Chris Smith, Faith Liaison, Mayor's Office of Mass Engagement: All right, welcome everyone and thank you so much for joining us at our Central Brooklyn Bus Rider town hall. My name is Chris Smith, and I'm the faith liaison here at the Mayor's Office of Mass Engagement. I'll be your emcee for our town hall tonight. So, this event is co-hosted by the New York City Mayor's Office of Mass Engagement, Department of Transportation, the MTA, and a number of other partners you'll be hearing from tonight. So, I want to start tonight by acknowledging a few folks we have in the room. So please stand and say "hello" if I say your name. Julia Kerson, she's the deputy mayor for Operations; Demetrius Crichlow, the president of the New York City Transit; Michael Flynn, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation; Nisha Agarwal, the commissioner of the Mayor's Office of People with Disabilities; Isolina De La Cruz, deputy commissioner of Office of Mass Engagement; and Elizabeth Adams, senior advisor to the mayor for fast and free busses.
[Crosstalk.]
All right, so just a quick word of why I'm here today. So, I'm definitely a bus rider. I've taken the lovely B41 bus from the stop all the way Downtown Brooklyn to where I live in Bergen Beach. And let me tell you, it moves like a dinosaur. So, if you've ever been on that, it takes forever to get all the way from Downtown Brooklyn to Bergen Beach. Or if you're going to Kings Plaza, anybody who goes to Kings Plaza, you know that is — it ain't working. So, we're excited to [partner] with all of you tonight and our partners in the room to make the buses faster. So, this event is especially exciting because this explicitly [is] a bus rider town hall. This is your space to share what is working and what is not working on the buses. As we plan New York City's near-term bus improvements, as well as new bus rapid transit investments, here's what our agenda is.
We'll discuss who makes the decisions about our buses and streets. We'll hear from folks from the Riders Alliance about how bus riders are organizing. We'll hear from folks at the Mayor's Office for people with disabilities about buses and accessibility. Then the New York City DOT and MTA will discuss the city and state's partnership to deliver near- and long-term improvements for buses in central Brooklyn, followed by small group feedback and discussion sessions at your tables. Then we'll close out by hearing directly from bus riders who have been impacted by those slow buses. We'll end at 7.30 p.m. New York City DOT, [the MTA] and the Mayor's Office staff will hang around to answer any remaining questions until 8 p.m.
So next, I'm gonna go over some ground rules for why we're here. We're gonna share this space tonight; I think ground rules is important as all of us, again, come from different backgrounds and as we're here tonight. So, first thing: respect the opinions and stories of others. Everyone has something of value to share, whether it's an opinion, how things should work, or a story from personal experience. This also means refraining from disrupting while presenters or fellow bus riders are sharing. So, you know if you go to the opera, you really like the performance, and you really want to clap — just keep your excitement to yourself, right? Assume good faith; we've all come here with shared goal of partnering on how to make buses faster. Begin by assuming others are also here with that same goal. Accept non-closure; so, we won't resolve everything tonight, and you may have thoughts, and you aren't able to share it out loud. So, talk to us after, write it on a card, and know that we would be more opportunities to participate in this process. Make space and take space; if you're sharing a lot in a small group and recognize that someone else hasn't spoken, step back. If someone else is talking too much, you should step in. So, make room for others to share, and if you haven't yet shared, make your perspective heard.
[Crosstalk.]
So great, now I'm going to introduce and pass it on to my colleague, Kesi Foster, the director of co-governance of the Office of Mass Engagement.
Kesi Foster, Director, Mayor's Office of Mass Engagement: Hello, as Chris said, my name is Kesi Foster. I'm the director of co-governance in New York City's Office of Mass Engagement. I think before I get started, I want to share a few things. One, I feel very privileged and honored to be here doing this at CUNY School at Brooklyn College. I graduated from two CUNY schools, Bronx Community College and City College. So, really feel good to kind of full circle come back. And my grandfather took night classes at Brooklyn College after World War II, and that really helped him get a job with the city many, many decades ago. So, I feel honored. I know he would be happy for me being here. With that being said, I want to share a little bit about the Office of Mass Engagement and help ground us for why we're here tonight. So, the Office of Mass Engagement is dedicated to bringing people power into the work of City government. Our goal is to make it easier for New Yorkers to impact government decisions and to create opportunities for New Yorkers to take action around the issues that matter most to them. We are trying to do that by working with partner agencies on events like tonight, where we are trying to really demystify how government works for as many New Yorkers as possible.
Mayor Mamdani and this administration are committed to meeting this moment with big, bold public investments and the infrastructure that makes living our lives possible. This work isn't just about our government presenting a plan to you; it's not just about one night or one project. It is really about building a long-term partnership with everyone in this room and across the city to make sure that in the richest city and the richest country in the world, we have world-class public transit infrastructure that everyone deserves. So, we really appreciate you coming out and joining us tonight, sharing space with us.
So, in terms of demystifying how government works, we want to be grounded in who makes decisions about government. If we want to understand how to make change, we need to understand who makes the decisions about bus projects and which areas of government deliver resources that make them a reality. So, we have City government, state government and federal government. The money that funds bus projects in our city comes from many different places, including from the taxes you pay, which goes towards buses and bus infrastructure, along with the fare that you pay when you ride trains and buses. Each level of government — federal, state and city — has the ability to make choices about how that funding is allocated. These decisions represent priorities across government, and at the city level, there are decisions that we can make, and there are other decisions that are made for the city at the state and federal level. And every year, negotiations take place to determine what will get funded; and New Yorkers often must and do advocate for resources at the state and federal levels to fund city services and infrastructure.
