Mayor Steps Up Street Safety

McGuinness Blvd is back on a Road Diet!

On his third day in office, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani with the NYC Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn announced on January 3 that they will implement the original McGuinness Boulevard safety plan.

This means bike lanes will be protected by parking lanes along the entirety of McGuinness Boulevard. Upon completion, McGuinness Boulevard will feature one travel lane in each direction, one parking-protected bike lane in each direction, and one vehicular parking and loading lane in each direction.  

“For too long, critical street safety projects have been delayed or shelved because of political considerations and backroom deal-making rather than the needs of New Yorkers. Those days are over,” said Mamdani. “New Yorkers deserve to be safe no matter how they commute — whether they bike, walk, or drive. That’s why, as one of my first acts as Mayor, my administration is committing to restarting implementation of parking-protected bike lanes on McGuinness Boulevard and complete its redesign. New Yorkers deserve an administration that gets right to work to deliver genuine street safety.”

“McGuinness Boulevard should be designed to stitch Greenpoint together, not divide it in half,” said Flynn. “We are moving swiftly to finish the redesign of McGuinness Boulevard because we know too many lives have already been lost on this street — and that this project was altered against the best interests of New Yorkers.”

As a long-time resident of Greenpoint, NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher has witnessed the danger of McGuinness Boulevard firsthand. In 2010 She and fellow community members conducted a traffic study that showed how McGuinness Boulevard was one of the most dangerous streets in NYC. “It’s hard to overstate the importance of today’s announcement. My frustration with inaction on McGuinness Boulevard inspired my run for office. Decades of death and catastrophic injury occurred. before Matthew Jensen was tragically killed in 2021,” said NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher. “Today’s announcement is a victory for the local advocates and community members who fought for decades to make McGuinness safe. It reflects a sense of urgency and a promise kept by Mayor Mamdani, and it is a reminder of what is possible when government works for the people it serves. Most importantly, it affirms that when communities are motivated to organize, we prevail over corrupt corporate interests. I will always stand with my community and fight for the safe streets we deserve, and I am so proud and honored that we get to ring in this new year with this victory.”

After Jensen was killed the community rallied and then Mayor Bill de Blasio committed $39M toward the redesign of McGuinness Boulevard.  Thereafter followed community meetings with NYC DOT about plans for a road diet.  In the summer of 2023 a plan was decided upon, but some community members and businesses pushed back and felt the plan would hobble businesses and possibly make truck traffic detour on side streets causing safety issues there. Then Mayor Eric Adams halted the plan until a new compromise was made. However those on the side of road safety felt the compromise was dangerous, and have continued to rally to reinstate the original plan.

NYS Senator Kristen Gonzalez said, “Our community has tirelessly advocated for these evidence-based changes for years because we know they save lives. Today, as we honor the lives of Matthew Jensen and so many others, I am committed to working with NYCDOT and Mayor Mamdani to make our streets safer for everyone.”

“McGuinness has dangerously divided Greenpoint for generations, but thanks to the tremendous organizing of our community and the leadership of Mayor Mamdani, McGuinness will finally be safe for all of us,” said NYC Council Member Lincoln Restler. “I am grateful that the Mayor has made McGuinness a week one priority and that this is just the beginning of transformational street safety improvements across every neighborhood in New York City.” 

“This is the result of persistent community advocacy and a clear understanding that half-measures don’t work when it comes to street safety. I look forward to continuing to work with DOT to make sure these changes are implemented well and make McGuinness safer for everyone,” said U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez.

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said, “I am grateful to Mayor Mamdani and DOT Commissioner Flynn for advancing these life-saving measures, and I am immeasurably proud of the coalition of Brooklyn residents, families, advocates, and elected officials who have fought tooth and nail for years to achieve a McGuinness Boulevard design that puts our safety first. A new era indeed.”

The redesign will bring a host of safety benefits for all New Yorkers, including pedestrians and drivers, by shortening crossing distances, calming turning vehicles, and reducing reckless driving behavior. Similar designs across the city have been shown to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries by 30 percent.

The work will have to wait until the spring as many of these improvements need more moderate temperatures in order to install. 

Red light cameras to multiply!

On January 9, NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn announced plans to begin activating red light cameras at 50 new intersections each week for the next five weeks, with goal of reaching 600 intersections by end of 2026. Prior to the expansion that is now underway, red light cameras were in place at just 150 intersections—the maximum previously allowed under state law. The state legislature authorized the city to expand red light cameras to a total of 600 intersections.

The program has also proven to change driver behavior and prevent repeat offenders. In 2023, 94 percent of vehicles caught running a red light received no more than one or two violations. Fewer than 0.5 percent of vehicles received five or more violations.

Additional cameras will be placed at intersections across the five boroughs based on criteria including crash history.

“Red light running is one of the most dangerous behaviors on our city’s streets and puts all New Yorkers at risk. That is why we are taking immediate action to ramp up the city’s red light camera program,” said Flynn.  “These cameras have reduced red light running 73 percent in the intersections where they are installed, and we will pair this heightened enforcement with ambitious street redesigns to make our streets safer.”

“The data on red light cameras couldn’t be more clear – they change driver behavior and save lives,” said NYC Council Member Lincoln Restler. “The City Council was proud to help lead the way on life-saving legislation to quadruple the number of red light cameras in NYC, and now under the leadership of Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Flynn, we will finally have cameras installed at 600 dangerous intersections to make our communities safer.”