Opinion: Main Street busway will help revive Downtown Flushing for the many

Main Street in Flushing, AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

By Assemblymember Ron Kim and Pedro Rodriguez

The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the Flushing community. Even before the lockdown, we bore the brunt of racial profiling and bigotry associated with the virus.

With a sharp decrease in tourism and foot traffic, small businesses and families continue to suffer in the wake of store closures and increased unemployment. As community leaders, we have pushed the city to implement Queens’ first busway on Main Street and bring the community back into Downtown Flushing.

After a five-month delay, the busway was supposed to begin operation this week, but a misguided lawsuit has led to a judge temporarily halting the plan. 

The busway will speed up bus service, while making Main Street, a dense transit hub with heavy pedestrian activity, safer for everyone, especially those on foot. Over 150,000 New Yorkers take buses along Main Street every day, according to the DOT, but they’ve slowed to a crawl in recent months as more people are choosing to drive. The Main Street busway won’t ban all cars — motorists will still be allowed to make local stops—but they won’t be able to use Main Street as a throughway. 

Affordable and effective public transportation is key to the health and welfare of our essential workers.  Many of these workers are immigrants who serve our hospitals, senior centers, schools, restaurants and food pantries. With more reliable transit, it will be easier for them to earn an income and take care of their families. 

One of the consequences of the pandemic is the enormous demand for emergency assistance and relief services.

At our local pantry, La Jornada, we serve 10,000 people every week, but cannot meet the growing demand nor stem the pending humanitarian disaster. The city must do more to support the local economy and encourage more foot traffic to support Main Street’s struggling businesses. More people using buses means more people on foot — a bus trip, after all, is simply a leg in a walking trip — and will help revive Flushing by bringing a critical mass of shoppers to Main Street.

Public streets like Main Street are a public resource.  The rapid influx of luxury condo developments has created privately-owned public spaces, including private streets and private waterfront access that ultimately benefits the wealthy elite. We must reclaim the public domain from private interests — including parking garage owners and real estate developers who prioritize profits over the needs of our community. Our streets and transportation system must serve the needs of the majority of people who ride the bus, walk, and bicycle into Downtown Flushing.  

We know busways work because the Fulton Street Busway in Downtown Brooklyn turned the Fulton Mall into one of the most successful retail corridors in the entire city. We know the Main Street busway will help revitalize our community and reaffirm our commitment to the public good. It’s time to stop messing around.

As a Department of Transportation spokesperson said on Friday, “Mass transit is the future of this city. It’s the key to fighting climate change and it’ll be the engine of our long-term economic recovery.”

It’s time to bring on the busway, without delay.