Moving Forward Together
New York City only really works when its transportation system works, and for too many New Yorkers it has not worked for a long time — or ever. New York City buses are notoriously slow and were losing ridership even before COVID-19 hit, impacted in large part by chronic and persistent congestion. Our subway system has suffered from decades of underinvestment and neglect, and is facing a true safety crisis. The vision of Vision Zero has yet to be realized, with a rising number of pedestrians and cyclists struck by traffic violence. There is an even more serious disconnect for our neighbors with disabilities and older residents, who face daily injustice and hours of lost time a day in trying to get around. Simply put, if we want to move our city forward and achieve a real recovery from this pandemic, we need to expand mobility while prioritizing equity and safety investments that we cannot afford to defer.
Solving our challenges in transportation addresses a multitude of issues. It makes us a more prosperous city, supporting not only job growth and tourism but also hard-working New Yorkers in transit deserts who need a helping hand. It improves our environmental health and sustainability through a multi-modal system that embraces green modes of transit. It also takes on the terrible racist legacy of Robert Moses-era city planning and highway construction that is a physical and metaphysical roadblock in our fight to close the historical inequality gap that has swallowed communities of color whole.
New Yorkers deserve a 24/7 transportation system that is forward-thinking, data-driven, and a vehicle for our mission to make this a more equitable, efficient city for everyone. Those will be the guiding principles of the Adams Administration’s agenda.
Build Out A State-Of-The-Art Bus Transit System
Projects like the 14th Street Busway and expanded Select Bus Service (SBS) into full Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will help revolutionize how New York City residents move around New York City and support economic development around transit hubs. We should make SBS
service the baseline for bus service, and take advantage of opportunities for true BRT. BRT is cost effective, high quality, and will do the most in the shortest amount of time to build out our transit network without depending solely on New York State. We must create a BRT system that doesn't simply connect communities to Manhattan but to communities within boroughs and interboroughs. I will identify core corridors like Linden Boulevard and 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn, as well as stretches in every borough, to bring a real interconnected BRT system to New York City, starting on roadways with service roads in transit deserts.
We will also stripe more bus lanes and create more busways — as mayor, we will build 150 miles of new bus lanes and busways in four years — and expedite the rollout of Transit Signal Priority technology.
Speed Up Our Conversion To All-Electric Buses
To both protect the environment and make an investment that will save the City money on fuel and maintenance savings, we will significantly speed up our conversion to an entirely electric bus fleet. This can be achieved by raising money through the City’s capital program to pay for the higher up-front cost of the vehicles against the long-term benefits. The deployment of electric buses will be prioritized for communities facing the most serious environmental health risk.
Expand Our Safe Cycling Network
I’m proud to be part of this city’s diverse cycling community, and as mayor I will work to protect all our communities with the same passion and purpose I’ve had for more than three decades of my public life, including from the dangers of traffic violence. We are a
city of pedestrians, cyclists, skaters, drivers, and mass transit riders. The use of our streets must reflect all of those uses safely while encouraging forms of movement that reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. As mayor, I will build 300 new miles of protected bike lanes in four years. Based on reporting from 2016 of City officials’ estimates, which considered an average cost of $600,000 per mile of protected bike lane, we project an approximate cost for this of $45 million annually for this effort. My administration will seek federal DOT reimbursement in large part for that investment, as well as allocate funding from their major green infrastructure bond initiative.
Our new protected bike lanes will include “bicycle superhighways,” using unused road space under elevated highways and railways; protected bike and pedestrian infrastructure as safe routes to parks, for neighborhoods far from large open spaces, and additional protected infrastructure for small but critical gaps in our existing bike network, including the Harbor Ring and expanded cycling access over bridges like the Verrazzano-Narrows. And, to support safe cycling year-round, we will ensure that bike lanes will be prioritized for street cleaning and snow removal during the winter months, establish minimum allotments for parklets and bike corrals in each community district, and expand secure bike parking.
Create Shared Electric Bike And Scooter Networks For Transit-Starved Communities
Millions of New Yorkers — mostly people of color in lower-income and middle-income communities -- are not within walking distance of the subway and do not have access to decent public transit options. CitiBike says it will close some of those gaps — but it is right now largely in higher-income areas. To connect underserved communities to mass transit and allow them to get around their communities and connect to transit more easily, we will create a citywide network of shared electric bikes and scooters that prioritizes those New Yorkers disconnected from transit. We will also expand Citi Bike well beyond more affluent communities by committing City funding.
