The bike ramp off of the Williamsburg Bridge onto Delancey Avenue that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s DOT repaired on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026.
Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Mayor Zohran Mamdani stood with metropolis Division of Transportation (DOT) officers on Tuesday as company employees eradicated a slight roadway dip that had plagued cyclists exiting the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan for years — throwing the ultimate shovel of asphalt to complete the job.
Mamdani, who has made a slew of transportation-related bulletins since taking the oath of workplace contained in the outdated Metropolis Corridor subway station final week, mentioned his DOT moved rapidly to make the hazardous drop right into a clean ramp in response to suggestions from “countless New Yorkers.”
“I’ve seen many, many videos and many tweets, and also heard from many New Yorkers, as well as experienced this myself,” mentioned Hizzoner, who himself is a bicycle owner.
The sudden drop is positioned between two concrete obstacles that cyclists should traverse when going west off the bridge onto Delancey Avenue. It added yet one more hazard for cyclists coming off the downward slope of the bridge, forcing them to journey single-file between the 2 concrete blocks.
The drop was already attributable to be eradicated as a part of a broader plan $18 million plan to revamp Delancey Avenue, together with its protected bike lanes and the bridge entrance, unveiled in 2023. Nevertheless, that plan stays greater than 4 years away from completion, based on DOT spokesperson Vin Barone.
Tuesday’s restore represents a “quick fix” earlier than DOT will get began on the mission this fall, Barone mentioned.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani throws asphalt on the newly renovated bike ramp off of the Williamsburg Bridge onto Delancey Avenue on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026.
The mayor mentioned the drop is certainly one of many “obstacles” that those that reached out to his crew groused about.
“They are tired of biking across this bridge with anxiety as to what will happen right at the end of it. They’re tired of the drop beneath their feet,” Mamdani mentioned. “I am so thankful to the incredible men and women of New York City DOT, to our new commissioner for ensuring that we are taking action on the issues that animate New Yorkers. Concerns at a large level and at a small level.”
Whereas DOT continues to be pursuing the broader redesign, Mamdani mentioned his crew noticed eliminating the doubtful Delancey Avenue drop as one thing they may sort out instantly.
“This is not going to be the extent of the work that we do, but when we were having conversations about what these first few days of the administration could look like, we realized that, in fact, this is something that need not wait,” he mentioned.
The Williamsburg Bridge has the best bike ridership of any crossing within the metropolis, based on DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn, who stood with Mamdani on the announcement. A mean of 8,600 cyclists use the bridge every day, he mentioned.
“This is proof that government can deliver and just the beginning,” Flynn mentioned. “Both the mayor and I have talked about our ambition to have bold ideas and to make our streets the envy of the world. And that takes big ideas, but it also takes small fixes.”
Bike fanatics recommended Mamdani for guiding his DOT to make the repair and for displaying up in particular person to supervise it.
“It’s great to have the mayor, you know, physically fixing issues in the bike network like that,” mentioned Jon Orcutt, director of advocacy at Bike Nw York.
Orcutt believes that the brand new mayor’s strategy to transportation enormously differs from that of his predecessor, Eric Adams.
“Someone who knows the city and experiences the city from the saddle on a bike is gold, it’s very hard to explain what it’s like to somebody who hasn’t been out there,” Orcutt mentioned. “The worst thing about Mayor Adams, from our point of view, was he actually does ride around the city, or did, and it did not show in the way he governed at all.”