These slides kind of represent the delineation of responsibilities across different areas of government. Here's New York City and the DOT, New York State and MTA. The New York City Department of Transportation is the city agency tasked by the mayor with overseeing a vast network of public infrastructure, including roads, sidewalks, bridges, traffic signals, signs, crosswalks, bus stops, bike lanes and anything else related to New York City streets. This year, we delivered the largest-ever DOT budget. And as we'll hear throughout the evening, the administration is committed to putting bus riders first. A little bit about the governance of the MTA: the MTA is governed by a 23-member board, a majority of whom are nominated by the governor. The authority is responsible for overseeing a large regional transportation network, including our public transit system here in New York City, from buses, subways, Access-A-Ride and the LIRR. And these charts kind of helps to explain who's responsible. As you see, fares — the MTA is responsible for collecting fares; they collect the funding from fares. The city is responsible for funding streets and building out the infrastructure, MTA [and] buses. And both the city and the state are responsible for funding that helps to develop the streetscape and then for buses and then the routes and physical landscape.
So, we wanted to share a little bit about the history of why buses have been such an important point across our history as a site of struggle for social and racial justice, as well as disability justice. And so, you can see here [that] bus projects have a long and sometimes complicated life cycle, some being the MTA or state level. We are talking about bus rider organizing, apologies. So, organizing around buses and creating fair public transportation is not something that's new. Buses have been a site of struggle for a long time, where many of the crises impacting our lives intersect across climate, racial and economic justice. You can see from some of the historical photos up here that we have really, really important flashpoints in our history, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott; freedom rides; ADAPT and the ADA movement; and the LA Bus Riders Union, which is a union of bus riders in Los Angeles that helped to really create equitable funding for bus riders in LA. What's important about that is we are also — and there are people here that have been organizing for equity for buses for a very long time — we have some of those — someone representing one of those groups here. Many of you have already probably, in your own time, in many different ways, been advocating for equity around public transportation. We want to bring up Derrick from the Riders Alliance, who's going to share more.
[Crosstalk.]
Derrick Holmes, Digital Strategist, Riders Alliance: My name is Derrick Holmes. I work for a transit advocacy organization called Riders Alliance. And since 2012, we've been organizing everyday bus and subway riders into a single, powerful voice that can win faster, more reliable, more affordable and more accessible public transit. In other words, what that means is we essentially work to bridge the gap between public transit riders and the systems that determine if and when your bus and train shows up on time; or if you're stationed as an elevator or if you're riding in a subway car from the 80s. Because none of these things happen by accident, right? These are all things that happen because political choices are being made for us as bus riders, oftentimes by people who are not bus riders themselves. Which gets into why transit advocacy is necessary in the first place. For decades, public transit riders, we've been left behind. Bus riders specifically are the people with the least political capital, even though there are literally millions of us. And what I mean by that is every day, there are millions of people riding our buses and subways — so, why are we stuck in traffic? Why are we waiting in heat and rain at stops without shelters? Why are we on crowded buses that show up two, three at a time? The question we're asking is: why are we put last when there are literally millions of us out here?
And when we ask these questions, it can't be lost on us that bus riders are not some faceless entity, right? When we're talking about the millions of New Yorkers who are facing the consequences of these decades of inaction, this is who we're talking about right here. We're talking working New Yorkers; we're talking about people of color; talking about immigrants; talking about people earning less than $51,000 a year; we're talking about people working in healthcare, retail, hospitality, food service. These are the New Yorkers that are keeping the city moving. And when we surveyed them — more than 2,000 bus riders along Flatbush Avenue — here's what they told us: They said two out of three riders reported long waits in extreme weather; half of them have paid for a car service or a taxi; and one in three have been fired, reprimanded, or lost pay because of slow and unreliable bus service.
[Crosstalk.]
So, how do we fix this? The simple answer is we organize. So, what we do specifically is we run targeted campaigns that address these issues. And we do that by supporting specific policy solutions that dare to ask what nice things could we all have if bus riders were prioritized in the city? So, for example, the buses are slow; what do we do about it? We organize riders to write their elected officials, to rally, to call them, show up to board meetings, to make noise in the press. We do all of these things to win specific policy solutions to make transit work better for us. So, over the years, that organizing has led to quite a few wins for riders already. So, for example, we've won dedicated protected bus lanes like on Flatbush Avenue; like the 14th Street Busway; and on Fordham Road. We've won funding to cut transit costs in half for over a million New Yorkers by expanding the Fair Fares program, which if you're in this room right now and you apply for Fair Fares and you were denied because you made $500, $1,000 too much — check again, you might be eligible because of riders who organize for that expansion. We've also generated billions of dollars for capital improvements. So, these are things like buying new train cars, upgrading signal systems, building new elevators. These are all the things that we fight for and organize for, and it's through that work that we've been able to build the political power of everyday bus and subway riders. And it has paved the way for us to be in this room right now. So, specifically, I mean, it was years of direct on-the-ground organizing where we activated over 15,000 riders in Brooklyn that has us right here in this room about to talk about bringing bus rapid transit to Flatbush Church and Utica Avenues, and that's incredible. And even more exciting, right now we have a mayor, a DOT and an MTA who have put forth this sweeping city-wide plan to improve bus service, and they're doing it while centering the voices and the needs of bus riders, and that's really beautiful.
