40°42′27″N73°47′44″W / 40.7075°N 73.7955°W /40.7075; -73.7955

165th Street Bus Terminal
New York Citybus station
An Orion VII OG, two Orion VII NGs, two Long Island Orion Vs, two RTSs and an NYCT Orion V at 165th Street Terminal, viewed from Merrick Boulevard & 89th Avenue
General information
Location	89-21 165th Street[1] (at 89th Avenue andMerrick Boulevard) Queens,New York City United States
Owned by	FBE Limited
Operated by	NYCT,MTA Bus,Nassau Inter-County Express
Bus routes	11local MTA routes, 5NICE Bus routes
Bus stands	23 Loading Bays
Connections	New York City Subway: at169th Street ​​​ atJamaica Center–Parsons/Archer Long Island Rail Road AirTrain JFK atJamaica (Sutphin Blvd)
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
History
Opened	August 11, 1936[2][3]
Closed	June 1, 2025
Previous names	Long Island Bus Terminal[3]

The165th Street Bus Terminal, also known asJamaica Bus Terminal,^[1][4] theLong Island Bus Terminal^[5] (the name emblazoned on the entranceway's red tiles),Jamaica−165th Street Terminal (as signed on buses towards the terminal), or simply165th Street Terminal, was a major bus terminal inJamaica, Queens, New York City. Owned by FBE Limited,^[6] the terminal served both NYCT and MTA Bus lines as well asNICE Bus lines toNassau County, and was a hub toGreen Bus Lines prior to MTA takeover.^[7] It was located at 89th Avenue andMerrick Boulevard, near theQueens Public Library's main branch. Most buses that pass through Jamaica served either this terminal, theJamaica Center subway station at Parsons Boulevard, orthe LIRR station at Sutphin Boulevard.^[8]

Unlike other major bus centers in New York City, there was no direct subway transfer available to the terminal. The closest subway station was169th Street onHillside Avenue served by theF and<F> train. Most buses traveling to/from the east, which operate via Hillside Avenue, also stop at179th Street served by theE, ​F, and<F> trains.^[8][9]

Construction on the "Long Island Bus Terminal" began in 1930, built by the Shore Road Development Company, Inc. with the intent of expanding transit service to and fromLong Island.^[10][11][12] On August 11, 1936, Bee-Line, Inc. (one of the predecessors to theNassau Inter-County Express) opened the terminal, operating routes from the terminal to the rest of Jamaica and Southeast Queens, and to Nassau County.^[2][3][12] It replaced the company's former terminal − the Jamaica Union Bus Terminal − atJamaica Avenue and New York Boulevard (now Guy R. Brewer Boulevard), which was taken over byGreen Bus Lines.^{[13][14][15][16]} The new terminal, which cost $1.5 million to build, featured a waiting room, lounge, and ticket offices. The bus terminal was enclosed by two one-story buildings on 165th Street and Merrick Boulevard respectively.^[3][12][13] Upon opening, the terminal served theBMT Jamaica Line's nearby terminal at168th Street andJamaica Avenue,^[17][18] and would serve theIND Queens Boulevard Line's169th Street station onHillside Avenue upon its completion in 1937.^[12][19][20] In May 1939, Bee-Line relinquished its Queens routes;^[21] these routes began operation from the terminal underNorth Shore Bus Company (a predecessor to the NYCT bus operations) on June 25, 1939.^[22]

In March 1947, North Shore Bus would be taken over by theNew York City Board of Transportation, making the bus routes from the terminal city operated.^[23][24][25] In 1952, the terminal was purchased by the Jamaica Realty Corporation,^[26] and in 1953 theNew York City Transit Authority (today part of theMTA) took over operations of the terminal from the Board of Transportation.^[27] The terminal would later be served by theGreen Bus Lines company (predecessor to theJFK Depot-based MTA Bus Company lines).^[7][28] Following the closure of the 168th Street station in 1977, the bus terminal lost its only direct subway connection.^[17][29]

As originally built, the terminal had only one entry point, on its north side from 89th Avenue.^[12] At some point, the structure on Merrick Boulevard was removed, allowing buses to turn directly onto the street or into the terminal.

