Is Mayor Adams hitting the brakes on a plan to restrict traffic on 34th Street?

Concern is mounting that Mayor Eric Adams is pumping the brakes on a plan to drastically reduce traffic on Manhattan’s 34th Street by limiting vehicles and prioritizing buses.

In a letter to the transportation department, City Councilmember Keith Powers wrote that reports of the project being delayed or canceled altogether are “concerning and a potential setback.” An official with direct knowledge who was not authorized to speak on the record said First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro is seeking to halt the project, which would speed up one of Manhattan’s slowest and busiest bus routes by requiring passenger vehicles to take the first turn off of 34th Street.

“I'm concerned that we are hearing growing rumors of the 34th Street Project stalling,” Powers told Gothamist. “That is in contrast to what the elected officials and the appointed community boards have been saying about it, so we would be deeply disappointed and upset if we were to find out that they were going to pull the project.”

Mastro did not return multiple calls and texts for comment.

Streetsblog first reported work on the 34th Street redesign had been paused. In May, transportation officials presented a draft plan for the project that would implement traffic restrictions between Third and Ninth Avenues similar to those already on 14th Street. The new proposal includes a dedicated “busway” in each direction. Officials said it would be implemented this summer or in the early fall and increase bus speeds for 28,000 daily bus riders.

Traffic on the major crosstown thoroughfare crawls at an average of 3 mph at peak hours, according to the transportation department. The redesign's opponents include a powerful business improvement district covering 34th Street, which is home to several hospitals, Macy’s Herald Square and the recently developed Hudson Yards.

“Transforming this street into a thoroughfare with one lane for cars in each direction is not a viable solution, and it will fail to serve the needs of businesses and the public,” said Joe Carella, spokesperson for the 34th Street Partnership. “There are also concerns about the MTA’s ability to provide enough buses to make the busway effective and beneficial.”

If the city reneges on its plan to build a busway, the reversal would be in keeping with a pattern throughout Adams’ first term. He canceled a plan for a bus lane on Fordham Road after Bronx businesses complained. A redesign of McGuinness Boulevard in response to a spate of traffic deaths faced repeated delays after a coalition of business groups lobbied against the project. Last month, Adams ordered the reversal of street safety improvements to a stretch of Bedford Avenue approaching South Williamsburg after residents complained.

Adams has framed those decisions as examples of local government responding to feedback from affected residents.

Mayor Adams has faced criticism for canceling or scaling back a number of street safety projects.

Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani seized on the questions surrounding 34th Street, calling Adams’ handling of the project “mismanagement” and a “familiar tale under this mayor.”

“Why does he do this? Did a donor give him a call? Was he feuding with a local elected official? With Eric Adams, you never really know,” Mamdani said.

An Adams campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry.

While the 34th Street project won support from the transportation committees of three community boards, Powers urged the DOT to continue discussions with neighborhood groups east of Third Avenue.

Murray Hill Neighborhood Association member Richard Hart said the department’s presentations in May were inadequate and presented the busway as if it were a done deal. He said the agency should have conducted a traffic study and solicited community input.

“It shocked members of the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association,” he said. “All we were suggesting is, let's see what the traffic study states so that we know how bad it could be.”

Hart insisted he’s no NIMBY.

“All we wanted to make sure is that for those residential communities in New York that can be impacted by government decisions, at least those community members are consulted, and that hasn't happened here,” Hart said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation confirmed that the agency is now undertaking a traffic analysis, which will be shared with the community. The agency also will review community feedback.

The MTA declined to comment.

After the 14th Street busway went into effect in 2019, bus speeds increased 24%, traffic crashes decreased by 42% and fears of increased traffic on side streets never materialized, according to transportation department data.

Transportation Alternatives  Executive Director Ben Furnas said the project would build on the success of congestion pricing, which has resulted in 67,000 fewer vehicles traveling south of 60th Street each day.

“It's just incredibly disappointing,” Furnas said to Gothamist about any potential delays. “It's a real opportunity for Mayor Adams to show leadership on transit, on buses, and in seizing the opportunity of a great Manhattan below 60th Street in the age of congestion pricing.”