Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good afternoon, everyone. I want to begin by thanking all those who have joined us today: the elected officials, advocates, community leaders and countless others who have dedicated themselves to the work of building a safer city. And I want to take a moment to recognize those who would give anything not to be here with us today: the families and loved ones of New Yorkers who were killed on our streets, who have known too much pain and anguish because of dangerous roads like this one.
On the stage, there are a number of leaders, both inside and outside of our administration. I want to recognize a few of them, in the knowledge that there are far more than I can ever name. We have our DOT commissioner, Commissioner Flynn, who is here joining us. We have Council Member Alexa Avilés, who is here with us. Our state senator, Andrew Gounardes, who is here with us. Our Assembly member, Marcela Mitaynes, is here with us. We also have the Families for Safe Streets co-chair, Fabiola Mendieta-Cuapio, who is here with us, a Sunset Park community member, as well as a CEC 20 member.
I want to thank P.S. 506 and P.S. 503 for hosting us. I also want to thank Principal Daniel Castro for all that has been done to allow for this to take place. And I want to acknowledge and thank all of the parent leaders, the NYU Langone staff, the social services organizations, the community board members, the advocates and the community members who are standing here with us today.
Fernando Trejo had four young children and cheered for the Yankees. Hugo Alexander Sinto Garcia had immigrated to our city from Guatemala and delivered bagels across Brooklyn from Bagels by the Park. Em Samolewicz loved to teach visual arts to children and yoga to adults. Clara Kang and Jiayi Zheng were nurses, both at NYU Langone Hospital, just a few blocks away. Waki Knight saw opportunity everywhere he looked; in the music he made, in the sneaker business he ran, in the food he cooked, in the young men he mentored.
The names go on and on. Abdul Bashar, Kex Un Chen, Brendan Gill, Anthony Watts, Faqiu Lin and so many more. Each of these New Yorkers was killed here in Sunset Park. Each of these New Yorkers was killed on Third Avenue, one of the most dangerous roadways in our city.
And frankly, I must say that I am tired of learning the names of New Yorkers only after they were killed in preventable crashes. I am tired of New Yorkers only having their names printed in the newspaper because of the tragedies that took their lives instead of the lives that they should have gone on to live.
I and so many others who call this city home are tired of the death and devastation that has become all too common here in southern Brooklyn, on this road where traffic screams past pedestrians and people are, frankly, afraid to cross it.
And I am struck by the words of a woman who saw the crash that took Jiayi Zheng's life: "I feel so bad. I can't take it anymore."
Seventeen people have been killed on Third Avenue over the past decade. Too many New Yorkers know someone who never made it home. Too many of our neighbors stepped out for school drop-off or to pick up groceries and woke up in the hospital. Too many parents feel a pit in their stomach each time their kids leave the house to play.
And for too long, the families of New Yorkers killed on Third Avenue have been forced to carry an immense, unending grief: the grief of mourning someone they loved with all their hearts and the heartbreak of recounting the worst days of their lives to those with the very power to deliver change, only to know that they will have to return to the same office a year later, reopen the same barely healed wounds, plead their case again and be met with the same devastating inaction.
Today, the change that so many Sunset Park residents have long called for finally arrives. I am so proud to announce that beginning next year, the Department of Transportation will heed the yearslong calls of this community and redesign more than two miles of Third Avenue, from 62nd Street to 20th Street, with pedestrian islands, improved intersections and barrier-protected bike lanes running in both directions.
As it currently stands, any pedestrian seeking to cross from one side of Third Avenue to the other has to walk 150 feet, the equivalent of half a football field, with traffic speeding by. With the new pedestrian islands, as well as sidewalk and median extensions, that distance will be cut by up to half.
This is just one part of our commitment to transforming how New Yorkers navigate Sunset Park. We are also installing a two-way, parking-protected bike lane on 60th Street between Second and Fourth avenues, connecting a gap between protected bike lanes and improving safety near two local schools.
I know that often in the past, projects like these have been announced on some distant timeframe. Progress will come, New Yorkers are promised, just in time for your children's children to be able to enjoy it. That is not the case here. We will begin work next year, and we expect to complete the redesigns by the end of 2028.
This work is part of our larger commitment to building a New York City where traffic deaths are no longer part of daily life, where dangerous drivers are no longer allowed to speed with impunity, and where the same business-as-usual approach that has killed too many of our fellow New Yorkers is no longer treated as normal.
