Zohran Mamdani Appoints Street Safety Zealot Ben Furnas to Reshape City Driving, Sparking Cheers from Pedestrians and Groans from Gridlock Warriors
The honk of impatient taxis and the whir of Citi Bikes cut through the crisp November air in downtown Manhattan on November 28, 2025, as 34-year-old Queens teacher Sofia Ramirez pedaled home from work, her basket overflowing with library books and a thermos of coffee, the city’s relentless rhythm a familiar companion to her daily commute. For Ramirez, a mother of two who ditched her car after a 2023 parking ticket fiasco, the streets of New York felt like a living puzzle—bike lanes that vanished at intersections, buses crawling behind double-parked delivery vans, sidewalks narrowed by scaffolding that turned strolls into slaloms. But as she locked her bike outside her Astoria apartment, her phone buzzed with news that promised a shift: Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani had appointed Ben Furnas, executive director of the street safety group Transportation Alternatives, to a key role on his transportation transition team. “Finally, someone who gets it—fewer cars, more space for us real New Yorkers,” Ramirez said, her smile widening as she scrolled the announcement, envisioning wider paths for her kids’ strollers and buses that actually arrived on time. For Ramirez and countless commuters weary of the grind, Furnas’s selection feels like a breath of fresh air—a signal that Mamdani’s affordability agenda might just unclog the arteries of a city where traffic costs $10 billion yearly in lost productivity, per a 2024 INRIX study. Yet for drivers like 52-year-old cabdriver Carlos Mendoza, stuck in a Midtown snarl as he read the headline, it’s a harbinger of hassle: “Car-hater in charge? My livelihood’s on wheels—hope he remembers that.”
Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the November 4, 2025, mayoral election—a stunning upset that saw the 34-year-old democratic socialist from Queens topple establishment favorite Brad Lander with 52% of the vote—promised a bold reimagining of the nation’s largest city, from rent freezes to free buses. Sworn in January 1, 2026, Mamdani has wasted no time assembling his transition team, announcing 17 committees on November 24 with over 400 appointees spanning housing, public safety, and economic development. Among them, Furnas’s role on the transportation advisory group stands out, a nod to Mamdani’s campaign pledge to “make streets work for people, not cars.” Furnas, 42, a lanky policy wonk with a background in urban planning from Yale and a decade at Transportation Alternatives, has long been a thorn in the side of vehicular dominance. As the group’s executive director since 2020, he has championed “Vision Zero” expansions—street redesigns that slashed pedestrian deaths 30% in pilot neighborhoods—and lobbied for congestion pricing, the $15 toll on Manhattan south of 60th Street that launched in June 2025 amid cheers from cyclists and groans from commuters. “New Yorkers deserve streets that prioritize safety and equity, not endless traffic jams,” Furnas said in a November 28 statement, his words a roadmap for Mamdani’s team, which includes DOT veterans Ryan Russo and Nivardo Lopez as potential commissioner picks.
For Ramirez, who bikes 5 miles daily from Astoria to her school in Long Island City, Furnas’s appointment evokes a sense of possibility—a city where her 7-year-old can walk to the corner store without dodging double-parked Ubers, where buses run on time enough to make after-school pickup a joy rather than a race. “I gave up my car after tickets ate my paycheck—now, with Ben on board, maybe my girls can too, without the stress,” she said over a park bench lunch with fellow parents, her thermos steaming in the fall air as they swapped stories of fender-benders and fare hikes. Ramirez’s commute, a 45-minute pedal through Queensbridge’s shadow and past the RFK Bridge’s snarl, embodies the urban squeeze: Congestion pricing has cut traffic 15% since June, per MTA data, but bike lanes remain patchwork, and sidewalks clogged with e-scooters turn strolls into slogs. Furnas’s advocacy—pushing for 200 miles of protected bike lanes and bus priority routes—aligns with Mamdani’s “free and fast buses” pledge, a $1.4 billion plan to reimburse the MTA for forgone fares while expanding routes 20%. “It’s about reclaiming the city for families like mine—less exhaust, more exercise, more time together,” Ramirez added, her optimism tempered by the reality of a metropolis where 60% of households own cars, per a 2024 NYC DOT survey, and gridlock costs the average commuter 102 hours yearly.