So, to close, I have one minute left, but I want to leave you with the simple philosophy behind our organizing; the philosophy behind how we're powerful as organized riders. Our members, it's not like they're smarter or know more about transit and the government than normal people. It's simple numbers. And what I mean by that is if you're in here and you ride the bus, you likely have complaints about the service; you likely have some thoughts about how things could be better. And if you spoke up by yourself, that's a complaint. And complaints are ignorable. But if everybody in this room showed up to their elected official's office and shared those complaints together — well, you've gone from making a complaint to building a movement that can actually pressure elected officials into doing something, and that's what we're all about. So, I'm gonna wrap up right now. We're super pumped to be continuing this work with the DOT, with Mayor Mamdani, with [the] MTA, and we're inviting everyone in here to join us in continuing that because — just because we have this beautiful plan, it's still on us as organized riders to hold them accountable for delivering the absolute best, most-impactful projects possible. So, if you want to learn more about getting involved in that work, we're out here. You can find us at ridersalliance.org. And please go to our table back there and talk to some of our organizers about getting involved in transit advocacy. Oh, and now I'm going to welcome up Commissioner Agrawal and Eli Ramos from the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities to present on buses and accessibility.
Nisha Agarwal, Commissioner, Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities: Hi, everyone. So, I'm Nisha Agarwal, the commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, and we're going to talk about fast buses and accessibility. But beforehand, next slide. Oh, what does my office actually do? At base, we are the voice for people with disabilities in City Hall, and our office ensures that people with disabilities receive services, city services, city policies and programs to assist them if they need advice or they have great ideas.
Okay, what is accessibility? Actually, accessibility is like access, meaning it's reachable. And so, accessibility would be something like riders who want to get on board and ride a bus with safety, reliability, and convenience. If they want to go to their work, if they want to play, or if they just want to do something else, that's accessibility. Accessibility allows people with disabilities to actively participate in their community, and it helps all New Yorkers.
Let's talk about the numbers. We have a million —probably more — people who are people with disabilities. And that means young people, older adults and everyone in between. They are friends, they're families, they are colleagues, and they are friends. And so, that's very important to remember. They're all New Yorkers. Now I'll move it to Eli.
Eli Ramos, Strategic Engagement Coordinator, Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities: Thank you, commissioner. My name is Eli, and I'm on base. I'm the strategic engagement coordinator for MOPD. I'm a Latino male in my mid-30s, wearing all black and using a wheelchair. So, why buses? For people with disabilities, buses are one of the most accessible parts of the transit system. And part of that is because all 5,800 buses are accessible. Especially the newer ones, which have ramps, automated audio announcements, digital displays for sensory disabilities, flexible seating and designated wheelchair securement areas. This level of accessibility also depends on the bus stop itself, the surrounding sidewalks and crosswalks too.
So, how do we define an accessible bus stop? It has to go through two criteria here. So, it has to have a continuous surface for wheelchair lifts or ramps and must be unobstructed so that folks could board the bus. Anything shy of that, as we see in the next slide on the left, is inaccessible, with a fully accessible bus stop on the right side. So if we go to our next slide, our plan to upgrade bus stops.
So, currently, approximately 10 percent of bus stops citywide are inaccessible. The previous goal was to upgrade 25 bus stops per year to make them physically accessible. And in the coming years, we intend to double that number to 50 and even more so moving on.
So, the city is also committed to installing seats at more than 800 bus stops in 2026, engaging our community partners in these worthwhile discussions, increasing automated camera enforcement for buses to access these unblocked stops, and to enhance accessibility features in these new buses as well. If we go to the next slide, we would just like to know: what does an accessible bus ride mean to you? So, we're here until late. Stop by our table, and we look forward to meeting some of you over at the table. Thank you so much, everyone.
Smith: Thank you again to MOPD. Give it up to them one more time.
[Crosstalk.]
At this time, please welcome our New York City Transit president, Demetrius Crichlow, and DOT commissioner, Mike Flynn.
Mike Flynn, Commissioner, Department of Transportation: All right, how's everyone doing? Now, how's everyone doing? Well, look, we're so appreciative for you all coming and taking the time to join us tonight. We know your time is valuable, but we know that a rider-centered plan, both city-wide and for central Brooklyn, is only going to happen if we hear from you, right? We know New Yorkers deserve a world-class transit system, and that's what "Next Stop: Fast Buses, Better Services" will deliver with our partners at MTA. And so, what else?
I want to mention that the plan covers 175 bus routes, which is 70 percent, almost two-thirds of our local and Select Bus Service routes, which is pretty tremendous. And we're thrilled to work with you all and other communities around the city to advance that. This is just one of many such workshops we're going to have. And again, you know, we're looking to hear from you, not only for input on this plan, but even if you have ideas about how we can best capture the experiences, the perspectives, the priorities of bus riders across the city. We're really just at the beginning of this process. So, thanks again for coming out. I'm really excited to hear from the folks at my table and to hear it from everybody tonight.
Demetrius Crichlow, President, New York City Transit: Good evening, everyone. I'm Demetrius Crichlow, president of New York City Transit. I've been at the MTA coming up on 30 years now. Most of the time has been on the rail side. I grew up on tracks, signals [and] control centers, but it wasn't until I took over the role as president that I got to see how valuable the bus network was. I mean, the bus network is important to so many people. We're talking about opportunity. We're talking about connection. We're talking about accessibility. We're talking about the everyday lifeline that keeps our communities moving.
Now, for millions of New Yorkers, the bus is how they get to work. It's how they get to school. It's how [they] get to their neighborhoods. It's to get to the doctors. It's how they get to their lives. It is everything for many people. And here in Brooklyn, in the communities that are diverse and vibrant and growing. But that growth only works when people can move safely, reliably and quickly to get to where they need to get. A strong bus network ensures that no neighborhood is left behind, that every resident, regardless of age, income, and equity, has access to the same opportunities as others.