The 168 St Terminal, shown empty (top), and aQ6 bus about to terminate at the 168 St Terminal (bottom).

In January 2023, the 165th Street Bus Terminal was sold to a developer and planned to become a mixed-use facility, with the lease for the terminal expiring in September 2023, with an alternative location at a nearby parking lot planned to be the location of the new terminal.^[30] The new168th Street Bus Terminal, located appoximately two blocks away at 90-01 168th Street, is temporary until the MTA can find a permanent location.^[31] The new terminal opened on June 1, 2025.^[32][33]

The terminal served seven routes operated byMTA New York City Bus, four operated byMTA Bus Company, and six operated byNassau Inter-County Express (NICE; formerly MTA Long Island Bus). All terminated here, except for the Q17, which is a through route.^[8] The southboundQ17 bus stopped outside the terminal on Merrick Boulevard, while the northbound Q17 toFlushing stopped on 168th Street, one block east.^[9]

The 165th Street pedestrian mall (top), and the Jamaica Colosseum Mall (bottom).

Adjacent to the bus terminal is the165th Street Mall, apedestrian shopping mall running the entire length of 165th Street between 89th Avenue andJamaica Avenue. Within the block are over 160 stores, including several apparel and footwear stores and a food court.^[35] The strip on 165th Street was originally constructed as part of the terminal, opening just after the terminal debuted in 1936. Shops were also built on 166th Street (today's Merrick Boulevard), but are not present today.^{[3][5][12][36]} In 1943 a massive fire damaged eleven stores along the strip,^[28] and a four-alarm fire in 1959 destroyed six shops and caused over $1 million in damage.^[37]

From 1947 to 1979, the mall housed a largeMacy's location constructed byRobert D. Kohn, one of the department chain's first locations in Queens. The Macy's closed due to several issues, including the threat of burglary, the transition ofJamaica from a middle-class White neighborhood to a working class Black and immigrant neighborhood, and the closure and demolition of theBMT Jamaica Avenue El east of121st Street that led many other businesses in the area to suffer.^{[4][17][38][39]}

In May 1979, 165th Street was redeveloped as a pedestrian mall, with the street closed to vehicular traffic and repaved with red brick.^[17][40][41] In May 1983, a third fire occurred damaging 12 stores.^[17]

One of the primary attractions of the mall today is theJamaica Colosseum Mall, which took over the former Macy's building in 1984. The Colosseum is one of New York City's largest jewelry exchanges. It has over 120 merchants and jewelers, a rooftop parking lot, and houses the 165th Street Mall's food court. Several New Yorkrappers includingJamaica native50 Cent shopped in the Colosseum growing up, andmusic videos have been filmed at the facility.^{[35][38][42][43]}

Following the opening of theArcher Avenue Lines in 1988, merchants from the mall sued the NYCT due to the loss of business after the diversion of several bus lines to the new subway stations. The NYCT proceeded to extend the Q76 and Q77 from the179th Street station, whileGreen Bus Lines added five bus routes to the terminal.^[34]

One block west of the terminal on 164th Street is theFirst Presbyterian Church, built in 1662.^[9][44] TheJamaica Main Post Office is located one block north of the church at 89th Avenue and 164th Street.^[9] TheQueens Central Library and theChildren's Library Discovery Center are located directly acrossMerrick Boulevard,^[9] as is the formerLoew's Valencia Theatre (now the Tabernacle of Prayer Church) one block south.^[12] On the southeast corner of 165th Street and Jamaica Avenue, across from the mall, is the former control tower of the 168th Street station, rented by retail shops since the 1930s.^[45]

• List of bus routes in Queens
• List of bus routes in Nassau County, New York
• Fulton Mall
• Port Authority Bus Terminal
• George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal
• Rosa Parks Hempstead Transit Center
• Mineola Intermodal Center

• Media related to165th Street Bus Terminal at Wikimedia Commons

• 1936 establishments in New York City
• Bus stations in New York City
• Bus transportation in New York City
• Jamaica, Queens
• MTA Regional Bus Operations
• Nassau Inter-County Express
• Transportation buildings and structures in Queens, New York

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