Deputy Mayor Julia Kerson, Operations: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Tremont Avenue, future home of the first busway in the Bronx. Last month, we released Next Stop: Fast Buses, Better Service, which represents a historic partnership between the city and state to build a faster, more reliable bus system. The Tremont Avenue busway delivers on this plan. The busway will give back time to the tens of thousands of bus riders who travel along this cross-town route each day, all while making the street safer for everyone. The busway also lays the groundwork for a future bus rapid transit corridor which will make Cross Bronx bus travel even faster and easier. And this project demonstrates a strong partnership between Albany and City Hall to improve the lives of working people in the Bronx. The city's got the streets, the state has the buses and together we are delivering fast buses and better service for New Yorkers. Without further ado, it's my honor to introduce our mayor, Mayor Mamdani.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good afternoon, everyone. Or good morning, rather — speaking of the future, because I'm thinking of the busway. It is a pleasure to be here in the Bronx alongside dedicated advocates and partners in government as we announce that DOT has begun work on the Bronx's first-ever dedicated busway right here on Tremont Avenue. And I want to acknowledge we have a number of leaders both inside and outside of our administration joining us here today. We have our deputy mayor of operations, Julia Kerson, that we've just heard from. We have our DOT assistant commissioner, Diniece Mendes. We have our MTA executive vice president of buses, Frank Farrell. We have our Bronx River Alliance deputy director, Daniel Ranells. We have our communications director and policy director of Riders Alliance, Danny Pearlstein, who is here with us. We have our MTA board member, Dan Garodnick, who is here with us. Our Transportation Alternatives director of advocacy, Shawn Garcia. Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Stop the Cross-Bronx Expansion Coalition, Nilka Martell. We have Renae Reynolds from the Tri-State Transportation [Campaign]— the executive director of that [campaign], to be specific — and we have our MTA board member Blanca López, who is here with us.
Now we know that for too many Bronxites, riding a bus in our city doesn't get you where you need to go. It gets you frustrated, delayed [and] oftentimes inconvenienced. The Bx36 that is supposed to take you to work on time arrives 15 minutes behind schedule. The bus that crawls along at a pace slower than you can walk. The school drop-off you are late to. The recital that you miss. In a city where time is money, the working people who rely on our bus system have repeatedly seen their precious time treated as if it does not matter. We are standing at the fifth busiest bus route in the Bronx that serves nearly 40,000 New Yorkers each day, in an area where 72 percent of households do not own a car.
And it is one of the few corridors that residents can rely on to traverse the borough from east to west. And yet while the wheels on the bus may go round-and-round in the nursery rhyme, the wheels of the Bx36 rotate slower than nearly anywhere else in New York City, at a less than five mile-per-hour pace. This avenue, however, isn't just known for its slow buses. It is also one that is known to be notoriously dangerous. 630 people were injured in crashes on this corridor between 2020 and 2024, including four New Yorkers who tragically lost their lives. For years, riders of the Bx36 have called for faster service and safer streets. And for a brief moment last year, it seemed like their calls might've finally been heard.
In February of 2025, the DOT's plan for a Tremont Avenue busway was fully designed and ready to go. Installation was slated to begin that spring. Yet, before the project could get underway, it was abruptly canceled by the previous administration. Thanks to our historic Bus Action Plan, City Hall is bringing the Tremont Avenue busway back to life. New Yorkers will feel this change almost immediately. Come September 19th, between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. every day, only buses, trucks with more than six wheels, accessorized vans, emergency vehicles and bicycles will be allowed to travel the length of this corridor.
Buses will not only run faster on Tremont Avenue, [but] they will run safer too. We will add painted sidewalk extensions to shorten crossing distances for pedestrians and force vehicles to slow down as they turn corners, and we will reinforce these extensions with granite blocks and bicycle racks to discourage illegal vehicle parking along the route.
