President Trump speaks about election integrity in primetime address

'I let my dad down.' Rep. Mike Lawler opens up about past DWAI arrest in exclusive interview

Attorney General James secures $18M settlement with 23andMe over 2023 data breach

New York won’t build big data centers for a year as it weighs energy and climate risks

New York to roll out chip-enabled SNAP cards in 2027 to combat benefit theft

'Scandalous.' NY congressional leaders take action on habitually late, missing mail

bronx

News 12 Staff

PNPGOODbBLOCK0718

Welcome back to Power Politics. I'm Heather Fordham. It's been just over a week since Mayor Mamdani, Governor Kathy Hochle, and the MTA announced the next stop bus action plan aimed at increasing bus speeds across the city by 20% and making public transit. More accessible and more comfortable for riders. It's an $886 million investment and it's kicking off right now. We caught up with New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani in Brooklyn as construction crews work to transform Flatbush Avenue. So we're here on Flatbush Avenue today. Tell me a little bit about what exactly is going on. We know the speeds here during rush hour, just 4 MPH. These buses can move, you know, and 4 miles an hour, we know that New Yorkers can walk faster than that. And so today we are starting the public outreach for bus rapid transit. We're going to be delivering bus rapid transit right here on Flatbush by 2030 and on church and on Utica as well. And what we are also going to be doing is delivering Tremont Avenue, it's busway, which is something that's been long delayed, and we're excited because. Between all of these projects we're talking about transforming bus commutes for nearly 200,000 New Yorkers. 2030 is a little bit a ways away. What do you say to commuters who are stuck in gridlock today? You know, it's not even rush hour at this time and we're still seeing traffic backed up. We're going to see advances before the end of 2030. That's the point at which the entire project will be finalized. And the whole reason that we're doing this is because the advances it will give to working class New Yorkers are ones that will last for many years. And frankly, what they'll deliver is the most precious resource in New York City, which is time. We're talking about saving New Yorkers 2 days in total, uh, over the course of the time they ride this bus because we're going to take something that, as you said, 4 miles an hour right now and make it an example of what bus rapid transit can look like in this city. The Tremont Avenue bus project you reinstated today that was frozen back in 2025, we've heard a lot, a lot from businesses in that area who worry about losing a lane of traffic to cars throughout the day. What does this new plan look like as it's being launched? Is it the same as what was previously presented from the You know, this is a plan that looks to address the fact that we have so many riders on Tremont who are stuck right now in the kind of traffic where it doesn't even make sense for many of them to keep taking the bus if this is what they're going to be delivered as a quality of service. And we're talking also about a neighborhood where more than 70% of its residents do not own a car. And so for, for them, the bus is not an optional part of getting around. It's a critical part of getting around. And we're confident that as we deliver this busway, we're also going to be able to continue to deliver for the small businesses across the busway. And you have 50 priority corridors across the city. How will you measure the success when it comes to speeding up bus speeds? What exact data are you going to be looking at with the all-door boarding as well? How is that going to play a factor? Well, I think, as you said, it's going to be part of a number of different things we're going to be delivering in this bus action plan. It's not just going to be the bus rapid transit that we're talking about today. It's also, as you said, all door boarding by the end of 2027. So for all those New Yorkers who grew up waiting on line. for, for New Yorkers, those kinds of delays are going to be addressed by the implementation of all door boarding by the end of 2027, and we're also going to be doing this while delivering real-time updates when it comes to a number of different bus stops, shelters, and speeding up bus rides by up to 6 minutes. Now, on these priority corridors, that covers 175 routes, 6 minutes each way. A lot of people are riding a bus one way and then taking that same bus back. That could be up to 12 minutes in a day. And I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but I promised our viewers we'd put it on your radar in the Bronx, the BX 40 and BX 42. They lost bus stops on the Grand Concourse and Burnside Avenue back in 2022 during the Bronx, uh, the Bronx bus, excuse me, Bronx bus network redesign project. There was a rally last week with council member Fiorina Sanchez. They're calling on the MTA to reinstate these bus stops. There's a lot of elders. people that live in the community and now they're having to walk across the Grand Concourse, uh, just to get to the nearest bus stop. Is this something that your administration will consider looking into and maybe part of this bus action plan? You know, I think that when we are talking about this bus action plan, we want to deliver the best quality of service for as many New Yorkers as possible. We'll follow up on the specific concerns around you, said the BX 40 and the BX 42. Uh, I think. When it comes to the MTA's redesigns, what they're also looking to optimize is how can you keep bus speeds as quick as possible and how can you do that with also ensuring that you're delivering as many New Yorkers exactly where they need to go. And then last question, off topic question, but we were in Coney Island earlier this week with you. We've had a lot of viewers reach out to us about issues on the boardwalk. We've done several stories on the conditions of it. I know that there was a $1 billion project or capital project going into. Improving the Coney Island boardwalk, uh, are you aware of this? Is there any steps being taken now to improve it, that possibly this summer, sooner rather than later? So we already have crews that are working 5 days a week from April through November of the year, and they're going to continue to do that with this billion dollars capital commitment, and we're going to see results from that over the duration of that, uh, commitment because we want New Yorkers to both be safe and be able to navigate that incredible boardwalk, and that's exactly why we made that capital commitment. And the city wants to hear from you about these rapid bus corridors on Flatbush, Utica, and Church Avenues. There's a public portal open online to hear your feedback now through October 31st. Thousands of New Yorkers living in Michelaa buildings could soon be paying more in rent. Those findings should set off. Alarm bells. They demand basic and urgent questions like how can housing that has been continuously supervised by the government fall into such severe financial and physical distress. Wasn't this oversight intended to prevent precisely this outcome? What city leaders are saying. News 12 Morgan Scott has the story when power in politics returns. News 12 is heading back down the shore. More beach towns, more hidden gems, more local flavor. Meet the people, explore the places, and follow the stories that make the Jersey Shore so hard to ignore. Join News 12 all summer long as we explore all new places only down the shore. Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on News 12. Meet the makers, the builders, the farmers, the risk takers who take raw materials and turn them into something meaningful, and they produce it locally. For over 150 years we are local. We are organic. Join News 12 for our original series Made, where we shine a spotlight on the stories behind tri-state businesses powering local communities. Watch Maiden Monday nights at 8 only on News 12.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/430fe08f-157b-4721-bd17-51fba1701f1b/430fe08f-157b-4721-bd17-51fba1701f1b.transcribe

