After months of uncertainty, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday that his administration will restart work to turn Manhattan’s 34th Street into a busway meant to speed up trips and improve safety for roughly 28,000 daily riders. The plan revives a long planned effort to choke off through-traffic across Midtown while keeping buses, trucks and emergency vehicles moving in dedicated lanes. Mamdani said the restart comes after conversations with federal officials that cleared a path for the city to resume work.
According to the Mayor’s Office, the 34th Street busway will run in both directions between Ninth Avenue and Third Avenue, operate daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and require passenger vehicles to make the next available turn off the corridor while preserving truck and emergency access. NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn is quoted saying the busway will “deliver faster bus service, safer conditions for pedestrians and a more efficient street.” City Hall says it expects to begin public outreach in June, install new street infrastructure over the summer, and complete construction by the end of the fall.
Federal review and the October pause
The project had been paused after federal officials ordered a halt last year, pointing out that 34th Street is on the National Highway System and raising concerns about truck access and coordination among agencies. In an October letter, the Federal Highway Administration warned the city to “cease and desist all activities to implement the 34th Street busway project immediately” and said it could withhold approvals or federal funding until NYSDOT and NYCDOT meet to address those concerns. Independent coverage of the federal demand and the city's response is available from Streetsblog New York City.
Why busways matter
Supporters point to the 14th Street busway as the playbook. Travel times and ridership improved measurably after its 2019 installation, and advocates say similar gains are on the table for 34th Street. According to the MTA, the 14th Street treatment produced significant increases in speed and ridership, a result city leaders now cite as they defend the 34th Street redesign. Transit groups argue that prioritizing buses on crosstown corridors is one of the fastest ways to deliver more reliable service to riders who depend on surface transit.
Politics and next steps
The restart puts City Hall back on a collision course with federal regulators while also sharpening local politics over how Midtown streets should work. As reported by Gothamist, a City Hall spokesperson said the administration is in active communication with federal officials and has submitted the busway plans to the regional Transportation Improvement Program. The city is framing the move as protecting bus riders without blocking freight or emergency access. Officials say outreach begins this month, with final engineering and on the ground installations to follow in the summer and fall.
Legal implications
The Federal Highway Administration letter underscores that projects affecting National Highway System routes can trigger federal review and remedial actions, including withholding project authorizations or restricting funding if agencies fail to comply. Those options mean the restart is contingent on successful coordination with state and federal partners, and the city will need to satisfy FHWA's planning and safety concerns as the design moves forward. For now, the administration is betting that outreach and technical fixes can bring the plan into line with federal rules while still delivering faster service for Midtown bus riders.
