The Rockaway Parkway Line is a

public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...

line in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, running mostly along

Rockaway Parkway Rockaway Parkway is a major commercial street in the Canarsie neighborhood as well as the border between the Brownsville and East Flatbush neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York. It occupies the position of East 97th Street in the Brooklyn stre ...

between

Canarsie Pier Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin, East 108th Street, and Louisiana Avenue; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on th ...

and the Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway terminal of the

BMT Canarsie Line The BMT Canarsie Line (sometimes referred to as the 14th Street–Eastern Line) is a rapid transit line of the B Division (New York City Subway), B Division of the New York City Subway system, named after its terminus in the Canarsie, Brooklyn, ...

of the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

. Originally a

streetcar line A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segment ...

, it is now the B42

bus route A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used i ...

, operated by the

New York City Transit Authority The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...

. The

Wilson Avenue Line The Wilson Avenue Line is a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, running along Wilson Avenue and Rockaway Avenue between Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Canarsie, Brooklyn, Canarsie. Originally a Tram, streetcar line, it is ...

(now the B60 bus) continues north on Rockaway Parkway from the end of the B42 to

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

History

The line was originally operated as an electric streetcar by the

Nassau Electric Railroad The Nassau Electric Railroad was an electric street railway company in the U.S. state of New York. The company operated throughout the borough of Brooklyn, as well as over the Brooklyn Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan. History The ...

, a company that became part of the

Brooklyn Rapid Transit The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate railway lines in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using ...

(BRT) Company system, subsequently reorganized as the Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation in 1928 before passing to city ownership in 1940. Initially cars were through-routed between

and Canarsie Pier via the

(then Hamburg Avenue) and Rockaway Parkway. It was later cut at the company's Canarsie Depot at the corner of Hegeman and Rockaway Avenues, running via Rockaway Avenue and Rockaway Parkway to the Canarsie Pier. At the Canarsie Line rapid transit station at

and Glenwood Road, the Rockaway Parkway Line crossed the rapid transit line's surface right-of-way. The rapid transit line then turned east on private-right-of-way to parallel the trolley line to the shore and ferry. When the elevated train service was truncated at the Rockaway Parkway station after the 1917 summer season, the BRT operated a shuttle trolley on the former surface elevated line trackage, but did not discontinue the Rockaway Parkway Line. Under city ownership, the trolley shuttle on the former elevated line's right-of-way was abandoned on November 21, 1942. On the same day, the terminals of the Wilson Avenue and Rockaway Parkway lines were changed from the Canarsie Depot to the Rockaway Parkway station, essentially turning the Rockaway Parkway Line into a replacement of the Canarsie Line shuttle. At the Canarsie Pier end of the line, the Rockaway Parkway trolleys were rerouted via St. Jude Place and Canarsie Road in order to access the former shuttle station at the shore. In recognition of the fact that the Rockaway Parkway Line was replacing the survivor of a former rapid transit service, a free transfer between the Canarsie Line and the Rockaway Parkway trolley was instituted with trolleys entering the

fare control In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A s ...

of the Rockaway Parkway station. The free subway-streetcar (later subway-bus) transfer arrangement continues today, and is the only such transfer that can be made without having to use a MetroCard. Flatlands Av East 37 - Rockaway Pkwy

Buses designated B42 were substituted for streetcars on April 29, 1951. On December 1, 2022, the MTA released a draft redesign of the Brooklyn bus network. As part of the redesign, the B42 would retain its route, but closely spaced stops would be eliminated. The B42 would be supplemented by the existing B60 route and the new B76 route, which would also run along Rockaway Parkway and Rockaway Avenue.

References

{{Brooklyn bus routes Streetcar lines in Brooklyn B042 B042