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🛑Murray Hill Alert: 34th Street Busway Revived — But At What Cost?
MHNAWhat’s happening:
As part of the Midtown South Mixed‑Use Rezoning approved by City Council committees on August 6, 2025, the plan to establish a dedicated, car‑free busway along 34th Street—from Third to Ninth Avenues—has been revived.
Why Murray Hill is concerned:
- Traffic spillover into fragile side streets: Jon Harari, President of the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association, told NY1 that, “We are very concerned about changing the nature of 34th Street into a busway and rerouting all the cars … into all the side streets.” NY1
- Lack of traffic‑impact and safety study: DOT’s plan is proceeding without a comprehensive traffic analysis or sufficient community engagement. NY1
- No commitment to improving actual bus service: Without increased bus frequency, the busway alone won’t deliver substantial improvements—suggesting the real issue is service level, not just road access. New York Post
Murray Hill’s Position:
The neighborhood association calls for a transparent, data-driven process and meaningful public input before moving forward. They affirm their support for efficient transit—but not at the expense of livability and safety on local streets.
We want to be clear — we are not against change. In fact, we embrace innovation and smart transit solutions. But we believe these decisions must be guided by data, transparency, and genuine community input. Our concern is not just for Murray Hill — it’s for the well-being of New York City as a whole. Major changes to our infrastructure deserve thoughtful planning that benefits all neighborhoods, not just a few.
âś… What Needs to Happen Next:
- Service improvements, such as more frequent and reliable buses, can start now.
- A comprehensive traffic-impact and safety study must be conducted and released to the public.
- The community must be involved meaningfully — not just informed after the fact.
- Broad and clear community outreach is essential.
Let’s work together to shape a smarter, safer, and more livable New York City.
Comments (3)
Kayday
Hi. What can the Murray Hill community members do to help support the MHNA in achieving the outlined next steps?
Kevin Yazell
who and how do we contact city officials to share our thoughts on this?
Annie Lebeaux
The city doesn’t need this busway— I take the crosstown bus a lot and the non-bus traffic is a lot lighter than it was. Also, I live on e. 35th St. between Park & Madison across the street from a block-long demolition/construction project slated to go on for 2 more years. They have closed off a lane, down to one lane of traffic, and they’ve built a wall to keep it one lane (they bring dump trucks/ earth-movers/cement trucks in and out. This is a “permanent” wall that stays up all the time.) So if E. 34th st. is closed off to cars and trucks, ALL the westbound non-bus traffic will take E. 35th (they can’t use E. 33rd because it’s permanently blocked off at the Park Ave. tunnel) and then get frustrated, honking and yelling, when they get funneled down to one lane between Park and Madison. For at least two more years!… There is NO NEED for a busway. What we DO need are new businesses to refill the hundreds of now-enpty storefronts that are a blight, drawing graffiti, darkening streets and cutting an important tax base for basic needs of the city. Ideas?