Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Mayor Mamdani announces safety upgrades to Greenpoint’s McGuinness Blvd
By
Ryan Kost
,
Jessica Gould
and
Christian Santana
Published Jan 3, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Jessica Gould/Gothamist
By
Ryan Kost
,
Jessica Gould
and
Christian Santana
Published Jan 3, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn will receive additional street safety measures, including the extension of protected bike lanes, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Saturday, announcing the latest twist for the dangerous road at the center of a corruption scandal under Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
Speaking at Father Studzinski Square, Mamdani said each direction of the boulevard will include one travel lane, one parking protected bike lane, and a vehicular parking and loading lane, adding that the project is set to commence as soon as the weather warms. It is similar to an earlier proposal that was watered down by Adams. Prosecutors in Manhattan alleged last year that Adams’ chief adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin had accepted more than $10,000 in bribes from the prominent owners of a Greenpoint-based film production company to meddle in the project.
To Mamdani, the scandal was a sign of Adams’ willingness to put moneyed interests over safety. Advocates pointed to McGuinness as a sign that neighborhood-level street safety projects had become fodder for old-school New York City corruption.
“The city committed to a redesign of McGuinness Boulevard,” Mamdani said. “That commitment promised to deliver the safety and improvements that residents had been asking for until the prior administration bowed to big money interests, leaving the project incomplete and Greenpointers still at risk. Today, however, there is a new mayor in City Hall.”
Ingrid Lewis-Martin, former Mayor Adams' chief adviser, is accused of taking bribes in exchange for meddling in the McGuinness redesign.
Curtis Means for DailyMail Pool
Mamdani’s move represented the fulfilment of a campaign promise. As a candidate for mayor, he held a rally on McGuinness Boulevard in August, vowing to complete the original project if elected.
McGuinness Boulevard, a wide arterial roadway running from the Pulaski Bridge to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, has long been considered one of Greenpoint’s most dangerous streets. The corridor has a history of serious crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists, prompting city transportation officials to propose a major redesign aimed at slowing traffic and reducing injuries. Street safety advocates pushed aggressively for an overhaul of the road beginning in 2021, when a popular teacher, Matthew Jensen, was killed by a hit and run driver.
“McGuinness Boulevard should stitch Greenpoint together, not divide it in half,” said newly appointed Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn. “These upgrades will make it safer and easier for children and parents to cross the street. They’ll protect cyclists, reduce reckless driving, and transform what can feel like a highway into a calmer neighborhood street.”
Earlier versions of the project called for removing a vehicle lane in each direction, installing protected bike lanes and shortening pedestrian crossings from the Pulaski Bridge to below the BQE. The plan won support from the local community board and street-safety advocates, but it also faced fierce opposition from some residents and elected officials who warned it would increase congestion and harm local businesses.
Ultimately, Adams sided with critics, approving a scaled-down version of the project that divided the project into two sections, with the stretch closest to the Pulaski receiving a barrier-protected bike lane. Street safety advocates have frequently clashed with local businesses as bike lanes have proliferated across the city over the past two decades. Recently, a Queens judge blocked an Astoria bike lane in what was an unusual legal victory for the plaintiffs.
The Adams administration’s reasons for changing the plan were unclear, until Manhattan prosecutors charged Lewis-Martin with accepting $2,500 and $10,000 worth of free catering at Gracie Mansion in exchange for interfering with the project for Tony and Gina Argento, the sibling owners of the Broadway Stages production company.
Prosecutors alleged the Argentos also arranged for Lewis-Martin to make a brief appearance on the “Godfather of Harlem” television show. Both the Argentos and Lewis-Martin have pleaded not guilty. The case is ongoing.
Tagged
Politics
brooklyn
transportation
Ryan Kost
Ryan Kost is a reporter on the day-of news desk, where he covers breaking news and writes enterprise stories about jails, courts, prosecutors and government accountability. His work focuses on the public institutions that shape life in New York. Before joining the newsroom, he lead a multi-part investigation with Columbia Journalism Investigations and New York Focus into how New York prosecutors handle wrongful conviction claims. He's also been a staff writer at The San Francisco Chronicle, The Associated Press and The Oregonian. Got a tip? Signal: ryankost.20
Read more
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Christian Santana
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .