Mayor Mamdani introduced his new Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn to the world at his official inauguration on Thursday morning, but a few hours later, at the ceremonial swearing-in, Streetsblog's part-team coverage of Dave Colon, Gersh Kuntzman, David Meyer and Kevin Duggan caught up with Flynn for some rapid-fire questioning. We decided to share the exchange in a partially edited interview format below to help New Yorkers get to know the 46-year-old native New Yorker and Met fan who grew up in the Jersey suburbs with a father from Jackson Heights and a mom from Greenpoint and whose uncle was an NYPD cop.
Streetsblog: Met fan, huh? You're not just saying that to get the Streetsblog bump, are you?
Mike Flynn: I grew up in New Jersey, but in 1986 I could have told you every single Mets player's name. I was in the junior fan club, all that stuff.
Streetsblog: OK, but you heard the mayor's inaugural address. You are working for an activist mayor who wants to get a lot of stuff done, including stuff that the former mayor didn't get done intentionally or otherwise. So what are your immediate priorities, given what he's told you when you talked about the job? What do you want to do right away? Repainting the Bedford Avenue bike lane? Is it appealing the 31st Street bike lane decision? What?
Flynn: A lot of community engagement, a lot of planning, went into those projects. ... Unless there's any fatal flaws, we should get them back on the board as quickly as we can. That's certainly one early priority. Clearly, fast and free buses is going to be a priority. We know DOT has had capacity challenges. We need to staff up. You know, we need to solve some of the other roadblocks, if you will, around how we implement, and all the materials that are needed, things like that.
Streetsblog: Ah, yes, those "roadblocks." You mentioned community engagement, but that's been one of the roadblocks, especially under the former mayor. So how can you be activist but not end up having one community block, say, a network of bike lanes?
Flynn: I think the mayor was very clear, right? Government needs to be competent. You need to have strong principles. We have a mandate. ... At the end of the day, we know what the challenges are, we know what many of the solutions are, and we're going to need to follow through. ... We need to rebuild trust with the community as part of it. There needs to be a faith in the process, right? Not everyone is always happy with every outcome, but I think what you need is a respect for the process. So I really want to look at if we are we doing community engagement right. Are we doing as best as we can do it in a way that's got clear goals that we're all working towards and we're doing them right.
Question (obviously Dave Colon): You know, I was at a party last night, and I was talking about the Fordham Road bus lane. People were saying they can walk faster than that bus. How fast do you think you're going to get back to getting the Fordham Road bus project back on track?
Flynn: That's definitely emblematic of where we've been in recent years and how we need to change our tactics going forward. All the projects [like Fordham Road] had lots of work going to them, and the ideas are there and, in many cases, the designs are ready. That's a very-near-term priority. We have to take them back off the shelf.
Question: You mentioned having a mayor who has your back, but we're wondering if the mayor wants a different commissioner than we've seen over the last four years? Like, how are you going to be different?
Flynn: I think probably there's two key ways: I think that we need to aim higher. We need to be bolder, more ambitious. DOT has largely remained as is for a long time. Something I'm really interested in, and I know the mayor is too, is helping government deliver better for New Yorkers, more efficiently, more effectively. So I really, I'm excited to work with my team to identify those opportunities to actually do the big ideas. But also how can we follow through more efficiently? How can we get more done use our resources more effectively and really look at how the agency works internally. It's not the sexiest, but I think that it's crucial.
Question: Let's talk about how you got introduced as the new commissioner: Mayor Mamdani, in literally his first act as mayor, trotted you out at his inauguration to give you the spotlight. On a personal level, that's kind of a huge pat on the back, shot in the arm, whatever you want to call it, from the mayor. How did that feel? We'd never seen something like that, where the DOT commissioner is the only other person who speaks at the inauguration.
Flynn: It was remarkable. And I agree, I think it really reflects this mayor's just-fundamental understanding of just how important transportation is. So it was really special, and it was really encouraging for me, because ultimately, you need a mayor who has your back to advance these things. You need the leadership to have the follow through when the time comes to make some of those tough decisions and to have those conversations with communities and stakeholders, you need that executive level support. I think last night was absolutely symbolic of that, and that the mayor is really committed to the platform that that he was elected on, to make this essential part of this administration,
Question: OK, but what's your favorite bike lane?
Flynn: I'll tell you the bike lane I use the most: Bergen Street [in Brooklyn].
Question: That's a painted lane, my friend. You named the one lane that so clearly should be a no-car street because there are more bikes than cars on that street!
Flynn: I'm also partial to the Ninth Avenue bike lane because I originally proposed it [during the Bloomberg administration]. It's the OG protected bike lane, and I still ride it because my former employer, Sam Schwartz, was on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea.
