Mamdani plans to kicks cars off NYCs East Tremont Ave in favor of faster buses

Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to boot cars from swaths of The Bronx’s East Tremont Avenue in a bid to speed up city buses — but local drivers blasted the move as “crazy” on Wednesday.Starting Sept.19, cars will largely be banned from sections of the six-mile corridor between the hours of 6 a.m.

and 8 p.m., with the exception of large trucks, access-a-ride vans and emergency vehicles.“Thanks to our historic bus action plan, City Hall is bringing the Tremont Avenue busway back to life,” Mamdani said Wednesday at Walter Gladwin Park, as he announced the city was breaking ground on the long-stalled project.“New Yorkers will feel this change almost immediately,” he vowed, as City Hall officials claimed the project would make Bx36 bus service faster and more reliable.But drivers will feel the change the most, Bronx motorists said.“It would be a problem for everybody!” one local, who gave his name as Hector, 66, said as he waited in his car to pick his wife up from work along East Tremont Avenue.The Mamdani voter said the mayor should “to remember who put him here” before implementing the dramatic changes. Even bus rider John Beuther, 79, thought the plan was “crazy.”“Everybody drives up here,” he said adding that the bus on the avenue — which City Hall estimated had an average speed of 5 mph during rush hours — was already fast enough.“I’ve gotten the bus along here a few times.

They’re already pretty fast,” he said.Julio Martinez, 38, owns Chon Barbershop on East Tremont Avenue and parks in front of his barber shop each day, as do his customers.He said the changes could hurt his business.“Everybody’s driving,” Martinez said.

“We’re gonna lose a lot of money.No one’s gonna come and get a haircut.”Former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration paused the busway project in 2025 saying it did not have enough community support, NY1 reported at the time.Mamdani put the plan back on track, claiming the changes will impro...