Adams Insists Queensboro Bridge Pedestrian Path Not Delayed, But It’s Still Not Ready
Mayor Adams stated that the pedestrian lane opening has “not been delayed,” after the most recent opening day has come and gone, citing personal scheduling issues and the need for community input as the reasons for the delay that isn’t a delay.
The Queensboro Bridge pedestrian path saga continues. Mayor Adams is adamant that the long-awaited pedestrian path on the Queensboro Bridge has “not been delayed,” after calling off it’s opening earlier in the month. On Monday, March 24, Adam, while speaking at his weekly press conference, was asked about the new bike lanes situation on the Queensboro Bridge.
“Let’s close the door on this issue,” Adams said. “This has not been delayed. I was never briefed. This is a major project that’s going to impact movement and traffic. You brief the mayor.”
Adams also objected to what he called the information leak around the time of the proposed opening date earlier this month. “You know, we’re going to leak to the mayor and now the mayor is going to be, you know, forced to move forward. That’s not how it operates.”
“I have a schedule. I have a scheduler. We brief and I’m updated just about twice a week on different topics...That’s how it works,” the Mayor said.
In his answer, Adams referred to the official reason given by his office for delaying the opening of the new path, echoing the previous words of a spokesperson. “Nothing has been delayed,” spokesperson Amaris Cockfield said on March 14, “and anyone saying otherwise is either lying or lacks a basic understanding of how city government works.”
Cockfield stated that “Mayor Adams requires a full briefing on how the Department of Transportation plans to roll this out smoothly,” noting that the project and implementation of the pedestrian path will affect hundreds of thousands of commuters.
Adams did not state at the press conference that he had been briefed on the project since the official statement on March 14. Moreover, the Mayor gave no indication what a briefing may look like or when one would occur. The Mayor stated that moving forward on the new pedestrian path will require “community input on how the traffic’s going to impact.” He went on to note that newly appointed deputy mayor, Randy Mastro, would also need to be briefed.
The Mayor claimed that only after a briefing for himself, his deputy mayor, community input, and proper scheduling, “then we can move forward.”
According to Adams, once the briefings and input are completed, his scheduler will need to put in his schedule. Speaking to journalists at the March 24 press conference Adams said, “And when [the scheduler] puts it on the schedule, you’ll view it on the schedule if it’s a public item.”
At the time of writing, the long-awaited pedestrian-only path on the south side Queensboro Bridge remains in limbo, much as it has for its history. Originally started by Adams’s predecessor, Mayor Bill de Blasio, the project has enjoyed widespread supported by citizens and city council members alike. Still, the final step for the south side pedestrian path can’t get past the mayor’s desk at City Hall.
As previously reported, the south outer Roadway, the official name of the pedestrian path project, has faced numerous delays. The latest one brings the number of official delays to six. The previous delay occurred in September 2024, when the Department of Transportation stated that construction was needed on a damaged road panel on the bridge. The DOT announced that the new opening date, the one most recently missed, would be in winter 2025.But spring has sprung and pedestrians are still being forced to share the north side with e-bikers.
Adams did not give a date for a projected opening, nor did he provide a timeline for the future of the pedestrian-only path on the south side of the bridge.