 147th Avenue) [15] near JFK Airport. [1] The depot was built from 1951 to 1952 at the cost of $500,000. [53] It was the primary storage and maintenance facility for the company. [1] It is now the John F. Kennedy Depot (or JFK Depot) of MTA Bus. [15] [54]
Green Lines operated a facility on the Rockaway Peninsula, situated on Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Beach 49th Street (49-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard) [15] [55] in the neighborhood of Arverne. [1] It was sometimes referred to as the "Rockaway Garage". [55] A satellite facility, it primarily housed buses serving the Rockaways and southern Queens, performing light maintenance work. [1] [15] It is now MTA Bus' Far Rockaway Depot. [54]
Varsity Bus Company is a former school bus operator in New York City. This company was established in 2003 when it acquired some of the school bus routes that had been operated by Varsity Transit, a sister company that had operated from 1965 to 2003. Varsity ceased operations by the 2010s, and the headquarters of Varsity were later used by Total Transportation and L&M Bus Corp.
Triboro Coach Corporation was a bus company in New York City, United States, operating local service in Queens and express routes to Manhattan until February 20, 2006, when MTA Bus took over all of its bus operations and services.
Jamaica Buses, Inc., also known as Jamaica Bus Lines or the Jamaica Bus Company, was a bus company in New York City, United States, operating local service in Queens and express service to Manhattan until January 30, 2006, when the MTA Bus Company took over its operations.
Queens Surface Corporation was a bus company in New York City, United States, operating local service in Queens and the Bronx and express service between Queens and Manhattan until February 27, 2005, when the MTA Bus Company took over the operations. The company was known for its orange paint scheme, used since the company's inception in the late 1930s.
The Q4 bus route constitutes a public transit corridor running along Merrick Boulevard and the easternmost portion of Linden Boulevard in southeastern Queens, New York City. The route runs from the Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer station to Cambria Heights near the Queens–Nassau County border. The Q4 also provides limited-stop service along the corridor during peak weekday hours. The route is now operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the New York City Transit brand.
The Q35 bus route constitutes a public transit line in southeast Brooklyn as well as the Rockaway Peninsula of southern Queens in New York City. The Q35 is operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the MTA Bus Company brand, but was formerly privately operated by Green Bus Lines. The bus provides service between Midwood in central Brooklyn to Rockaway Park on the Rockaway Peninsula, running mainly along Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn and Newport Avenue on the Rockaway Peninsula. The route utilizes the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge to cross between Brooklyn and Queens.
The North Shore Bus Company operated public buses in Queens, New York City. It was established in 1920 as the successor to the New York and North Shore Traction Company trolley system, and operated until 1947 when it went bankrupt, and its operations were taken over by the New York City Board of Transportation.
MTA Regional Bus Operations operates local and express buses serving New York City in the United States out of 29 bus depots. These depots are located in all five boroughs of the city, with the exception of one located in nearby Yonkers in Westchester County. 21 of these depots serve MTA New York City Transit (NYCT)'s bus operations, while the remaining eight serve the MTA Bus Company These facilities perform regular maintenance, cleaning, and painting of buses, as well as collection of revenue from bus fareboxes. Several of these depots were once car barns for streetcars, while others were built much later and have only served buses. Employees of the depots are represented by local divisions of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), particularly the TWU Local 100 and 101, or of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)'s Local's 726 for all depots in Staten Island, 1056 for Casey Stengel, Jamaica, and Queens Village Depots, and 1179 for JFK & Far Rockaway Depots.
The Q38 is a bus route in Queens, New York City. The route travels from the Corona and Elmhurst neighborhoods to the Forest Hills neighborhood, running in a "C" shape via the Metropolitan Avenue station in Middle Village. It runs seven days a week but does not operate overnight. Formerly privately operated by Triboro Coach Corporation, the route is now city-operated under the MTA Bus Company brand of MTA Regional Bus Operations.
