Overview

• City Council subcommittees on Zoning and Franchises and Land Use on August 6 approved the dedicated busway on 34th Street as a formal condition of the Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan.
• A pedestrian demonstration on August 7–8 saw walkers complete the First to Eighth Avenue route in 15 minutes while the M34 bus took 22 minutes, highlighting average speeds below 5.5 mph.
• Mayor Adams reversed his early July pause and praised the rezoning agreement for pairing nearly 10,000 new homes with infrastructure investments including the 34th Street busway.
• MTA New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow decried years of delayed bus-priority rollouts and urged a more aggressive expansion of busways across the city.
• The full City Council will vote on the rezoning and busway plan later this month, followed by a public engagement phase in 2025 and construction thereafter.