Democrat blasts Mamdani’s Bronx bus lane plan, saying borough needs more than ‘crumbs’

A Democratic City Council slammed Mayor Zohran Mamdani over a bus lane redesign plan for one of the Bronx’s busiest thoroughfares — saying the Boogie Down needs investment in street safety instead of “crumbs.”

Mamdani didn’t even show up to the ceremonial groundbreaking for the bus lanes on Fordham Road Wednesday — which irked Bronx Council member Oswald Feliz who said Hizzoner’s absence showed how he felt about the borough, which needs funding for street signs, medians and more lighting.

“The bus lane project presents an opportunity to make transformative investments on Fordham Road, the busiest commercial corridor in the Bronx,” Feliz said in a statement on social media. “It is disappointing that, rather than making meaningful investments, the administration has chosen to offer crumbs.”

Feliz told The Post he protested the lack of investment in his district by skipping the administration’s ceremony, which saw officials touting the redesign will speed up the Bx12 by adding an “offset” away from the curb, with the curb lane for parking and loading.

Bronx Councilmember Pierina Sanchez also skipped the groundbreaking, saying the plan failed to address concerns she had already raised with the administration.

With Mamdani not in attendance, Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn addressed members of the press instead.

“We have heard some concerns from some of the local stakeholders, some of the electeds,” Flynn told reporters. “Right now we are moving ahead with the toolbox we can do through a bus project.”

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office insisted the administration has an “open dialogue” with the community.

“We will continue to deliver these critical projects while maintaining open dialogue with community members and elected officials.”

But Feliz said that in meetings with Mamdani aides he asked for “basic investments” along Fordham Road and walked away feeling brushed off.

“This administration scheduled meetings with no purpose other than creating the appearance that they’ve listened to the community,” Feliz said.

When he pushed for more trees and plantings in the median, Feliz said, City Hall told him it wasn’t possible because of concerns at the Department of Environmental Protection.

But when he contacted DEP directly, officials there told him they had no problem with adding greenery, Feliz claimed.

“They’ve repeatedly created obstacles to discourage the community from fighting for investments,” Feliz said of the Mamdani administration.

The Fordham Road flop isn’t the first time Mamdani has been accused of shortchanging poorer neighborhoods.

Bronx Councilmember Althea Stevens — the lone Democrat to vote against Mamdani’s $126 billion budget — blasted the mayor in June for funneling bigger investments to wealthier areas while leaving her high‑poverty district behind, arguing that “equity means directing resources where the needs are greatest.”

Mamdani and his comrades in the Democratic Socialists of America are also facing growing scrutiny over a disconnect with the concerns of black communities in the city.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards tore into the 85% white DSA on social media as a new face of “white supremacy,” accusing the group of brushing aside black and Latino communities as it hunts for more power.

“White supremacy comes in all forms,” Richards posted on social media late Sunday.