Support Open Streets And NYC 25x25
NYC 25x25 is a challenge to reallocate 25 percent of the city's streetscape by 2025 from car-centric uses to people-focused uses, not just protected bike lanes but also wider sidewalks, dedicated bus lanes, plazas, Open Streets, and green spaces. We will pedestrianize more of the city where there are multiple transit options and, where we can, discourage car use to attract visitors with more open space and open markets, while improving public safety and making the city more livable for its residents. Regarding Open Streets in particular, we will allocate more funding to make the plan sustainable by supporting local groups that maintain these spaces, and deploy the program more equitably to neighborhoods across the city, including in communities of color and lower-income areas that are in need of safe open space.
Reform The Parking Placard System And Shrink The City Fleet
To advance the City’s fight against placard abuse, we will publish an online database of all precinct integrity control officers (ICOs) and City agency inspectors general (IGs), expand ICO/IG responsibilities and enforcement powers to address placard abuse and improper vehicle usage in their precinct, and deploy a dedicated roving City vehicle staffed for rapid response to 311 placard abuse complaints. Additionally, we will reduce the number of both placards and City fleet vehicles as determined by an independent analysis of agency needs, including the implementation of a municipal car share system to consolidate the vehicles of agencies in downtown clusters.
Advance Accessibility In Mass Transit
We will fight to fast-track ADA improvements at inaccessible subway stations, including new elevators, tactile guideways and signs, and better wayfinding. Our advocacy will also focus on reopening closed subway entrances and exits as well as fixing long-standing equity issues like the outdated, unreliable Access-A-Ride system, for which we will pursue the expansion of on-demand e-hail service that has proven popular for riders with disabilities.
Recapture Land Lost To Robert Moses-Era Highway Projects
New York City can’t grow more land so we must recapture lost land. That means jumpstarting projects like the BQ Green and PX Forward, as well mapping and analyzing opportunities across the five boroughs to recapture lost land to reconnect our communities. As aging infrastructure like the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) triple cantilever approaches the end of its lifespan, we will take a regional examination of our transit needs and prioritize planning that promotes a healthier, more sustainable future — rather than just rebuilding or expanding existing highways.
The NYC Aid Plan (Advanced Income Deployment)
New Yorkers are in crisis because of COVID-19--and they need immediate, serious financial assistance to get through. Unfortunately, much of the assistance that New Yorkers qualify for is significantly delayed because it is tied to federal and local tax credits that are paid out just once a year.
To get New Yorkers the money they need right now, Eric Adams proposes the NYC AID (Advanced Income Deployment) initiative to get struggling individuals and families their Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) in advanced monthly payments, while also substantially increasing the amounts of the credits to deliver the high level of aid needed during our financial crisis.
Under Adams’ plan, a New York City family with two children on the edge of poverty earning $30,000 a year would receive approximately $3,000 annually, or about $250 a month from a boosted City EITC program. Currently, that same family would receive about $250 for the entire year from those same credits.
Credits would be paid out monthly as an advance by the City on qualifying New Yorkers’ past annual earnings. A safe harbor provision would also be added so that any increase in earnings over the year of monthly benefits would not affect pay out. A pilot in Chicago and a federal program that was in place from 1979 to 2010 both showed that this method of advanced payments were feasible, economical, and ultimately successful in reducing poverty and improving outcomes for recipients.
How Does It Work?
Adams would provide new substantial, dependable income by changing the current City tax credit system by: 1) Increasing the City’s EITC match from 5% of the federal credit to 60% for those New Yorkers and households earning $30,000 a year and less; 2) Increasing the City’s EITC match to 30% for those earning between $30,000 and $50,000; and 3) paying advance monthly checks to qualifying recipients based on their earnings from the previous tax year, not in lump sums at the end of the tax year.
While the AID program would provide the most significant support for lower-income New Yorkers who are in serious danger, Adams’ plan would also reach out to catch the large number of middle-income New Yorkers who are now suddenly on the edge, and could easily fall into poverty. That part of the plan is essential because the last 12 months of income for so many New Yorkers does not necessarily reflect their current financial circumstances.