BXBKBESTPNPCBLOCK0719

Welcome back to Power and Politics. I'm Heather Fordham. Thousands of New Yorkers living in Michela of housing could soon be paying more in rent, but before any increases are approved, residents and some city council leaders want to know why tenants have been living in deteriorating conditions for several years. News 12's Morgan Scott reports. Since the 1950s, the Mitchell Lama program has provided affordable housing to thousands of working and middle class New Yorkers. But now some tenants fear they'll have to dig even deeper into their pockets after proposed rent hikes as high as 30%. The increases took center stage at a three hour long. City council hearing where frustrated tenants and lawmakers demanded answers. Like how can housing that has been continuously supervised by the government fall into such severe financial and physical distress? For years, News 12 has spoken with Mitchell Lama tenants who say the conditions inside some of these buildings have long been on the decline. Just days ago, Coney Island tenants shared with us their desperation for help after months of dealing with rodents, mold, massive piles of garbage, broken elevators. Yet HPD is still asking for more. The Mitchell Lama portfolio has experienced massive increases in operating costs as seen across all types of affordable housing. Insurance premiums have skyrocketed. Utility costs are increasing. But after hours of questioning about how HPD monitors building conditions and their financial woes, lawmakers said they left without clear answers. We sent a letter on June 25th, uh, and so I'd like to just get an update on some of the questions that we. in that letter, it would be easiest for us to supply that information after the hearing. We are not asking some surprise question now. Under state law, Mitchell Lama units have no cap on how much rent can rise, and it's only HPD that has the authority to approve those increases. Morgan Scott, News 12, Brooklyn. Next week on Power and Politics, we share an exclusive conversation with advocates to close Rikers Island, where the plans currently stand, and is the city on track to meet that critical August 2027 deadline. You can hear that full conversation next Sunday right here on News 12 at 11:30 a.m. Thanks for watching. I'm Heather Fordham.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/2099cff1-02b9-4762-9114-0747cd44b24d/2099cff1-02b9-4762-9114-0747cd44b24d.transcribe

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joins the show this week.

Local

Crime

Weather

NYC Politics

Rebuilding The Bronx

Taking Action

Local

Crime

Weather

NYC Politics

Rebuilding The Bronx

Taking Action

News

News 12 Originals

Investigative

Community

Science & Health

Entertainment

Choose Your Region

Be the first to know

News

News 12 Originals

Investigative

Community

Science & Health

Entertainment

Change

Be the first to know

More Stories

More from News 12

Power & Politics: Mamdani’s bus plan; lawmakers scrap roll-down gate mandate; World Cup’s impact on businesses

Power & Politics: Mayor Mamdani’s primary election impact; the rise of young voters

Power & Politics: NYC Primary 2026; Key races in the Bronx and Brooklyn

Power & Politics: Early voting begins as candidates from NY District 10 and Assembly District 82 campaign

Power & Politics: Mamdani’s affordable housing plan, free inspections rollout, NY-13 race

Power & Politics: Advocates discuss maternal health bill; Councilmember breaks down housing proposal; Exclusive sit-down with NYC Mayor on housing plan

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

Ad Choices

Privacy Manager