Other busways like this one have already achieved success across our city. We anticipate that these changes will improve bus speeds by up to 60 percent, saving riders up to six minutes per trip, and decrease pedestrian and cyclist injuries by up 45 percent. These numbers are not abstract. They will reflect a real, measurable difference for the New Yorkers who commute on the Bx36. After all, it doesn't take a Magic School Bus to take you where you need to go. It just takes a busway. Thank you very much.
Deputy Mayor Kerson: Thank you, mayor. Now I'd like to introduce DOT's assistant commissioner of transit development, Diniece Mendes.
Diniece Mendes, Assistant Commissioner for Transit Development, Department of Transportation: Good morning. Thank you, deputy mayor. Thank you, mayor. If you don't have the privilege of owning a car, everyone knows getting across the Bronx on a local bus is maddening. So, the buses stop and start, constantly blocked and delayed and often dangerous and chaotic traffic. So that's why this DOT and this administration are beginning work to install the original busway plan for Tremont Avenue.
Too often the needs of bus riders are deprioritized and not fairly considered. This administration is changing all of that. Tremont Avenue is one of the 50 priority corridors identified in Next Stop, identified as major improvements here. The Mamdani administration's joint Bus Action Plan with Governor Hochul and the MTA. Here on Tremont Avenue, we're adding a westbound busway between Belmont Avenue and Southern Boulevard, an eastbound busway between Third Avenue and Southern Boulevard and an offset eastbound bus lane between Webster Avenue and Third Avenue.
With so few crosstown corridors in the Bronx, it's important to design them to move as many people and as quickly as possible. And that's what we're aiming to accomplish with this busway. This will serve the overwhelming number of residents who depend on Tremont Avenue to connect to either the eight local subway lines, the Metro North [and] other bus routes as well. Each minute saved, as the mayor said, adds up from your commute. Through Next Stop, we’re really working to improve commuters — their time — on average, [by] six minutes each way. Added up, bus riders can save up to a weekend by the end of the year.
And the consistency of regularly arriving buses means that New Yorkers no longer need to bake an additional 20 minutes or 30 minutes into their commute, because who knows when the bus will arrive, right? So, we want to change that. We'll be working closely with the MTA to ensure bus service is much more reliable, as well as fast, on the corridor.
This busway represents just one of many investments that we're making in New York City as DOT has been working to continue to make the Bronx better from the terms of the overall bus service. Through our equity commitments over the last five years, more than 30 percent of our street safety projects took place in the borough. And nearly 30 percent of our capital project dollars are delivered right here in the Bronx, and that's [a] significant amount of investments. We know there's much more work to be done, and that's why we'll be back on Tremont Avenue to deliver and plan full-scale bus and streetscape improvements to transform the avenue into a world-class corridor.
I'd like to thank all of the officials and advocates here today for their support, especially Riders Alliance and those who have been strong champions for bus riders across the city. I'd also like to thank our amazing DOT team who have helped to make this project possible: Darisa Cruz, Lucy Friedman-Bell, Sarah Feller, Phil Betheil and Nolan Levenson and so many much more across the agency, as well as our partners at the MTA. Thank you so much.
Deputy Mayor Kerson: Thank you, assistant commissioner. Next, I'd like to introduce MTA Executive Vice President of Buses Frank Farrell.
Frank Farrell, Executive Vice President, MTA Department of Buses: Thank you. Good morning. I'm Frank Farrell, the executive vice president for buses. I'm the guy who makes sure your bus gets going where it's supposed to be from point A to point B safely, reliably and efficiently. So, I'm thrilled to be here today to talk about this project and how it will help the MTA do just that. I know for some folks it may be hard to believe, but, you know, it is probably the best time to be a bus rider right now. We have a pro-transit governor in Kathy Hochul and a pro-transit mayor here today who are committed to getting buses moving faster for riders, and a team led by Chair Lieber and President Crichlow at the MTA who know how to make that happen. That is the key to unlocking this transformative project that will help have a real impact on customers.