For instance, a couple with one child may have depended on one source of income that put them in the “middle class” earning $50,000 a year, but now both adults are unemployed and facing eviction and debt as savings evaporate. That couple’s income for the last year looks adequate on paper, but it does not reflect their financial situation. This would allow AID to cover nearly 900,000 New Yorkers. The total amount advanced per household would reach up to $4,000 over 12 months for lower-income families with children.
Because the boosted EITC match would be based on an existing City program that is pegged to a federal program, it is also unlikely the increase in assistance would affect New Yorkers’ access to other government benefits.
How Is It Administered?
The NYC AID plan would also mandate payments be distributed via either direct deposit or a prepaid debit card so that predatory lenders and check-cashers do not take advantage of New Yorkers. To make this possible, Adams would also immediately initiate his local banking network proposal, working with small and large banks to set up free checking accounts for any New Yorker who needs one, giving them access to financial tools that can help them manage their money and build wealth.
And when eligible recipients are signed up for the AID program, they will immediately be connected with HRA case workers who will use their AID information to connect them to a much broader range of local, State and federal benefits to ensure our residents are getting every benefit they qualify for--and that the City is getting back every dollar it sends to Albany and Washington, D.C.
How Do We Pay For It?
Increasing these credits for struggling New Yorkers would cost approximately $1 billion. New costs for administrative fees would be low. Colorado estimated that the cost per participant in an advanced income program would be about $4.50.
But the cost of doing nothing is likely higher because so many New Yorkers are at risk of falling into poverty and so would require public assistance for much longer without immediate assistance. Studies show that some amount of dependable advanced income for struggling households -- that can be counted on monthly to keep finances afloat and afford childcare -- allows recipients more time to focus on finding a job, starting a new business, or learning skills that can help them become employed. The aid would also likely be immediately recirculated in the local economy, since recipients of advanced income tend to spend it on basic goods and services.
Even so, it would be irresponsible for any new City initiative with a price tag to come without a payment plan--especially when the City faces large out-year budget deficits. Adams has already proposed a three-part plan for closing the
projected City budget deficit, including 3-5% cuts across the board to City agencies, attrition of non-essential City workers, and a modest increase to the City income tax on ultra-millionaires.
Combined, those actions are projected to save or create $5-6.5 billion in the first year, increasing year-over year as headcount drops and further agency savings are found. Even with projected deficits and without depending on expected new stimulus from Washington, that savings and revenue will cover the gap and advanced increased credits payments to struggling New Yorkers.
EITC Eligibility
Married with qualifying children - Earning up to $55,952
Married with no qualifying children - Earning up to $21,370
Single with qualifying children - Earning up to $50,162
Single with no qualifying children - Earning up to $15,570
The Subway Safety Plan
Our city is just starting to come back from the pandemic. Progress cannot be derailed by crime and New Yorkers living in fear of being slashed, roundhouse punched, or robbed on their way to work or on their way home. Real concerns about subway safety are making too many New Yorkers hesitant to return to mass transit. Sustained declines in ridership will crush struggling small businesses, reduce investment in our city, and harm tourism — all of which will ultimately hit working-class New Yorkers hardest. I have said it time and time again: Public safety is the prerequisite to prosperity.
We are continually seeing violent attacks in our subways, threatening the lives and well-being of New Yorkers as well as our recovery. To halt this surge in subway crime in its tracks, we don’t just need more officers assigned to high-traffic areas — we also need better force deployment to create a more visible police presence and cover more area across the system. My “Safe Subways” subway redeployment plan will better use existing units to more effectively address this crime crisis. Additionally, we must immediately increase the number of City mental health beds and workers to effectively and swiftly address this crime problem, make New Yorkers feel safe again, and create a welcoming city that will attract visitors and new investment. Tackling this problem requires both intervention of existing threats and prevention of future harm, and this city must be committed to both. We can and must deliver safer conditions on our subway trains and platforms while providing the compassionate short-term and long-term care for those suffering from mental health crises, who often are both the perpetrators and victims of subway crime.
Intervention
Prevention