Overview
- The NYC Department of Transportation broke ground on the full McGuinness redesign on Wednesday, extending parking‑protected bike lanes from Calyer Street north to the Pulaski Bridge with work expected to finish in two to three months.
- The planned road diet will remove one vehicle lane in each direction and install parking‑protected bike lanes along both curbs to link the Pulaski Bridge to the Brooklyn‑Queens Expressway.
- DOT leaders say the current build is being done in‑house using the agency’s annual budget while the $39 million capital allocation set aside in 2021 remains unused for a later, more permanent version of the project.
- City officials and local advocates framed the restart as a correction of prior delays tied to alleged corruption, noting prosecutors have charged former Adams aide Ingrid Lewis‑Martin and Broadway Stages owners Tony and Gina Argento with bribery and conspiracy; the defendants have pleaded not guilty and prosecutions are pending.
- Advocates and DOT point to early data from the redesigned southern section showing little effect on congestion and improved cyclist safety, and they say the northern completion should cut near‑misses, make crossings safer for children and set a precedent for similar street safety changes citywide.