For millions of New Yorkers, the bus is how they get to work every day. Whether it's to school, health care, houses of worship, [or] to see friends and family, we have to deliver for them; we have to get them where they need to go, faster. This busway and other street improvements we're talking about today will greatly improve the lives of 39,000 daily Bx36 riders. The commitments we've made in the fast bus plan, like rolling out more busways and bus lanes, expanding ACE and redesigning our networks, are tactics we know work.
Busways across New York City have increased bus speed significantly. And when combined with dedicated bus lanes and street upgrades, ACE has [been] shown to speed up buses more than 30 percent along some segments. And here in the Bronx, after we redesigned the local network, the redesigned route saw speed increases, and customer satisfaction has [risen]. In fact, when we redesigned the Bronx network in 2022, we made improvements to the Bx36 route like connecting the Tremont corridor with Washington Heights, in part because we expected a new bus priority project here. By the way, the Bx36 is one of the busiest routes in the Bronx as it provides critical east-to-west transit connection. But currently, the Bx36 can move as slow as five miles per hour. That is simply not good enough.
Look, what we're really doing here is making the lives of riders better. Customers want faster, more reliable and safer service. This work along Tremont Avenue will achieve that. Everyone at the MTA cares deeply about the quality of bus service we're providing to New Yorkers, everyone from senior leadership right down to the folks who maintain our fleet and our bus operators. Thank you to Governor Hochul for understanding the need for a robust bus network and providing critical support needed to improve service for riders. And thank you to the city for doing their part and following through on the promises of this fast bus plan. Thank you.
Deputy Mayor Kerson: Thank you. Next, I'd like to introduce board chair of the Bronx River Alliance Nilka Martell.
Nilka Martell, Board Chair, Bronx River Alliance: Good morning to you all. [I’m] not that tall. My name is Nilka Martell. I am the board chair of the Bronx River Alliance and the founder of Loving the Bronx. I'm here this morning on behalf of the Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition, which includes Bronx, New York City and regional organizations like Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Transportation Alternatives, Mothers on the Move, Harlem River Coalition, Riders Alliance, Tri-State Transportation Campaign and over 20 more organizations. Throughout the Reimagine the Cross Bronx community engagement process and after, we heard from thousands of Bronxites who want meaningful investments along the Cross Bronx corridor to improve and reconnect neighborhoods. This busway is part of that.
With this investment, the Mamdani administration is once again showing the people of the Bronx that it respects their time, prioritizes public health and is committed to improving air quality. By seamlessly connecting our neighborhoods and moving away from harmful highway reliance, we are building a healthier, safer Bronx for generations to come. And as New York City continues to invest in our transportation infrastructure, we look forward to working alongside city leaders to ensure the Bronx is not left behind. Together we can make capping the Cross Bronx Expressway a reality and create healthier and more connected communities in the process. Thank you.
Deputy Mayor Kerson: Thank you. And finally, I'd like to introduce Riders Alliance Policy and Communications Director Danny Pearlstein.
Danny Pearlstein, Policy and Communications Director, Riders Alliance: Thank you so much, Deputy Mayor. And it's so wonderful to be here with the mayor and all of these great colleagues, who we've worked with to win this Tremont busway. I came over here; I live in Inwood, I dropped my daughter off at camp in Washington Heights, and I thought, will I have enough time to get here on the bus? And the answer was no. It was more than 50 percent faster to ride my bike. So that's what I did to get here on time, and that's what has to change. And you know, Bronx riders ride the bus disproportionately more than riders in any other borough. More people in the Bronx depend on bus service than in any other borough, and that's because of the hills [and] that's because the subways only run north to south. And yet the Bronx, as the mayor pointed out, for too long, this is the first busway the Bronx will get after they've been appearing over the years in many other boroughs. So, this is a very long time in coming. This is very sweet news.