The 165th Street Bus Terminal, also known as Jamaica Bus Terminal, the Long Island Bus Terminal, Jamaica−165th Street Terminal, or simply 165th Street Terminal, is a major bus terminal in Jamaica, Queens. Owned by MTA Regional Bus Operations, the terminal serves both NYCT and MTA Bus lines as well as NICE Bus lines to Nassau County, and was a hub to Green Bus Lines prior to MTA takeover. It is located at 89th Avenue and Merrick Boulevard, near the Queens Library. Most buses that pass through Jamaica serve either this terminal, the Jamaica Center subway station at Parsons Boulevard, or the LIRR station at Sutphin Boulevard.
The Q3 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Queens, New York City, operating via Farmers Boulevard between the 165th Street Bus Terminal in Jamaica and John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The Q60 bus route constitutes a public transit line running primarily along Queens Boulevard in Queens, New York City, extending from Jamaica, Queens, to Midtown Manhattan via Queens Boulevard and the Queensboro Bridge. It is city-operated under the MTA Bus Company brand of MTA Regional Bus Operations.
The Q111, Q113, and Q114 bus routes constitute a public transit line between the Jamaica and Far Rockaway neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, running primarily along Guy R. Brewer Boulevard. The Q113 and Q114 provide limited-stop service between Jamaica and Far Rockaway, connecting two major bus-subway hubs, and crossing into Nassau County. The Q111 provides local service exclusively within Queens, with the exception of select rush-hour trips to or from Cedarhurst in Nassau County. Some of the last bus routes to be privately operated in the city, they are currently operated by the MTA Bus Company brand of MTA Regional Bus Operations. The Q113 and Q114 are one of the few public transit options between the Rockaway peninsula and "mainland" New York City.
The Q72 bus route constitutes a public transit route along Junction Boulevard and 94th Street in Queens, New York City. It operates between the Rego Park and East Elmhurst neighborhoods of Queens, and extends into LaGuardia Airport at the north end of the borough. It is city-operated under the MTA Bus Company brand of MTA Regional Bus Operations.
The Q11, Q21, Q52, and Q53 bus routes constitute a public transit corridor running along Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards in Queens, New York City. The corridor extends primarily along the length of the two boulevards through "mainland" Queens, a distance of 6 miles (9.7 km) between Elmhurst and the Jamaica Bay shore in Howard Beach. The Q52 and Q53 buses, which provide Select Bus Service along the corridor, continue south across Jamaica Bay to the Rockaway peninsula, one of the few public transit options between the peninsula and the rest of the city.
The Q65 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Queens, New York City. The south-to-north route runs primarily on 164th Street, operating between two major bus-subway hubs: Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue station in Jamaica and Flushing–Main Street station in Flushing. It then extends north along College Point Boulevard to College Point at the north end of the borough. The route is city-operated under the MTA Bus Company brand of MTA Regional Bus Operations.
The Q5 and Q85 bus routes constitute a public transit corridor running along Merrick Boulevard in southeastern Queens, New York City. The routes run from the Jamaica Center transit hub and business district to Rosedale, with continued service to Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, Nassau County. The Q4 and Q84 buses also serve the northern portion of the corridor, before diverging east along Linden Boulevard and 120th Avenue respectively. The Q4, Q5, and Q85 also provide limited-stop service along the corridor. The routes on the corridor mainly serve as feeder routes to New York City Subway services at Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer station.
The Q69 and Q100 Limited bus routes constitute a public transit line in western Queens, New York City. Beginning at Queens Plaza in Long Island City, the routes run primarily along 21st Street through the neighborhoods of Long Island City and Astoria. The Q69 makes all local stops, while the Q100 makes four limited stops along the shared corridor between Queens Plaza and Ditmars Boulevard. At Ditmars Boulevard, the Q69 turns east towards Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst near LaGuardia Airport. The Q100, meanwhile, continues north of Queens across Bowery Bay to the city jail complex on Rikers Island in the Bronx, providing the only public transit service to the island.
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