On January 28, 1951, the line was replaced with bus service, designated "B-61", between Greenpoint and Red Hook (the later terminal labeled as "Erie Basin"). In February 1960, the Transit Authority rerouted the bus route between Clinton Hill and Downtown Brooklyn, from Myrtle Avenue onto Park Avenue, due to traffic congestion. The change was reversed on August 1 of that year after complaints from riders and local businesses. By 1963, the route had been extended across the Pulaski Bridge into Queens, terminating at Jackson Avenue and 49th Avenue in Hunters Point. On September 8, 1963, the line was split in northern Williamsburg, traveling on Bedford Avenue northbound and Driggs Avenue southbound, after the streets were turned into one-way avenues. In fall 1964, the northbound B61 was rerouted in Williamsburg from Kent Avenue to Bedford Avenue farther inland between the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Division Avenue, to improve passenger safety.