I could tell you that I, for one, am proud of the bus network that we have. I can tell you that I'm joined by 18,000 people who work in the Department of Buses — bus operators, dispatchers, mechanics — all of them proud of the work that they do. We understand how critical it is for the B68 to get to Coney Island, to the hospital, to pick up that nurse who has a child waiting for her at home. We understand the value that we provide to people. It's not just about the time that's spent on the bus. It's about giving people time to spend at home.
I and my team are looking forward to hearing from you all — the things that you're going to share with us, and how you experience our network. Community input matters. Town halls like this ensure that the voices of riders help to shape the future of public transportation. I want to thank Mike and Mayor Mamdani for their efforts as partners to be here with us and for organizing this event. I also want to thank everyone here tonight — leaders, transit advocates and our riders — because without you, we wouldn't be doing this. So, thank you, and I look forward to hearing more from you in the future.
Smith: At this time, please welcome to the stage our partner from DOT, as well as the MTA, for our next presentation.
Moriah Richardson, Transportation Planner, Metropolitan Transportation Authority: Hi everyone, my name is Mariah Richardson. I work with the MTA New York City Transit [on] the Bus Priority Team.
Faith Chojar, Senior Project Manager, NYC Department of Transportation: And my name is Faith Chojar. I work in the New York City Department of Transportation on the Transit Development Team. We're here to talk to you today about faster buses for central Brooklyn. First and foremost, thank you all so very much for your time. I can't even imagine how many people are actually here. It's insane that you all came here to talk about the bus.
[Crosstalk.]
We are here today to talk about your experiences traveling in and around central Brooklyn, specifically on Flatbush, Church and Utica Avenues. We'd like to know what works for you, what doesn't, and how we can help to make it a little bit better and to make your life a little easier. We're looking at these three corridors together because they are so closely connected and because they do function together as a network. We wanna ensure that any projects that we put in this area ensure that that continues to happen. We wanna make sure people can still get around. We just wanna help them do it a little bit easier. So, we are looking, like I said, at Flatbush, Utica and Church, continuing upon the work that we started this year on Flatbush Avenue that you might have heard a little about before. We're looking at Flatbush Phase Two, between Grand Army Plaza and Avenue H, and then eventually Flatbush Phase Three from Avenue H all the way down to Kings Plaza. We're looking at Utica Avenue from Fulton Street all the way to Kings Highway. And we're looking at Church Avenue between Ocean Avenue and Kings Highway as well. Improvements to these corridors will be designed to prioritize all of you, to prioritize the bus rider. And we'll ensure that people are able to get around faster, safer and on more reliable buses. In addition to corridor-wide improvements, we're also taking a closer look at potential circulation and safety issues at bus hubs, particularly in and around Flatbush Junction.
Richardson: [00:29:53] So why these corridors? Well, these three corridors are some of the busiest corridors in the city, providing people access to jobs, to education, to services, and anywhere they want to go. There are over 150,000 riders across the 13 buses that are operating on this corridor, and some of those buses run as slow as two miles per hour on very crowded, congested streets. And the majority of the households in this area do not have a private vehicle. So, they rely on public transit. They rely on the bus. According to a 2024 study by the Pratt Institute and by Riders Alliance, most of the riders on Flatbush Avenue are Black; they are women; and they are primarily low-income. And these slow bus speeds on these corridors have a direct impact on those riders. Specifically, two-thirds of people reported long waits in extreme weather. 48 percent reported having to pay for a car service. Nearly half of people [reported] emotional stress. A third of people lost pay, got reprimanded or even fired from work because of slow transit. These are neighborhoods that rely on the bus and public transit to get around and are being punished for it, which underlines the need for us to do better.
Chojar: So, this large effort that brings us here today to Central Brooklyn to talk to all of you comes out of this little plan called Next Stop: Fast Buses, Better Service. You might have heard about it one or two or three or four times tonight already. But just about a month ago, the mayor and the governor announced this plan — Next Stop: Fast Buses, Better Service — for the future of bus service in New York City. This outlines DOT's and MTA's commitment to delivering faster, more reliable buses to working-class New Yorkers who are currently experiencing the slowest buses in the nation. So, don't tell me we're not number one at something.
[Crosstalk.]
Improvements to bus service overall make New York City more accessible for everybody. It improves access to jobs. It improves access to doctor appointments. It improves nail appointments, hair appointments, seeing your mom, seeing your grandma — getting anywhere that you need to go. We hope to make that a little bit easier for all of you. As part of this plan, DOT and MTA together are committed to implementing high-quality designs that improve bus speeds up to 20 percent on 50 priority corridors throughout New York City, starting in Central Brooklyn. We'll improve bus stops by ensuring accessibility, seating, shade, real-time arrival information and as many public-realm improvements as is possible.
[Crosstalk.]
So, I think we've really covered all the frustrating aspects of getting where you need to go. Sounds like taking the bus is not so easy. What we are here to do today is talk to you about ways that we are going to try to fix it for all of you.
[Crosstalk.]
So, to help manage some of those frustrations that you're all very clearly experiencing, we are exploring both near- and long-term investments, primarily focused on centering the bus rider experience.
On the narrowest parts of all of these corridors, we are exploring busway designs to make bus service faster and more reliable for you while you're taking your bus trips. On a busway, all buses, trucks, emergency vehicles [and] Access-a-Rides will be able to travel entirely through on this corridor without problem and with very little interference from general traffic.
