Bronxites Urge Mayor Mamdani + DOT Commish Flynn: Cut Cross Bronx Traffic & Pollution With A Fast Bx36 Busway

BRONX, NY (02/25/2026) (readMedia)-- Today, nearly a dozen Bronx community groups and transit advocates led a rally urging Mayor Mamdani and NYC DOT Commissioner Flynn to reduce Cross Bronx traffic and pollution by fast-tracking the Tremont Avenue busway - a project shelved by the Adams administration that would serve nearly 40,000 daily bus riders along the Bx36, the Bronx's fifth busiest route. With Governor Hochul and NYSDOT planning to expand the Cross Bronx as early as this spring, community members are calling on City Hall to implement transit alternatives that mitigate traffic and pollution without the environmental and health harms of a highway expansion.

Watch a recording of the rally here.

Decades after the Cross Bronx first tore through the borough, local communities still face limited transit options and a fragmented street grid in the city's most bus-reliant borough. With 62% of Bronxites already living car-free, community members have previously shown support for corridor improvements like the Tremont Avenue project during the Reimagine the Cross Bronx study, led by NYC DOT and NYSDOT. Research also confirms that a new Tremont Avenue busway could significantly improve travel speed, reliability, and safety. But unlike the neighboring Fordham Road bus project - revived by Mayor Mamdani just last week - the Tremont Avenue project still remains frozen since being stalled last summer.

"The Cross Bronx stands the test of time as one of our borough's worst transit mistakes. Yet, in the face of decades' worth of pollution and asthma, Governor Hochul and NYSDOT are about to take the Bronx back 60 years by expanding it. City Hall has the power to revive a project that 40,000 riders would actually benefit from: the Tremont Avenue busway. That's why we're letting Mayor Mamdani and NYC DOT know that the Bronx is ready for a new Bx36 route as part of our community's vision to reshape the Cross Bronx corridor," said Siddhartha Sánchez, Executive Director of the Bronx River Alliance and member of the Transportation, Climate, & Infrastructure Mayoral Transition Committee.

"Fast and free buses were a cornerstone of Mayor Mamdani's campaign. We thank him for shining the spotlight on inequity in our city and how our transportation system underserves many New Yorkers, especially Bronxites. We ask all of our lawmakers to meet the urgency of this moment and work together to make fast and free buses around the city a reality. The revival of the Fordham Road bus project was a significant first step - but we must not stop there. Mayor Mamdani and the NYC DOT must revive the Tremont Avenue busway. With the future of the Cross Bronx Expressway looming, it's even more important that our mayor prioritizes these alternatives," said Adrian Cacho, Senior Organizer, Open Plans.

"I don't think extending the Cross Bronx Expressway over Starlight Park is a good idea. It would add to the air pollution of our neighborhood and increase the chances that people develop asthma in our community. Building bigger highways will just create more traffic and increase the environmental problems where we live," said Stanley Mata, 10th Grader, Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School.

BACKGROUND

The New York State Department of Transportation is currently proposing the Cross Bronx "5 Bridges Project," a $900-million plan (including $150 million of federal funding for reconnecting communities harmed by highways) that threatens to exacerbate environmental inequities facing the South Bronx. Despite heeding community concerns and scrapping four of its most noxious plans - including a new mile-long polluting roadway - Governor Hochul and NYSDOT are not reducing traffic and are still proposing expanding the Cross Bronx by 50 feet.

The Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition is urging NYSDOT and Governor Hochul to conduct the needed standard bridge repair without expanding the highway, and work with community members toward more equitable, environmentally just traffic and air quality solutions for the corridor.

Why Expanding the Cross Bronx Isn't Viable

The Cross Bronx's enormous environmental footprint has only worsened over the years. In the U.S., fossil fuel-powered vehicles are a major source of air pollution and heat-trapping emissions, releasing more than 50% of the nitrogen oxide found in our air. Nearly 150,000 vehicles, including 18,000 trucks, use the Cross Bronx daily, a figure that will increase if state DOT proceeds with its planned expansion of the structure.

In 2022, NYSDOT illegally dumped pieces of the roadway directly into the Bronx River after demolishing a Cross Bronx entrance ramp during a similar rehabilitation project. Even if the state files permits, local residents are still concerned that DOT's project may similarly impact the river, under the current "5 Bridges" project. Thanks to sustained remediation efforts, wildlife has slowly returned to the river following the incident, including threatened birds such as herons and dolphins. But during ongoing river clean-ups with local volunteers, residents continue to find construction waste tossed from the expressway into the recovering waterway. State DOT's remaining plan threatens to reverse this hard-won progress and drive worsened air quality, increased pollution, and more chronic illness in an already overburdened community.

Community Alternatives for the Cross Bronx

Since the 1970s, community members have long advocated for investment in safe, dignified, and simple improvements for South Bronx neighborhoods. Residents successfully advocated for the expansion of Starlight Park, which has doubled in size after years of organizing to transform the space into a vital community resource. But existing east-west corridors along the Cross Bronx, including some of its most dangerous intersections on 174th Street, 177th Street, and East Tremont Avenue have been ignored and neglected for decades.

In 2014, City Council awarded NYCDOT the funds to create signalized crossings at five intersections around E 177th St. and E Tremont Ave. Over a decade later, the project still hasn't been completed, depriving local residents of accessible pathways. The state's planned expansion ignores the rest of E 177th St and other proposed connections along the highway, in a departure from residents' top priorities. As outlined in the community's visioning process for the Cross Bronx, Bronxites are seeking alternatives that reduce traffic, restore community access to green space, and reconnect riverside neighborhoods along the expressway.

About Bronx River Alliance: The Bronx River Alliance serves as a coordinated voice for the river and works in harmonious partnership to protect, improve and restore the Bronx River corridor so that it can be a healthy ecological, recreational, educational and economic resource for the communities through which the river flows.

About the Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition: The Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion coalition is composed of Bronx grassroots groups, environmental justice organizations, and advocates for safe and healthy transportation. Together, we are fighting to implement a positive community-led vision that reverses the harms done to the public health, environment, and social and economic life of the Bronx by the Expressway. To realize this vision requires stopping new highway expansions along the Cross Bronx – beginning with New York State DOT's current plan to widen the CBE.

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