It Begins: NYC Moves Forward With Bus Lanes on Linden Blvd in Queens and Brooklyn

By FrumNews.com

Midwood, Brooklyn, NY — After the city got bored with redesigning Flatbush Ave, the new Mamdani administration aims to ruin tackle the next busy arterial road in Brooklyn and Queens: Linden Blvd.

Mayor Mamdani and NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn today announced plans to install new bus lanes and safety upgrades along Linden Boulevard, one of Brooklyn’s trafficked and—according to the city—dangerous corridors, from Fountain Avenue to Conduit Avenue in East New York. The DOT is also starting to redesign Conduit Avenue, which feeds into Linden and the Belt Pkwy.

If you think it doesn’t affect you, since there’s no major Jewish community there, Linden is a major arterial road between Brooklyn and Queens; if you are going between Brooklyn and Queens or Nassau, Linden might be what the GPS suggests. It’s also a major trucking corridor.

Currently, the road is served by several buses, primarily the B15 (which just got automatic cameras), B13, B20, Q8, and the BM5 express route.

What’s missing is any mention by city officials of the MTA’s Brooklyn Bus Redesign, which will reroute many of these routes (the final plan is due soon). Currently, it plans to scale down the B15 and replace the Church Ave B35 Ltd with a B55 SBS route from JFK Airport to the border of Boro Park, at McDonald and Church Ave.

The new B55 will route along this stretch of Linden Blvd, where the city will now add bus lanes. The next step would be to continue on Linden and then add bus lanes to Church Ave, which will likely require more political capital. (The local B35 will keep the same route but run to 1st Ave at all times.)

The DOT says it will deliver faster, “more reliable buses for 60,000 daily riders, while improving access to nearby subway lines and reconnecting neighborhoods long divided by the boulevard. Along this stretch, one person is injured in a traffic crash every four days, on average.”

Under Adams, this would be a signature move, but the Mamdani admin has pushed this and other projects at breakneck speed.

“Faster buses and safer streets are what New Yorkers deserve,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson. “These improvements will not only ensure quicker commutes and safer conditions for residents, but they will also better connect neighborhoods, bringing real-life improvements to the entire area.”

NYC DOT expects to complete the Linden Boulevard redesign in 2027.

“Installing new bus lanes along Linden Boulevard is an important first step for increased connectivity and improved street safety in Brooklyn’s eastern neighborhoods,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “Many Brooklynites living along Linden Boulevard currently face serious subway gaps…I thank the NYC DOT for making this important update, and I look forward to continuing working together to improve transit for Brooklynites.”

***

Removing driving lanes from Linden Blvd is only a gotcha scheme backed by the left’s war on cars, that will further create gridlock traffic jams and try to force Brooklyn residents into the crime-filled, homeless and drug-infested city bus mass-transit system, which is mismanaged by the MTA.

Let’s not forget that in New York City, driving is a privilege, not a right.