However, general traffic will still be allowed on these areas; local access will be allowed on every single block of every single corridor. And this does allow us the option to install pedestrian safety improvements. So, take a look at dark, unsafe bus stops to make sure that we are building them out big enough so that when they get snowed on, they get cleaned appropriately and quickly. And we can put in greenery, we can put in art, street furniture [and] everything that will make all of this area a little bit more pleasant for you to wait in.
Okay, we are also looking at long- term investments in addition to the near-term improvement that we are looking to install in these areas. The near-term improvements we can install a little bit more quickly and get—
[Crosstalk.]
In addition to all of those near-term investments, we are taking a look at longer-term investments as well. We're also identified in the Next Stop plan. We're looking to bring the next generation of bus rapid transit to New York City. That would look like potentially fully separated bus lanes, bus priority through intersections, upgraded bus stations with greenery and public space and fast, frequent bus service with longer stop spacing similar to SBS. Our plan is to deliver rapid bus treatments on Flatbush by 2030 and to advance designs for similar treatments on Utica and on Church within that same timeframe.
[Crosstalk.]
Richardson: So, we've talked a little bit about what is possible and what may be coming to your area. And we want to know, especially in your small groups, how you would like us to build these improvements into your lives, so we can make them easier. If you could wave a magic wand and change something about riding the bus tomorrow, what would it be?
And the idea is to select two or three, but I think it's worthwhile to read all of them out: faster trips; would it be more reliable service; easier boarding; better bus stops and places to wait; less crowded buses; safer crossings; more frequent service; or even something else? I think that this is a lot to think about, and we would love for all of you to share in your small groups.
In addition, what can you provide input on? Well, you all are the experts. We would love for you to, while you're in your discussion groups, identify all of the people that should be a part of this effort, including neighborhood institutions, businesses, schools, houses of worship and other critical neighborhood partners.
We want to highlight specific locations along these corridors and in the central Brooklyn area that you would like us to take a closer look at. Pointing out dangerous streets and intersections where you want to see improvements to traffic safety or additional public space. And then finally, suggestions for parking and loading regulations along these corridors.
Providing us this feedback will help us gain deeper familiarity with your neighborhoods and ensure that we have a holistic project that is sensitive to the community needs. This feedback is absolutely foundational for all that we do.
Chojar: Finally, the last thing I have — I have the wrap-up sign, been there for like three minutes now. How to stay involved? You all showed up tonight — that's the first step. Again, thank you so much for doing so. You can visit DOT's website and leave comments on our feedback map. We have a whole feedback portal set up for all of you to access that will be open through the end of October, where you can click on a point on a map, say I have a problem here; this is my problem. All of that feedback will come directly to us. We also have a survey available on the website that you can access and take on your own.
In addition to that, we will be here. We are here now, and we are here to stay. We'll be out in the community at on-street events throughout the entire month of August and the entire [month] of September. All of that will be updated on the website as well, and we'll continue to have these meetings throughout October and November once we start to have designs for these projects. We really, really appreciate your cooperation, your participation [and] your feedback. Please let us know what works, what doesn't and how we can help. Thank you so much for your time.
Smith: Thank you so much to our DOT and MTA presenters. Just want to acknowledge two people who have joined us in the room: our New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who's with us, so thank you, as well as we are in the district of our Council Member Rita Joseph, as well. Thank you.
[Crosstalk.]
So, at this time, please welcome our public advocate, Jumaane Williams.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams: Thank you so much. Peace and blessing, love and light, everybody. How you doing? My name is Jumaane Williams, your public advocate. First, I want to thank Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Flynn and Riders Alliance, who I know we do a lot of work with in my office. I know Elizabeth Adams is somewhere here too; I want to shout her out [and] just the whole community for coming out; this is really important.
So, I'm aligned with what the mayor is trying to do, how the mayor's putting this forth. I'm so happy that he's taking the time to make sure that we hear from the community. My job, to be honest, is to make sure that these conversations are real and that they actually embed the community's responses into the plan. So, I want to make sure that I'm very clear about that. Transportation is really important to us. I do want to remember our commuter vans as well; sometimes they get left out of the conversation. So, we want to be sure the commuter vans are involved and our New Yorkers with disabilities. Also, reminding us they would love to see more raised curbs; we saw a woman get washed away during a storm; with a raised curb, that might not have been the case.
And in the past, the community has brought up bus stops and where they want them, whether it's hospitals or churches and things of that nature. So, we want to make sure that that's really heard. So that's the purpose of me being here today. Plus, this is my alma mater; I used to party right here. So, I'm already excited when I get to come back out. But this is really great. I don't want to take too much time. My staff is here as well. So, I just want to say thank you to them, and I appreciate y'all. Let's get some fast, better services [and] maybe free someday, you know what I mean? All right.
Smith: Alright, so I hope you guys had great conversations. We know that when the bus is slow, it makes it hard to get to work, to school or to plan activities of our daily life. We are now going to hear from a few bus riders to share about their experiences on slow buses. I'd first like to give a warm welcome to Council Member Rita Joseph, who will be moderating this conversation along with four bus riders, and of course, a very special guest. So, let's give it up for Council Member Rita Joseph, and our panel.
Council Member Rita Joseph: Good evening. How is everyone doing tonight? Are we good? Are we excited? I know I am. I'm Council Member Rita Joseph. I represent the 40 — the mighty 40 Council District. And I am also the higher education chair in the New York City Council. Exciting. So great to be in CUNY. Thank you so much. Thank you for joining me. Thank you, mayor, for joining us as well. I have a couple of questions I'd love to introduce. Can you go around and introduce yourself?
Alison Harewood: Hi, good evening, everyone. My name is Allison Harewood. I live in the East Flatbush area.
