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NEW YORK – Some of the hottest places in New York City include underground subway stations and bus stops directly above them.
According to one report, Harlem’s bus stops are the hottest in the city, with temperatures as high as 11 degrees Celsius in some places.
At many bus stops in the city it is up to ten degrees warmer than outside, according to the report by Transportation Alternatives.
According to the city’s 2024 Heat-Related Mortality Report, an estimated 350 New Yorkers die prematurely each summer due to hot weather, underscoring the urgent need for cooler spaces in the city.
Click here to jump to the report results.
NYC Heat-Related Mortality Report 2024
- Among black New Yorkers, the age-adjusted death rate from heat stress remains twice as high as among white New Yorkers (nyc.gov).
- In neighborhoods where more residents lived below the federal poverty line, the death rate was higher than in wealthier neighborhoods (nyc.gov).
Bus stop with digital sign showing temperature of 102 degrees, Manhattan, New York. (Photo by: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
According to the city’s heat-related mortality report, black New Yorkers are at higher risk of dying from heat stress, with their death rate being twice as high as that of white New Yorkers.
The Transportation Alternatives report found that most of the coolest bus stops in the city have shaded bus stops and are usually located near street trees, green space or a body of water.
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Where are the hottest stops in NYC?
Due to continuously rising temperatures, the city has seen an increase in heat-related deaths over the past decade.
The report found that the most popular stops are in communities with the most riders – most of whom are black, Latino and Asian – as well as in high-poverty areas in Queens and the Bronx.
The stops most affected by the heat were those along Frederick Douglass, Adam Clayton Powell, 116th Street and Malcolm X.
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 12: An MTA bus stops to pick up passengers on 34th Street at Herald Square in New York City on November 12, 2023. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
According to the study, only one in five bus stops in the city has a bus stop and only one in three stops is located near trees.
These factors contribute to the higher temperatures at bus stops.
The hottest bus stops in the report were almost 15 degrees warmer than the coolest stops.
According to the report, the hottest bus stops had the most commuters and the fewest shelters or shaded areas.
Bronx residents use the bus more frequently than residents of any other borough in the report, and three or four stops were hotter than the citywide average.
The report identified 100 bus stops and three bus routes that require urgent action.
Busy bus stop in front of a pawn shop in Queens, New York. (Photo: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
They all had the following in common:
- There is a lack of bus stops everywhere.
- 64% of streets have no street trees within 25 feet.
- On average, each stop had one-third fewer alternative transportation options within a five-minute walk than the average New York City bus stop.
- The average bus speed is only 7.6 miles per hour, below the MTA average of 8.3 miles per hour.
- Almost two thirds of them are in districts 8, 11, 17, 42 and 45.
These counties also have asthma rates 88 percent higher than the county average—a condition that, the report points out, is made worse by heat.
The report says bus stops, shade trees and efficient service would help reduce temperatures at stops, making passengers safer and cooler.
They recommend that priority be given to establishing bus stops at New York City’s most popular bus stops and that bus routes be improved to minimize wait times.
Click here to see how hot your stop is.
