Work on the redesign of Greenpoint’s notorious McGuinness Boulevard finally began this week after several years of delays and project changes. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Department of Transportation on Wednesday broke ground on the street revamp, which includes installing parking-protected bike lanes along the corridor from Meeker Avenue to the Pulaski Bridge. The start of construction marks a major milestone for the project, which was scaled back under former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration amid allegations of bribery, as 6sqft previously reported.
Serving as a key corridor and major cycling connection between Brooklyn and Queens, McGuinness Boulevard sees more than 4,000 daily riders during the summer months. The block is infamous for its dangerous conditions for cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers.
For years, street safety advocates have urged the city to install additional safety measures, a push that intensified in 2021 after teacher Matthew Jensen died in a hit-and-run on the corridor. In 2023, under Adams, DOT announced a “road diet” plan that would remove a traffic lane and add protected bike lanes in each direction.
However, following opposition from local residents and elected officials, Adams scaled back the original design in August 2024. Among the critics was a prominent Greenpoint film production company owned by the Argento family, donors to Adams, who argued the plan would worsen congestion and harm local businesses.
The reasons behind the sudden reversal remained unclear until August 2025, when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Ingrid Lewis-Martin, former chief adviser to Adams, of bribery.
According to the allegations, Lewis-Martin accepted $2,500 in cash, free catering at Gracie Mansion valued at $10,000, and a brief appearance on the television show “Godfather of Harlem” in exchange for allegedly using her influence to alter the McGuinness Boulevard redesign on behalf of the Argentos, as 6sqft previously reported. The case is ongoing.
While on the campaign trail in August, Mamdani held a rally on the boulevard and pledged to complete the original “road diet” plan. He framed the move as a rebuke of Adams’ willingness to prioritize “moneyed interests” over public safety.
In January, less than a week as mayor, Mamdani officially announced that the DOT would move forward with the plan later in the year when the “weather warms.”
“Days into our administration, we made clear that this new era for NYC would be anchored in the well-being of working people, not the whims of the wealthy and well-connected,” Mamdani said.
“Now that spring is here and the ground has thawed, the DOT can get to work delivering safe streets for all New Yorkers,” he added. “As construction begins, Greenpoint is finally getting the safer McGuinness Boulevard its residents have long fought for.”
Once complete, the boulevard will feature one travel lane, one parking-protected bike lane, and one curbside parking and loading lane in each direction.
The redesign is expected to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers by shortening crossing distances, slowing turning vehicles, and reducing dangerous driving behavior. Similar street redesigns across the five boroughs have been shown to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries by 30 percent.
Construction is expected to be completed by early fall.
“Every New Yorker should feel safe on NYC streets, and after tireless advocacy from the Greenpoint community, we will finally be delivering a McGuinness Boulevard that helps stitch the neighborhood together, rather than dividing it in half with long, high-traffic crossings,” DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said.
“This was the administration’s first street safety announcement because we wanted to signal that we are ushering in a new era of local government that works for its people—instead of making backroom deals to prevent the installation of life-saving street safety upgrades.”
McGuinness Boulevard joins a growing list of corridors receiving or slated for redesigns under the Mamdani administration. Last week, Mamdani announced that Sixth Avenue’s protected bike lane would be widened between 14th Street and West 31st Street ahead of the World Cup this summer.
Earlier this month, the administration also said it would install a center-running eastbound bus lane along Broadway between 69th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, a busy corridor used by roughly 9,000 daily riders on the Q70-SBS, known as the “LaGuardia Link.”
Other projects include the redesign of Ninth Avenue from West 34th to West 50th Streets in Hell’s Kitchen and new bike and pedestrian entrances to the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan.
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