And it's not just, you know, for people like me who can get on a bike, right? It's for people who, at the other end of the [Bx]36 in Manhattan, are working at Columbia University Medical Center, right? The members of 1199 — of the nurses’ association, the people [who] helped deliver my son when he was born there a few years ago. This is a bus that's delivering for thousands of workers every single day; that's saving valuable time back in the lives that people can invest in themselves, their families and the communities. So, this is the type of transformative project that we're so excited to win and to celebrate today. And like the mayor pointed out, we'd love to see more of this roll out across the Bronx and throughout the city. Thank you.
Deputy Mayor Kerson: Thank you. Now we'll turn it over to questions.
Question: Mayor, you had the first bus town hall event last week. Are you planning on doing something similar in the Bronx for this, you know, bus rapid transit plan over here on Tremont?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, we are going to continue to engage with New Yorkers to hear from them of how best we can speed up their commutes. I'm going to pass it over to our Deputy Mayor Julia Kerson to speak more about the additional details on this.
Deputy Mayor Kerson: Thank you. Yes, we will be kicking off community engagement here later this year.
Question: So, we're very excited about this busway here at Streetsblog, but we also all know that a busway [and] bus lanes, they're only as good as the enforcement, keeping cars out of them. And NYPD data showed last week that the uniformed officers in the department only gave out nine bus lane tickets for parking in bus lanes across the entire city in a week. And I know that the NYPD is supposed to be a really big partner in the Fast Buses Plan. So, what do you have to say about that kind of effort, given how important they are to keeping bus lanes clear [and] bus stops clear, places like that?
Mayor Mamdani: I think, as you said, enforcement is critical to ensuring that our buses can actually travel at the speed that we are building the streetscape for them. In addition to NYPD enforcement, though, one critical part of this is also ACE and ABLE, and ensuring that we're expanding the number of miles across the city where we are able to hold those accountable who are deliberately trying to slow down our buses by being in those very lanes, oftentimes seen by consecutive buses. So, we will follow up on whatever enforcement that we can enhance. However, the importance of enforcement is not lost on us at all.
Question: So, mayor, everyone knows you campaigned on fast and free, and you have talked recently about [how] you still want to pursue free, but New Yorkers now understand that's not happening right away. But on the fast part of it, level-setting-wise, are these busways going to make buses fast or just faster from the slowest in the country? Because six minutes each way, there might be some New Yorkers hearing about this saying, doesn't sound very fast to me.
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I think every day is an opportunity to do better for the city. The first thing we want to do is improve from where we are. As you've said, we're talking about a bus that at times is crawling at slower than five miles an hour. So yes, we have to make it faster. Our goal is to make it fast.
And what that is going to come from is not only the busways that we're speaking about, like the one on Tremont today, but it's also going to come at its peak from bus rapid transit. And that is an example of how we're going to utilize every tool that we have to make it such that these are not only achievements relative to where we were prior to this administration, but they are achievements in and of themselves.
Question: I want to ask you about something AOC said over the weekend that you probably heard in an interview, where she quoted Council Member Chi Ossé who once said on Twitter or X, “Woke 1 was crazy.” And she was talking about it in response to questions about whether the left has some sort of — during that time whether how she responds to some unpopular or controversial proposals on the left like defund the police. And I wonder what you make of that? What do you make of that statement, because you yourself have walked back [from] “Defund the Police.” Do you think Woke 1 was crazy?
Mayor Mamdani: Look, I think that each person has a responsibility to tell New Yorkers, to tell Americans when they're running for office, what they believe. And sometimes what you believe can change, it can develop, it can grow. And I know that there are some for whom they still believe in that. I've made very clear that I do not believe in defunding the police, that I will not be defunding the police. And that to me, delivering critical public safety also looks like working with our police department alongside many other partners. And we've seen over the first seven months of this administration what that can look like when we're talking about the fewest murders on record in New York City; the fewest shooting incidents on record in New York City. And that to me is how we measure a lot of our public safety.