Council Member Joseph: Are you affiliated with any labor?
Harewood: Affiliated with 1199SEIU.
Jodi Ferreira: Hi, I'm Jodi Ferreira. I'm not representing Canva, but I am a college and career counselor with Canva.
Arturo Enamorado: Good evening, my name is Arturo Enamorado. I'm from Jamaica, Queens, but I'm a professor at Kingsborough Community College and one of the 30,000 members for PSC-CUNY.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Hello, everyone. It is such a pleasure to be here. I am Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. I really just want to say — can we have a round of applause for our moderator, City Councilwoman Rita Joseph? Truly. And it is a pleasure. I know that the councilwoman has a number of questions that we can't wait to get into. I do just want to take this opportunity to, first and foremost, just say thank you to everyone for taking time out of your day to be here with us and to really build something new with all of us.
And we have in this room leaders both inside and outside of City government. You've heard from those who are here on the stage, but I also just want to take a moment to acknowledge the president of New York City Transit, Demetrius Crichlow, who we have here as well. We have our Deputy Mayor for Operations, Julia Kerson, who is here with us. We have our DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn, who is here with us. We have our commissioner for the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, Nisha Agarwal, who is here with us. And we have our senior advisor for fast and free buses, Elizabeth Adams, who is here with us.
And you've heard — you know — we have people on stage who come from and are also representing and are part of incredible labor unions, like 1199, like PSC-CUNY. I also really want to acknowledge Riders Alliance, who are here with us, and Transportation Alternatives. These are organizations — labor unions — really groups of advocates who have been on the forefront of pushing New York City to have world-class transit for a world-class city. So, with all that being said, thank you again for being here, and I'll pass it back to our councilwoman. Thank you.
Council Member Joseph: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So, I have a couple of questions for my bus riders, and I'm going to start with you. Tell us about your experience riding the bus. Where do you take the bus? What does the bus ride mean to you?
Harewood: Well, taking the bus on a daily basis, going to work, it means getting to work on time. Getting to work on time is one. And sometimes, a lot of stops, sometimes traffic. And even though sometimes you might be looking for the buses, sometimes you see these two buses pass, [saying] not in service, not in service. Maybe you might see [an] express bus pass [and] a local bus pass. And it's just like the timing is not right.
Council Member Joseph: What bus do you take?
Harewood: The 41.
Council Member Joseph: The B41. All the B41 riders. Jodi, can you share as well? Tell us what is your experience riding the bus. Where do you take the bus and what does the bus ride mean to you?
Harewood: Yeah. So, I also take the B41, though I do mainly take the 44 to get to work. And I wasn't really sure how to answer the question, "What does the bus mean to you?" Because it kind of felt like, what do sidewalks mean to you? What do roads mean to you? But we were talking about it earlier. And once you're in a place that does not have those services, then you really realize how important it is. So yeah, I would say my experience riding the bus is just like a foundational thing, like a means to an end, but an important one.
Council Member Joseph: Agreed, agreed. I ride the B41 too, so I experienced the same things. Go ahead, share with us.
Enamorado: So, I come from, like I said, Jamaica, Queens — so I'm about to sound like Kel from Good Burger. That's a throwback. So first, I start with the Q8 or the Q9 to the Jamaica Center, Jamaica LIRR. I'll get to the Jamaican LIRR, take the Q train and then will take one of two options, the B1 or the B49, which is where — because again, I teach at Kingsborough Community College and that's Manhattan Beach. So those two buses are exactly like my routes. And that's a two-hour commute if it works.
Council Member Joseph: Wow. Wow.
Enamorado: So, what a bus means to me is, besides obviously work and, you know, a livelihood, it's also a sense of connection. You know, I come from the World's Borough — as the mayor does too — but I have the honor and privilege to teach Brooklyn students all the time. And I get to teach the next generation of teachers. So, for me to connect and to bring — you know, I'm from, like I said, Southside, we outside — so to bring that and that culture is really important to me. And I also get to learn from those students.
Council Member Joseph: Well, thank you, thank you for that. Another question: what particularly memorable bus ride or experience on the bus? Do you remember the first time you took the bus?
Harewood: Well, I can't remember the first time I took the bus because I was in this country like 29 years. I can't remember, but the experience that I experienced is like, you know, some passengers get on the bus, and they didn't pay their fare, and the cops came and handcuffed them, took them off the bus.
Council Member Joseph: Uh oh.
Harewood: Yeah, and you know—
Mayor Mamdani: And you were late.
Harewood: Yeah.
Council Member Joseph: Wow.
Harewood: It was kind of scary.
Council Member Joseph: And that's why we have programs like Fair Fares, right mayor?
Mayor Mamdani: Yeah.
Council Member Joseph: Thank you. Same question.
Ferreira: So, a memorable experience for me is actually a positive one. I was taking the 41 home from the Brooklyn Museum. And I managed to, just like out of the corner of my eye, see a familiar face, and it was a friend of mine from middle school. And we got to talking, and he's with the Working Families Party. And I did forget to mention that I am here with Riders Alliance. So, we were talking about organizing and managed to make some connections, network a little bit. So, I feel like that's a good representation of the sort of community-building aspect of public transit.
Council Member Joseph: Oh, thank you for sharing that.
