Progress Is Real, Not Just Talk
New Yorkers are tired of waiting on the corner while buses crawl through gridlock. Despite claims in an amNewYork op-ed that the Mamdani administration has stagnated bus service, reality on the ground tells a different story. The city and state have launched a historic partnership called Next Stop: Fast Buses, Better Service. This isn’t a promise for next year; it’s work happening right now to fix 175 routes.
The editorial board points to old data to argue we’re failing, but they are looking at the wrong clock. The Mayor’s Management Report tracks fiscal years, not calendar years. Since the fiscal year 2026 report covers only half of this Mayor’s first term and includes the winter months when street work stops, it doesn’t tell the full story. Once the construction season started in May, the work began immediately.
Concrete Wins in the Bronx and Beyond
Look at the facts from the streets. Last week, the Bronx completed its first-ever busway on Tremont Avenue. This single project brings dedicated priority to 39,000 daily riders. That is a massive jump in speed and reliability for people who depend on public transit to get to work. The city isn’t just talking about better service; they are pouring concrete to make it happen.
The momentum is spreading across all five boroughs before the year ends. Projects on Fordham Road, 116th Street, Madison Avenue, and 9th Avenue in Manhattan are moving forward. Brooklyn will see improvements on Flatbush Avenue, while Queens gets work on Broadway and Rockaway Beach Blvd. Even Staten Island is getting a boost on Victory Blvd. These are corridors that have been stalled for years, and they are finally getting fixed.
Fixing the Details on Jay Street
It’s not just about big lanes; it’s about how buses and bikes share the road safely. In Brooklyn, the Department of Transportation is refining the Jay Street busway with new boarding islands. Mona Bruno, a DOT spokesperson, stated that the department is leveraging planned street resurfacing to enhance biking and bus-riding conditions along Jay Street. These islands will stop the chaos where cyclists and buses currently mix dangerously.
One new island will replace a painted area with actual concrete for the B54 bus to drop off passengers safely. Another island will give drivers a proper place to pull in for layovers, instead of using a cutover often blocked by taxis and police. This simple change eliminates conflicts and makes the ride smoother for everyone. The work is happening as you read this, not on some future calendar.
Aiming to complete these significant projects within this year, the city expects to exceed the bus lane construction mileage achieved in previous years. The administration is coordinating closely with state leaders to deliver these results. New Yorkers should keep an eye on the completion dates for the Fordham Road and 6th Avenue corridors, which are slated to wrap up before the year ends. This is how you actually fix the system.
This is opinion and commentary from the RapForMayor team.
