At the beginning of Mayor Eric Adams’ first term, he took the B41 bus through Brooklyn, determined to speed up New York City’s notoriously slow buses. his election promises Be an advocate for bus and cyclists.
The bus passengers thought they had a champion.On this day, the rider group presented Mr. Adams with jacket On his back was “Mayor of New York City Bus,” celebrating his pledge to create 150 miles of new bus lanes in four years.
Then politics intervened.
The city, which has the slowest buses in the nation, averaging 8 mph, will add just 16 miles of bus lanes this year. In 2022, Adams’ first year as mayor, just over a dozen miles will be added.
Adams administration plans new bus lanes on half of road dozens more Includes a three-mile proposal for a busy corridor along Fordham Road in the Bronx. The Bronx has more bus commuters per capita than any other borough, with 60% of his households taking the bus. don’t own a caraccording to an analysis of Census Bureau data by city officials.
But that plan now appears to have stalled after opposition from local businesses and the questioning of one of the mayor’s political allies, Rep. Adriano Espia.
Richard Davey, president of the New York City Transit Authority, which oversees the city’s sprawling subway and bus system, said in an interview that the mayor’s focus is on subway crime and discount assistance. Mayor,” he said. Metrocard for poor New Yorkers.
But the metropolitan transit authority can’t speed up buses unless the city builds more dedicated bus lanes.
If the project isn’t tackled soon, “the math won’t be right by the end of my four years as mayor,” Davey said Monday as he rode the Bx36 bus through the Bronx.
Transportation advocates worry that other bus-friendly proposals, such as the massive bus lane plan through Brooklyn’s Flatbush Street neighborhood center won by Adams in 2021, could be jeopardized. Flatbush City Councilman Rita Joseph said she supports having bus lanes in her district.
“I have heard mixed opinions from my neighbors. As an elected leader, it is my responsibility to work with my colleagues to find a compromise that everyone can agree on,” Joseph said in a statement. Ta.
With New York City stuck in traffic and plagued by the effects of climate change, prioritizing the bus seems like the obvious solution.
London and Beijing have increased bus speeds by giving buses more road space. But in New York, the voices of drivers and business leaders are often louder than the city’s 1.2 million daily bus riders, many of them working-class New Yorkers.
Mayor’s spokesman Charles Kretschmer Lutvak said in a statement that the Adams administration has improved commute times on many bus routes, including: Northern Boulevard in Queens“We will continue to do everything in our power to achieve the ambitious goals set by the mayor in his election campaign.”
But as Democrat Adams gears up for re-election in 2025, the administration has paid tribute to powerful interest groups and local leaders.
One of the mayor’s closest aides, Ingrid Lewis Martin, opposed a street redesign project and defied a traffic commission order in February 2022 to create eight pedestrian-only blocks in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. allowed the vehicle to be put back on the road.
Ms Louis Martin also expressed concern about Brooklyn’s plans for two bike lanes. McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint Gina Argento and Tony Argento, two prominent Democratic donors to Adams who own a local film production company, opposed the move. Another, at Ashland Place in Fort Greene, is being opposed by Two Trees Management, a major real estate firm led by Adams’ donors, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Lutvak denied that Mr. Louis Martin had interfered in the Ashland Place plan and said the plan was moving forward. He said Wednesday that the city is also working on a scaled-down version of the McGuinness Boulevard project, which is its first development. Reported by Gossa Mist.
Local city councilor Oswald Ferris said: Part of Mr. Espia’s so-called Squadriano political alliance., fighting against the Fordham Road proposal, which has 85,000 daily bus riders. He, along with other opponents such as the Bronx Zoo and Fordham University, fear that the plan will disrupt vehicular traffic and limit vehicles to one lane in each direction, pushing them onto surrounding roads. are doing.
Fewer than 6 percent of visitors driving to the zoo and nearby attractions use Fordham Road. According to Ministry of Transport data.
Ferris would rather have the city repaint the existing bus lanes red and install more traffic enforcement cameras.
“We strongly support bus lanes and offset bus lanes where they are needed for faster buses. he said in a statement.
Mr. Espaire called officials from the MTA, the governor’s office and DOT officials last month to discuss the Fordham road plan, and said there was a clear lack of local support, according to people familiar with the call. and anonymity was granted in order to discuss confidential matters. The content of the call is First reported by the website Streetsblog.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Espaire, a Dominican American and a key ally of Mr. Adams’ Black and Latino Leaders Coalition, said in a statement that local governments are being forced to “make decisions in the best interest of city dwellers.” He said he supports the authorities. He noted that Espaire had supported faster bus lines in the past when he was a state legislator.
Noting that the City Transportation Department is understaffed, Davey said he was very keen to help the city begin construction on the Fordham Road project this year, saying, “I personally don’t have a bus. I’m going to go paint the dedicated lane.”
Opponents of the Fordham Road plan include a business group led by bakery owner Peter Madonia, former chief of staff to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, and John Calveri, executive vice president of the Bronx Zoo. includes donors to Mark Jerome, President of the University of Monroe.
The corridor, originally intended to be a bus lane like Manhattan’s 14th Avenue, has proven to improve service by blocking nearly all traffic except buses and commercial trucks. Rush hour bus speeds increased by 50 percent after part of Main Street in Flushing, Queens, was turned into a bus lane in 2021.
a new compromise An ‘offset lane’ for buses could be added in the middle of Fordham Road, with parking and loading lanes next to the curb.
In a letter to the mayor last month, Ferris and three state legislators said the new plan would “impact a thriving economic, social and health ecosystem,” including Little Italy on Arthur Street in the Bronx and “tourist destinations.” I will give you,” he said. Others come to the Bronx from all over the world. ”
Transportation proponents have pushed back, sometimes in eye-catching ways. giraffe costume Deployed to attract the attention of opponents at the Bronx Zoo.
“Passengers are demanding the mayor keep his promises, and nowhere is that more important or meaningful than on Fordham Road,” said Danny Pearlstein, spokesman for transportation advocacy group Riders Alliance. .
On a scorching hot day last week, 18-year-old Jennifer Reyes was waiting for a Bx12 bus on Fordham Road. He busked to school, Marine Corps training, and a job as a cashier at a Times Square fried chicken restaurant.
Reyes, a lifelong Bronx resident, said buses often arrive late and are too full to board, so she leaves home early to make up for frequent delays.
“I know it’s going to piss people off,” Reyes said of the proposal to prioritize buses. “But we students, workers, have to go to our places.”
Home care worker Milagros Matias said he was frustrated by the number of delivery vehicles stuck in the road and hoped the city would act quickly to make way for the buses.
“We need more space on public transport,” said Matias, 54, in Spanish. “This mode of transportation is essential.”
Jeffrey C. Mays Contributed to the report.