New York City School Bus Umbrella Services, ArtBridge, and New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund Unveil Community-Led Bronx Mural to Champion Clean Electric School Buses and Healthier Neighborhoods

This mural is a part of the NYCSBUS’s initiative to electrify school buses in the Bronx and beyond. Photos available here

Today, the New York City School Bus Umbrella Services (NYCSBUS), public arts nonprofit ArtBridge, and New York State environmental nonprofit, New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCVEF), unveiled a mural at 1101 Zerega Avenue in the Bronx. ArtBridge selected local artist Daniel Bonilla, known as ARTMANDAN, to design and create the installation. The mural itself brings awareness to the community benefits of clean electric bus transportation. Through a series of integrated workshops with local youth and Daniel, the artist, ArtBridge made the creative visions behind this mural a reality. 

The mural features the iconic yellow buses that have been synonymous with school bus transportation for nearly a century, and is part of an overall project supported by an $8 million award from the New York Clean Transportation Prizes program, administered by the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) in partnership with the NYS Department of Public Service (DPS) and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

“It’s been a privilege collaborating with Dan, NYCSBUS, and the New York League of Conservation Voters to spotlight such an important message,” said Jon Souza, ArtBridge Program Director. “Our mission at ArtBridge, with each installation, is to amplify the voices, cultures, and histories of local communities, and Dan’s mural does that with such care. This installation is more than public art: it’s a celebration of community leadership and a powerful reminder of how healthy, clean transportation options can support neighborhoods across New York City.”

Shaped by feedback from residents at the NYCHA Castle Hill Houses and through a series of public workshops at the Sonia Sotomayor Center, this vibrant, community-centered mural highlights the powerful public health benefits of electric school buses – from cleaner air and reduced pollution to healthier neighborhoods for families. Developed as a civic engagement effort within ESBB, the project connects clean transportation to environmental justice and reflects on-the-ground collaboration with residents, workers, and partners across New York City. The Clean Transportation Prize award, which was part of a nationally recognized New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) initiative and led by NYCSBUS, NYLCVEF, and their partner organizations, brings to life the first case study for large-scale school bus electrification in New York. 

“A lot of people hear about electric school buses and think it’s something happening somewhere else,” said Juan Torres, Community Engagement Manager, New York League of Conservation Voters. “Our job is to bring that conversation home and to meet people where they are – in their community – and connect it to what matters most: their kids’ health. This beautiful mural is a reflection of that work. It shows that cleaner air and safer streets aren’t out of reach – they’re something this community is taking the lead on.”

“We have loved working with ArtBridge, Dan, and the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund on this incredible project,” said, Matt Berlin, CEO, NYCSBUS, “We’ve involved children from nearby communities, made NYCSBUS a more fun place to work, and shown our neighborhood that we want to make New York better – not just by improving school busing and reducing pollution but also by beautifying our bus depots.”

Designed and painted by Bonilla, a full-time artist born and raised in New York City, the mural brings bright, inviting colors to one of the Bronx’s local bus depots. For years, Bonilla has been bringing a diverse range of public art installations to New York City. His work spans the 191 St Tunnel to the Uptown Grand Mural project in Harlem. He spent the majority of the pandemic supporting local businesses through his public artwork. In 2020, Bonilla won an award for his contributions to the Dyckman Collective, an initiative that creates artworks on themes of Latino identity, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and Dyckman and Washington Heights. 

“Having the opportunity to design and paint this mural with my friends has been such a joy, and I’m thrilled that it’s finally coming to life in the Bronx,” said Bonilla. “I am so proud to see the happiness this work will bring people each time they walk past. This mural in particular represents the hopes and desires of our neighbors. Their feedback from our workshops shaped this work, which will now, in turn, shape the neighborhood for years to come.”