Mayor Zohran Mamdani is already steamrolling one obstacle in his path — the notorious Williamsburg Bridge bump.
Mamdani helped transportation department workers pave over the bike lane bump on Delancey Street at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge on Tuesday.
The quirky photo op was the latest example of the mayor’s do-it-all approach to governing, which has also included visits to an apartment building in dire need of repairs and a major fire in Ridgewood.
The bridge bump is a small drop on the Manhattan side of the bridge that often forces cyclists to slam on the brakes or risk catching a little air before landing on Delancey Street.
“They’re 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 said after patting down fresh gravel with a shovel.
In his first full week on the job, Mamdani made clear that no job is too big, and no bump is too small for his administration to tackle.
“ I know the bump. I hit it every day like four times a day,” said cyclist Hayden Childress, 31, from Williamsburg.
Behold! The bump is no more.
Stephen Nessen
While the elimination of the bump is great, Childress noted that the opening from the bridge onto Delancey Street is still too narrow. It only has room for one bicycle at a time, forcing cyclists to compete for space.
“You have to kind of gamble because it’s not a two-way, it’s a one-way,” he said.
Some cyclists lamented the loss of the bump, which meant the loss of an opportunity to get gnarly.
“ I love it. I think it’s great fun, I’m a big fan of the bump,” said Marcus Hogan, 27, from Bushwick. “ You get some pretty nasty air either coming in and going out. That’s pretty fun.”
Cyclist Marcus Hogan said he would miss the bump, which he used to get sick air.
Stephen Nessen
Mamdani said these early days of his administration are about tackling low-hanging fruit.
“We realized that in fact this is something that need not wait for us to have the additional conversations about larger streetscape changes right here and across the city. This is something that we can do immediately,” Mamdani said.
The fix might be short-lived.
Nearly three years ago, the federal government awarded the city a grant to redesign Delancey with a road diet, reducing the number of vehicle lanes.
Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said Delancey Street is expected to soon undergo a $70 million renovation, including more pedestrian space, and a “ rational bike route” with a bike connection that runs down to the Bowery.
“This is just the beginning,” Flynn said.