Mamdani’s transportation vision, unveiled during his campaign with endorsements from Riders Alliance and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, centers on affordability and equity, promising to lower speed limits citywide to 20 mph and allocate $500 million for sidewalk widenings. Furnas, whose group released an 80-point “Road to Affordability” agenda on November 16, 2025, calling for fully staffed DOT teams to tackle “the slowest buses in the nation” and obstructed intersections, brings a track record of wins: Under his watch, Transportation Alternatives helped secure $100 million for bike infrastructure in the 2024 city budget, reducing cyclist injuries 25% in protected lanes. “Mayor-elect Mamdani has a generational mandate to transform the streets,” Furnas said in the report, his words a blueprint for a city where pedestrians and cyclists claim 40% of space from cars, up from 20% today. Yet for Mendoza, a 52-year-old cabbie from the Bronx whose 12-hour shifts net $1,200 weekly after gas and tolls, the shift stirs unease. “Ben’s all bikes and buses—great for tourists, but my family’s on my fares. If cars get squeezed, so do we,” Mendoza said, his dash cam capturing the Midtown crawl as he idled behind a double-parked van, the radio droning on Mamdani’s plans. Mendoza’s life, a cycle of yellow cabs and yellowed photos of his immigrant parents, hinges on the roads Furnas seeks to rewire, his fears echoed in a 2025 Taxi Workers Alliance survey showing 70% of drivers worried about reduced pickups under anti-car policies.
The appointment, part of Mamdani’s 17 transition committees announced November 24 with over 400 experts, signals a departure from the Adams era’s car-friendly concessions, like widened lanes for delivery vans amid e-commerce booms. Mamdani, sworn in January 1, 2026, has not ruled out keeping DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez but sources say Furnas’s influence points to bolder shifts, with Russo and Lopez as commissioner frontrunners. “Excellence guides this transition—these leaders will hit the ground running on affordability,” Mamdani said, his words uniting budget vets like Melanie Hartzog with transit hawks like Furnas. For Vasquez, a Queens high schooler who bikes to class, it’s exciting: “Ben’s group fought for my safe route home—no more dodging trucks. Zohran gets us.” Vasquez’s commute, a 3-mile ride through Jackson Heights’ bustle, has seen crashes drop 18% since 2023 bike lane expansions, a Furnas-led win that saved her friend’s life in a 2024 hit-and-run.
Public response, from bike co-ops to cab stands, forms a mosaic of enthusiasm and apprehension, a city debating its soul amid the holiday rush. In a Brooklyn co-op, 28-year-old activist Jordan Barowitz cheered: “Ben’s the real deal—streets for people, not parking lots.” Barowitz, whose group Riders Alliance pushed Mamdani’s free bus plan, sees it as equity: 40% of low-income New Yorkers lack cars, per a 2024 DOT study. But in a Bronx garage, Mendoza and colleagues griped over coffee: “War on drivers? That’s war on our jobs—$15 tolls already kill fares.” Social media captured the pulse: #MamdaniTransit trended with 1.5 million posts, from cyclists sharing lane victory laps to cabbies posting empty meters. A viral TikTok from a Staten Island mom, 40-year-old Lisa Thompson, garnered 2 million views: “Ben Furnas for safer walks—my toddler deserves sidewalks, not speed demons.” Thompson’s clip, filmed pushing a stroller past a pothole, highlighted the stakes—pedestrian deaths up 12% in 2025, per NYPD data.
As Mamdani’s inauguration nears, Furnas’s appointment invites a city to envision streets remade—not just faster buses and wider paths, but a New York where Ramirez’s bike ride home feels like freedom, Mendoza’s cab like livelihood. In the holiday blur of lights and lanes, the debate unfolds with care—a chance to balance wheels of all kinds, ensuring every New Yorker finds their way.