Enamorado: So, I have two memories, one positive and one that, you know, is why I'm also here, and I got engaged. So, I came back to Jamaica, Queens because my grandmother got sick, a member of 32BJ. But in Jamaica on 165th, there was the bus terminal. And every morning around five o'clock or so, there was always a driver — and this is not any disrespect to any of the drivers — but would hit the speed bump that would shake my entire building and around like, again, 5:45, six [a.m.]. So, it was a perfect alarm clock for me. So that's one memory. But then the other one is maybe about a year ago, or a little bit before you — and I mean that in a good way. There were several MTA agents that were part of the fare program, the fare evasion, and they were pulling students out of the bus because they could not pay for the bus. Now, if again, Manhattan Beach, it's 20 minutes to Brighton Beach Station; it's a low-income neighborhood. I mean, we serve low-income students. We serve communities of color. So, that and several professors — because we ride the bus — we were all so very angered by that. And we made some phone calls, and suddenly they stopped showing up.
Council Member Joseph: Oh, wonderful, wonderful.
Mayor Mamdani: I'm going to jump in with a couple of memories.
Council Member Joseph: Oh, please do.
Mayor Mamdani: If possible — you know, one of — you were asking earlier, councilwoman, of, "what does the bus mean to you?" I think to me, especially hearing from other riders that we have here on stage, it can mean multiple things. One level: the bus means family. On another level, a bus has meant frustration. Family because if you take a bus enough times and it's part of your day-to-day routine, you will start to recognize other people on the bus. Frustration because there have been many times in my life where I've looked at the bus time app, and I've thought the bus is coming in eight minutes, six minutes, four minutes, and then somehow that bus disappears as if it never existed. And I think that when it comes to my favorite memories, some of them just come from the sense that you are — when you get on that bus, you realize that so many other people are going through what you're going through. I don't know if others have seen this video. It's been on the internet for quite some time, where somebody's on the bus, and they're complaining, and then a guy looks at them, and he goes, "It's New York. We're all late." And I think that so much of my excitement about this evening is that we love the bus, and yet we also know that the bus could be better. And tonight is also part of what it can take to make that bus better because we don't want to have to love a bus that goes five miles an hour.
Council Member Joseph: That's right.
Mayor Mamdani: We would love to love a bus that goes faster than we walk. And this is how we do it, so thank you.
Council Member Joseph: And I was late one time for a press conference because I was on the bus with MTA. We want to talk about the impact of a slow ride been on your life. How does that impact you?
Harewood: It impacts [me] because it gets very frustrating, especially when you want to reach on time to your event, you want to reach in time to work. You know, and to me, like, it's spun my whole day when I'm late. I don't like to be late. You know? So, sometimes I get, you know, like — like when I reach to work, I wait on the bus. My manager don't want to hear that the bus was late or get up a little earlier. But even though I get up earlier sometimes, the bus is still slow. It's still slow, you know?
Council Member Joseph: MTA should be giving out late slips.
Harewood: They don't want to hear that.
Council Member Joseph: Go ahead.
Ferreira: Yeah, similarly, that morning commute can be very frustrating. I take the 44, but I take, occasionally, when it comes, the 9 to the 44. So, when the 44 is running late, I also have to keep in mind what the B9 is doing because that connection, it's like a domino effect of lateness. So, yeah, kind of the same answer.
Council Member Joseph: Thank you.
Enamorado: So, for me, commonly, like — so, last semester, I taught mostly three-hour courses at night. And again, Manhattan Beach, if you're still not sure where that is, that's also part of the reason why I rely on these busses. And I had to pay attention to the time. Will this B-49 get to Sheepshead Bay so I can get this B train so I can cut my commute maybe by 15 minutes? Or again, it's a two-hour commute. Get to campus — and again, this is a problem that many of us sometimes have — I won't eat because now I have to get right into teaching. I have to maybe have two, three classes back-to-back. That's another three hours. And this is also not like what was — it's also what our students deal with too.
Council Member Joseph: Wow. Sorry to hear that. What would you do with the time? If the bus was moving faster, what would you with the extra time? Oh, somebody laughed.
Harewood: Well, you mean, like, if I reach—
Council Member Joseph: He would eat.
Harewood: That's what I would do, too. I would stop to get my breakfast. If I didn't get a chance to get it taken home, I would, you know, stop at the deli, get a cup of coffee, call my kids and tell them, "Yeah, I'm early today. The bus ran on time today, so I'm here." So that's what I would do.
Council Member Joseph: What would you do with your time, if you could get [more]?
Council Member Joseph: Kind of on a similar note, I don't know if anyone has seen posts floating around recently talking about how funny it is that in like 90s sitcoms, friend groups in New York were sitting down for breakfast for like a full hour before they had to go to work. So that would be nice, you know, having some neighborly connections at the local diner or something. I don't know any of my neighbors, but something like that would be nice.
Enamorado: Yeah, I would actually have a chance to eat. But I would probably be a lot less stressed, and I'd have a lot fewer gray hairs at my age. I'm very young, believe it or not.
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I think—
Council Member Joseph: What about you, Mayor?
Mayor Mamdani: I will jump in. I think what you're also hearing from a lot of people is that the schedule is planned out to the second. And I used to live in Astoria. My parents would live in Morningside Heights, and I would take the M60 to cut across. And if you miss that bus, there's, you know, you're going to wait a long time. And when you can just have the leisure, the privilege of just taking a breath, you know, calling your kids, going to the bodega, just not timing everything out to the second and making sure that you can run as fast as you need to, to catch that bus and slap the back door and hope that the driver pauses the bus and then opens it up. And I think that's what New Yorkers deserve.
Council Member Joseph: And that's why we're here tonight. Thank you so much. I'm going to do a couple of lightning rounds. This is for Turo. Tell us about your experience riding the bus and what impact a slow ride had on your life. You talked about that earlier.
