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    North                       The Indian Eye

                              AMERICANNewsline

             14                                                                                                                   MAY 29, 2026

             Mayor Mamdani Pushes Bronx and Brooklyn Renewal

                      With Housing, Public Spaces and Safer Streets

              The new administration is tying together housing expansion, public infrastructure and safer

                  transit corridors as part of a broader effort to reshape New York City’s growth strategy.

            OUR BUREAU                                                                                            borough-level investment.
                                                                                                                      The city is  also attempting to
            New York, NY
                                                                                                                  modernize   public  infrastructure
                  he administration of Zohran                                                                     around  accessibility  and climate  re-
                  Kwame Mamdani has launched                                                                      silience. New ADA-compliant ramps
            Tan ambitious urban develop-                                                                          now connect multiple levels of the
            ment push that combines neighbor-                                                                     pavilion, while upgraded electrical
            hood  rezoning, historic restoration                                                                  and plumbing systems are intended to
            and transportation redesign into what                                                                 improve long-term durability. Histor-
            could become the defining blueprint                                                                   ic concession spaces are being rebuilt
            of its early governance agenda.                                                                       for  food  and  retail operations,  with
                In a series of announcements                                                                      local vendors expected to participate
            this week, the mayor unveiled plans                                                                   once the facilities fully open later this
            for major neighborhood rezonings in                                                                   summer.
            the  Bronx  and  Brooklyn,  reopened                                                                      Alongside housing and pub-
            the landmark Orchard Beach Pavilion                                                                   lic-space investments, transportation
            after a $114 million reconstruction                                                                   safety has emerged as another key pil-
            project  and  approved  the  expansion                                                                lar of the administration’s agenda.
            of a protected bike lane along Man-                                                                       The city announced that the pro-
            hattan’s  Sixth  Avenue  ahead  of  the                                                               tected bike lane along Sixth Avenue
            2026 FIFA World Cup. Together, the                                                                    in Manhattan will be expanded from
            projects reveal a city government at-  grades.  Community  engagement  led   The 140,000-square-foot landmarked   six feet to 10 feet between 14th and
            tempting to address intertwined crises   by the Department of City Planning   structure, originally built in 1936   31st streets before World Cup match-
            of affordability, infrastructure neglect   will shape final proposals in partner-  through Works Progress Administra-  es begin in June 2026. Officials say the
            and public safety through coordinated   ship with local council members and   tion  funding,  had  been fully  closed   redesign is intended to improve safety
            planning and investment.          neighborhood stakeholders.        since 2009.                       for cyclists and pedestrians while ac-
                At the center of the administra-  The administration is emphasiz-   The restored pavilion now re-  commodating rising bicycle traffic in
            tion’s strategy is housing. The city   ing  a  “community-driven”  planning   opens with upgraded restrooms,  Manhattan.
            announced that its first neighborhood   process,  a  politically  significant  ap-  expanded  public  gathering  spaces,   Transportation  Commissioner
            plans will focus on White Plains Road   proach in neighborhoods where previ-  accessible ramps and renovated ar-  Mike Flynn said the avenue has be-
            in the Bronx and the areas south of   ous rezonings often triggered fears of   chitectural features including lime-  come one of the city’s busiest cycling
            Prospect Park in Brooklyn, particular-  displacement  and  gentrification.  De-  stone cladding, terrazzo flooring and   corridors and needs redesigning to
            ly along Coney Island and McDonald   partment of City Planning Director   glazed terracotta. The project also   support both commuters and visitors.
            avenues.  Officials  described  the  cor-  Sideya Sherman said the goal is “eq-  introduced new lighting, trees and im-  The project builds on a larger
            ridors as transit-rich but constrained   uitable growth that supports more af-  proved circulation throughout the site.  transformation of New York’s trans-
            by “outdated zoning rules” that have   fordable and livable neighborhoods.”  “No longer can the Bronx be treat-  portation culture. Daily bike trips
            limited housing growth for decades.   The  Bronx  proposal  carries  par-  ed as an afterthought in a city of five   across East River bridges reached
                Mayor Mamdani framed the ini-  ticular symbolic importance. For de-  boroughs,” Mamdani declared during   nearly 29,000 in 2025, almost eighteen
            tiative as a direct response to New   cades, outer-borough communities   the reopening ceremony.      times the number recorded in 1980
            York’s worsening affordability crisis.  have argued that public investment   The restoration reflects a broader   when the city first began tracking bi-
               “New Yorkers are being pushed   overwhelmingly favored Manhattan   political message emerging from City   cycle traffic.
            out of  the neighborhoods they  built   and wealthier neighborhoods. Bronx   Hall: that public investment in out-  The  Sixth  Avenue  corridor  also
            because our city has spent decades re-  Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson   er-borough infrastructure is not mere-  carries historical significance. In 1980,
            fusing to build enough housing where   said the new planning effort must fo-  ly cosmetic but tied to questions of   then-Mayor Ed Koch briefly installed
            people actually want and need to   cus on affordable housing, infrastruc-  equity and quality of life. The Bronx’s   the  city’s  first  protected  bike  lane
            live,” he said. “These plans are about   ture and economic opportunity while   only public beach has long been both   there  after  a  visit  to  China.  The  ex-
            changing that.”                   ensuring residents maintain “a mean-  a recreational landmark and a symbol   periment  generated  fierce  backlash
                The rezonings are expected to en-  ingful voice throughout the process.”  of uneven municipal attention. Re-  and was dismantled within six months.
            courage new residential construction,   That emphasis on restoring ne-  opening  the  pavilion  after  17  years   Four decades later, the expansion of
            including permanently affordable   glected public infrastructure is also   allows the administration to demon-  protected cycling infrastructure re-
            housing, while also supporting com-  visible in the reopening of the Or-  strate visible delivery on public works   flects  how  dramatically  urban  trans-
            mercial activity and infrastructure up-  chard  Beach  Pavilion  in  the  Bronx.  while reinforcing its commitment to   portation priorities have shifted.

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