The Issues:

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For a more equitable and accessible Bronx, we need to ensure that public transit is put at the forefront of our city’s recovery plans. The majority of us in District 11 rely on public transit to facilitate our daily lives. It is important now more than ever to build and maintain public transit infrastructure that is safe, reliable, accessible and environmentally friendly. Rather than posing a burden on taxpayers, we need a more robust public transit system that serves as an asset to our community. Not only should our subways, buses, roads, and sidewalks get us from points A to B—but I will work to make our commutes safer and more efficient, and our streets greener and more walkable.

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Inaccessible, inefficient, and unsafe transit infrastructure impacts us daily. District 11 residents have some of the highest commute times of anywhere in New York City, let alone in The Bronx, which is home to more off-peak commuters than any other borough. Proposed changes to Bronx bus service only threaten to make commutes longer for those who most rely on public transit, including essential healthcare workers, who already have the longest commute time of any private sector workers. Increasing congestion and lack of parking has slowed commutes and posed a major problem for businesses, schools, and other city services. Not only has traffic slowed our streets, it has also made them more dangerous: cyclist injuries in The Bronx continue to rise even as cyclist deaths in other boroughs have dropped. That might explain why only 0.3% of Bronx residents bike to work. Lastly, we cannot continue to overlook the issue of accessibility in our district: currently only two subway stops in all of District 11 are ADA accessible.

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Our Solutions:

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I believe that public transit shouldn’t be a luxury—it is essential to building healthy communities and resilient cities.

 

As your City Council Member, I will commit to improving our transit system for all, while making this essential service more affordable and accessible to residents of District 11.

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My priorities will aid New York City in achieving the dual aims of creating more bus and bike lanes while also reducing congestion. To accomplish this, I will focus on walkability, accessible transit, and commuter infrastructure. One of the first steps in making our streets walkable is making sure we have adequate infrastructure. This means improving sidewalks and opening up portions of our streets to pedestrian traffic. Not only will encouraging foot traffic be beneficial for small businesses, it will also promote more active use of our city's outdoor spaces, as has been the case with The Bronx River Greenway.

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When we talk about rebuilding a healthier city, we have to consider accessibility. Our city relies heavily on essential workers—and did so even before the pandemic—but now these workers and others who count on public transit are threatened by service cuts and slower system improvements. We not only need functioning transit, we also need to make sure this service is available to those who need it most. 

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Lastly, I advocate for improving our roadways for all commuters by implementing measures that will make bike commutes safer, make bus commutes faster, and allocate parking for district residents.

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Make our streets more walkable by making them safer and greener:

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• Work to ensure that the Department of Transportation (DOT) improves the sidewalks in disrepair throughout our district, including addressing lighting, roadway markings, and pedestrian visibility.

• Advocate for more Open Streets throughout our neighborhoods and ask the DOT to ensure these continue even as the City’s re-opening moves into the next phases.

• Support completion of the Bronx River Greenway, both in the development of much-needed parkland along the greenway, and in ensuring that the dangerous gaps in greenway infrastructure are dealt with. 

 

Make public transportation accessible to all:

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• Support expanding bus service in our district and, as part of my commitment to greening transportation, advocate for electrifying the City’s bus fleet.

• Advocate for more fully accessible public transit stops in District 11.

• Fight against bus route redesigns that stand to disadvantage essential workers.

• As Citi Bike expands to our district, advocating for siting docks in areas where residents need them most.

• Support implementation of Congestion Pricing as soon as possible to fund these transit infrastructure improvements.
   

Create infrastructure that will make our commutes safer and faster by advocating for more bike lanes and bus lanes:

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• Address the City's inequitable distribution of protected bike lanes by ensuring that more bike lanes are sited in District 11. Not only will this serve to address the primary goal of reducing cyclist deaths in our borough, it will also encourage outdoor physical activity and has the potential to boost sales at local businesses. 

  • Work with Community Board 8's Mosholu Ave Working Group to ensure that the DOT moves forward with implementing bike lanes along this stretch of road.

• Install more public bike parking, a necessary part of overcoming transit inequity in our neighborhoods.

• Create more bus lanes in our district to speed up commutes without cutting back on bus service.

• Support improving street safety and eliminating preventable traffic deaths.

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