Enamorado: So, I'll throw in a fun one. I decided — I used to live in Kensington for a brief minute. So, if the Q30 — sorry, B35 folks — I also had my gym on Flatbush Avenue by Kings Theater. I timed it once to just — I'd rather walk than wait for the 35. And I made more time. I actually made my coffee.
Council Member Joseph: For Allison, you walked with the walker faster? For Allison, tell us how you get to work and what does a slow bus mean for your commute?
Harewood: I get to work sometimes with the 41, most of the time with the 41. And with the slow commute, sometimes I got to tell the driver, "You got to hurry up, you're going to make me late," and sometimes I get off the bus, and I look at the time, and I have to take an Uber, so that stresses me out.
Council Member Joseph: No more stress. Tell us, Jodie, tell us what has the bus meant to you.
Ferreira: I was talking earlier about the sort of positive community-building effect, but I will also say that as a granddaughter of a woman who is 80 years old this year, but still very active, I see it as a means for her to get around. She loves to take that bus to the junction; she loves to come right here with all her little friends at the bodega. And she takes it to church, so I feel like the bus is a way to keep my grandmother healthy and happy.
Council Member Joseph: I like that. I love that. Shoutout to the grandmas. For Mayor Mamdani, tell us how have you been stuck on a slow bus and what would a faster bus mean to you?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, So I used to take the Bx10. And the Bx10 was so slow that I could see it from the bottom of the hill, two stops away, and I could catch up to it. And so, in that moment, it's a good thing to you, because you're like, I'm not going to be late for school. I can catch this. But there should be no bus that you can catch up to if it's two stops away. That's not a good thing for the city. And I think it's, you know, we as a city, we have a reputation for being fast walkers, the recognition that time is money. We have buses that travel at five miles an hour. We're talking about here on Flatbush, more than 130,000 people take the bus every day. And the bus can sometimes travel at five miles an hour. I think to your point, it's not just that it could be better; it's that the cost of it not being better is money out of your pocket.
Harewood: Hello, I had an experience when I see the bus coming and I ran, I ran out of breath. By the time I get to the bus stop, the driver didn't want to open the door. He did not want to open that door, you know? And I felt so bad, I started to cry because I know I'm going to be late. He didn't even care. They got some mean bus drivers out there too.
Council Member Joseph: So tonight, what do you want the city to know about your commute? And you've talked about all of your experiences. What do you want them to know? What should they be changing?
Ferreira: Um, if nothing else, I would like some clarity. The 44 likes to stop at Avenue U randomly when I'm trying to get to Avenue X. So, I'd like to know why they're doing that. I'm sure there's a reason. I just want to know.
Enamorado: So, what I would say — so, I was talking about my experience, but I would for my students. I'm one of those professors that, and I even put in my syllabus, "Please let me know. Email me. Life is life. Buses are late. That's part of the attendance." There are not a lot classes that are that flexible. So, for my student who are working class, that is also understanding, that they can actually show up to class and go to work. And it's not that they have to leave early because they're going to be late for the bus and they're going to be late for work.
Council Member Joseph: Thank you for looking out for our students. Thank you so much for allowing me to be a moderator, but now I'm going to kick it off over to the mayor to close it out. Thank you.
Mayor Mamdani: Can we have a round of applause for our panel over here? I'm just going to step up so everybody can see me. You know, I really just want to say thank you again to everyone for being here, because what we are looking to build is public transit that will make the entire world jealous of our city. And when I look in this room, I see all of the different ingredients we need to make it happen. I see the bus riders who have had to rush for that bus. I see the faith leaders that have had to counsel someone who missed that bus, the fact that there will be another bus. I see elected officials, I see MTA, I see the DOT, I see every single part of what we need.
And what we're so excited about is that in a city where everyone deserves better buses, we are going to bring the first bus rapid transit route right here to Flatbush. And what that's going to mean is that you don't have to run that fast for that one bus you see, because you actually know that there will be another bus after that one. You know that, in fact, you will see a bus regularly. And that bus will move at a regular speed. And it will go so fast that it won't just be those who have no other option that are riding the bus. It'll be those who want to get where they're going that are riding the bus. That's what we want the bus to be.
And we know that in a city where so much of our landscape is built for what the city was 100 years ago, 200 years ago, 300 years ago, buses are some of the most nimble things, the most flexible things that can go anywhere at any time. And now we can actually build a network, in partnership with leaders at every level, that could serve the people who live in this city today. So, thank you for being a part of this because none of this happens without you quite literally being at the table. Thank you so much. Thank you. And I am now going to pass it over to our senior advisor, Elizabeth Adams.
Elizabeth Adams, Senior Advisor for Fast and Free Buses: Hi everyone, thank you so much again for being with us here this evening for sharing your voices, your opinion, your feedback. Please keep it coming. We want to collect any and all thoughts you have about our buses and what we're looking to change on our streets. I think we recognize the stories that you heard from bus riders this evening are all changeable. There are changes that we can make on our street and so that's why we're so honored to have the DOT, MTA, the agencies here who are looking to make change on our streets so that bus riders get the ride that you deserve. Again, I want to acknowledge and thank our partners. If you haven't checked out the tables out in the other room, please go, please sign up, get involved, keep the conversation going. There [are] tables for small business services, for aging services. Government is here to work for you, and then please join any of the advocacy organizations to keep the conversation going. We need all of you in this work; we need all of you to keep this going so that we can make buses faster.
Who's ready for faster buses? Thank you, and again, there are sheets on your table if you haven't filled out your Mad Libs. If you haven't put your stickers on your sheet of what you would like to see happen on your bus route, please do that. There are lots of ways to get feedback; pick all of them. Thank you.
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