Mayor Zohran Mamdani named Mike Flynn — a former city Department of Transportation director — as the DOT commissioner at his swearing-in ceremony just after midnight Thursday.
“I can think of no better person,” Mamdani said as he introduced Flynn moments after taking the oath of office at a shuttered subway stop underneath City Hall Park.
Leading the DOT “will require someone who’s experienced, who is fluent in the landscape as it is, who is ambitious and imaginative towards the landscape as it could be,” Mamdani said.
Flynn worked at the DOT for nearly a decade, from 2005 to 2014, starting as a project manager for the agency’s pedestrian and bicycle programs before rising through the ranks to a director position.
He will replace former Mayor Eric Adams’ appointee, current transportation commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.
Flynn praised the new mayor and cited his childhood fascination with the city’s diverse infrastructure as a testament to his passion.
“I know firsthand that 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 as he stood alongside Mamdani.
He left the agency in 2014 and joined TYLin, an engineering and consulting firm that specifically works on infrastructure and transportation projects, according to his LinkedIn. He is currently the firm’s vice president and sector manager for the New York area.
A large part of Flynn’s work will likely be centered around Mamdani’s lofty goal to overhaul public transportation in the Big Apple, including plans to make the city’s buses free for all New Yorkers.
Riders Alliance, a grassroots organization that advocates for better public transport in the city, echoed Mamdani’s aspirations for fare elimination while celebrating Flynn’s nomination.
“A city that works for bus riders is a city that works for everyone, and we’ll be looking to this administration to make that standard real — and to hold the entire system accountable for getting riders where they need to go, quickly and reliably,” the nonprofit’s executive director, Betsy Plum, wrote in a statement.
Plum also highlighted Flynn’s membership with the grassroots organization.
