NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's plan to speed up buses will benefit from Mike Flynn leading the DOT, "Gridlock Sam" says
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is banking on his pick to lead the Department of Transportation to help him with his plan to make buses faster.
Mamdani's first move in office was to name Mike Flynn as his transit commissioner, doing so as the new mayor took the oath of office at a private event just as the clock struck midnight on Thursday.
"I am so proud to have him joining our administration," Mamdani said.
"New York City DOT has some of the most passionate, talented, and committed public servants in the country, if not the world, and they're ready to think big and deliver big on our ambitious agenda," Flynn said.
How Flynn can help Mamdani make buses faster
That agenda includes making buses faster, but New Yorkers have heard similar proposals before. The question is: what can this administration do to actually deliver? CBS News New York's Tim McNicholas asked the city's best-known transit expert, Sam Schwartz.
Flynn worked for the city's DOT for nearly a decade before former Commissioner Schwartz, a.k.a. "Gridlock Sam, hired him at his consulting firm, he says, for several good reasons.
"He's first rate. He knows the streets of New York. He went to school in New York. He has the kind of depth of experience and knowledge that we need in the city of New York," Schwartz said.
Mamdani's agenda was front and center during his mayoral campaign, as he talked a lot about pushing to make buses fast and free.
Flynn won't control the MTA or its fares, but he could try to speed up New York's buses by changing traffic patterns and building more bus lanes. Schwartz said the administration cannot hesitate.
"Move quickly because as time accumulates, and this is what happened to [Eric] Adams. He came in, like, gung-ho on moving buses faster, and he fully intended to do that, and he had his DOT work on plans. And then all the opposition, all the naysayers come out, and they fight the plan. It's going to be a battle," Schwartz said.
Flynn is a member of Riders Alliance, a group that has fought for faster, more affordable buses. Betsy Plum, its executive director, praised Flynn's appointment on Thursday.
"The Mamdani administration represents actual turning of the page in that bus history, delivering the fast and free buses we've heard so much about in his campaign," Plum said.
In a city where the buses are among the slowest in the country, New Yorkers hope improvements come fast.
"I think everyone agrees we want it to be fast and consistent," resident David Givens said.
"I really hope this is a good change," Francesca Sliwa added.
Attempt to add more bike lanes likely coming, Schwartz says
Schwartz said he also expects Flynn to build more bike lanes after the Adams administration vowed to build 300 miles of bike lanes and fell well short of that goal.
City Hall says the new commissioner helped plan bicycle programs for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's transportation department.
"I always have to remind my 9-year-old to look both ways because the bikes are always coming so quickly through. So it would be nice to have a little more signage to make sure people don't get hurt by the bicycles," resident Olivia Patino said.