Question: So, as of recently, as [of] last fall, the NYPD would go to conferences in Israel with the Israeli National Police. This past January, Speaker Julie Menin also mentioned that she would not stop plans if the council had plans to take these trips to Israel. Based on the recent comments that you have made against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, does your — does the NYPD or the City Council have current plans to visit Israel this fall? And if so, do you think that your comments might cause a backlash on the reception?
Mayor Mamdani: I don't know what the City Council's plans are. They're an independent body, and I'll leave it to the speaker to answer that question. I can follow up with the NYPD to find [out] about those plans. I'll tell you, most of my focus today is Tremont Avenue busway, but I will follow up on that, and we'll let you know.
Question: So, a group of organizations are conducting sit-ins at courthouses across the city to review arraignments and just watch in on them. They're saying under your administration, arrests for low-level arrests have remained high or even increased. They also cited data from the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice that the number of arrests from January to June of this year exceeded 50 percent. They're kind of calling on you to address this and stand up to your campaign promises of addressing low-level arrests. I just wanted your response on this. They're supposed to be releasing their findings tomorrow.
Mayor Mamdani: I look forward to the release of their findings, and I think that if I'm understanding your question correctly, if they're engaging in court watch and they're going to observe these kinds of proceedings, that's an important part of our criminal legal system. And I've made very clear that I don't believe New Yorkers should have to choose between safety and justice. We have to be able to deliver both of these things. And I was sharing earlier about some of the achievements that our administration is proud of when it comes to the fewest murders on record and comes to the fewest shooting incidents on record. And also, we know that every single day is an opportunity to do better. So, I look forward to the findings, and we'll review those. Thank you.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: Anyways — wanted to ask you two very different things, having nothing to do with what you just talked about. The Elizabeth Street Garden. Your administration is gonna walk away from the plan to build housing in the garden. How do you explain doing this given you promised last year that you would move forward with that plan? And then on a totally different topic, the City Council announced today that it's launching an investigation into prediction markets. I'm curious where you stand on the idea of regulating prediction markets? Do you think there needs to be more regulation on that in order to protect from deceptive marketing practices? And who do you think should ultimately regulate prediction markets? The state or the federal government?
Mayor Mamdani: I think to be direct, yes, I think there needs to be more regulation. I think it's an open conversation as to what each level of government should do. However, I don't think that we have seen the limits of that regulation as yet. And I appreciate, especially the attorney general, for having taken action on this. I think that was a couple of weeks ago. And on your first question, you know, it was in the campaign itself before the general election that I shared with New Yorkers that the actions of former First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro made it nearly impossible for any future administration to be able to fulfill a vision of building housing on the Elizabeth Street Garden site. So, while we are working to resolve the lawsuit with the developers who are set to build upon that site, we continue to believe in the importance of building more affordable housing. And that is why we are going to be building more than 180 homes at 22 Suffolk Street and more at 100 Gold [Street] as well.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Mamdani: And that's what I said over the course — in the final, I think it was, maybe it was a week before the general election, that those actions made it nearly impossible for us to move forward.
Question: On the pied-à-terre lawsuit, the city has continued to implement the tax while it appeals the decision from Monday. But if the court ultimately rules in favor of the plaintiffs in that case, does that mean all this implementation work is for nothing? Is the city doing anything to prepare for that fact if they have to start from scratch? And also on Elizabeth Street Garden, did you ask the legislature after coming into office if they would at all be willing to explore lifting that designation?
Mayor Mamdani: I think we've been clear that the actions of the prior administration made it nearly impossible to proceed on that vision and proceed on it in a way that would be realistic. And when it comes to your first question, we continue to be confident not only in the importance of a tax on secondary homes worth more than $5 million in the necessity of the half a billion dollars it would raise towards making sure that our streets are safer, making sure that our schools are stronger, that our city is more affordable. And also, our Law Department has informed Mr. Mastro that it will appear before the Appellate Division Second Department on Thursday morning to address the stay and any other related matters.
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