That purpose lives at the heart of Vision Zero Reimagined, and it is our guide as we continue to strive for a city where we lower the number of traffic fatalities across the five boroughs to zero.
I'm immensely proud of the progress that we have already achieved. Since taking office in January, we have improved other dangerous roadways like McGuinness Boulevard in North Brooklyn, where Greenpoint residents - just like New Yorkers here in Sunset Park - have long called for changes to an avenue that had killed so many of their neighbors.
We lowered speed limits in hundreds of school zones with Sammy's Law, protecting thousands of children. And since we sent cease-and-desist letters to companies selling illegal e-bikes that travel across our city at dangerously high speeds, more than 20,000 of those listings have been taken down.
Today marks another great step forward, a tangible moment of progress that will protect pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike and ensure that New Yorkers can get around our city safely.
This is the work of building a better and safer city, and it is the obligation that each of us holds to our fellow New Yorkers, who deserve nothing less in return.
I will close with just one additional remark, which is a note of gratitude to all of the elected officials who represent Sunset Park. Andrew Gounardes, Alexa Avilés [and] Marcela Mitaynes have been pushing for the kind of leadership from City Hall that for too many years was missing.
And it is such a pleasure to be able to come into office as the new mayor of our city and to have an opportunity laid forward by these elected officials. And so, I want to thank them for all of the work they did alongside this community, for ensuring that we had a choice to make. And it was one of the easiest choices we could ever make.
Thank you. With that being said, I'm going to now pass it over to our Department of Transportation commissioner, Commissioner Flynn.
Mike Flynn, Commissioner, Department of Transportation: Thank you so much, Mayor Mamdani, and good afternoon, everyone. This moment has been a long time coming for Sunset Park residents, the parents at the schools along the corridor and everyone else who has advocated for a safer, more humane Third Avenue. Thank you all so much for the amount of time and passion you've dedicated to this cause.
One of the most dangerous intersections on Third Avenue is right below us, 60th Street, just outside of this school building. There have been 72 injuries, including five severe injuries and one death, over the last five years at this intersection. That's unacceptable.
This is a danger that every schoolchild must face each day when they travel to and from class, for their parents and guardians, for the schoolteachers and staff and for so many more who live and work in Sunset Park.
Every New Yorker deserves safe streets. Your ZIP code shouldn't determine whether you have a greater chance to be involved in a serious traffic crash during your commute.
Thankfully, through Vision Zero, we've been able to deliver our interventions equitably. But there are still corridors like Third Avenue that need to be addressed. Our project represents a bold transformation of Third Avenue and an evolution from the previous concepts New York City DOT put forward, based [on] years of feedback we've received.
The most notable change is that we're moving the protected bike lane from the curb to the median. This reduces conflicts between cyclists and vehicles looking to access the curb or make deliveries.
We'll be implementing in phases, starting in the portions of Third Avenue that we know are the most dangerous and present the greatest risks to New Yorkers. We look forward to refining our proposal with the community before we begin implementing next year.
I'd like to thank the talented staff at New York City DOT's research, implementation and safety team, as well as the Brooklyn Borough Commissioner's Office, for all of their amazing work on this project.
Thank you. I'd now like to call up Fabiola Mendieta-Cuapio of Families for Safe Streets to say a few words.
Fabiola Mendieta-Cuapio, Co-Chair, Families for Safe Street New York: Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Fabiola Mendieta-Cuapio. I'm the co-chair of Families for Safe Streets' executive committee. I'm also a friend and a Sunset Park community member, and part of [the] Brooklyn Community Education Council 20 and a PTA president.
Twenty years ago this week, I lost my son, Brian, to a crash. I am determined to do whatever I can to make sure that no other family experiences what mine has since we lost our incredible Brian.
Today, I dedicate my remarks to the community partners who have fought for years to see changes on Third Avenue. I stand by my brothers and sisters of Sunset Park, who are school community leaders, parents, public health advocates and health care workers who have had to travel through these dangerous streets with little ones, with our elderly community members and our seniors.
No child should have to cross eight lanes of dangerous traffic just to get to school. No senior should have to risk their life to go to the doctor, to visit a store or see friends and family.
Mayor Mamdani, Sunset Park elected officials, DOT, thank you for hearing us, that we need safety on Third Avenue. We have called for improvements for decades. Our children deserve to grow up knowing they can walk to school safely. Our health care workers, who dedicate their lives to caring for New Yorkers, deserve streets that protect them, too. And every person who calls Sunset Park home deserves to move freely through the neighborhood without fear.
For years, we have been forced to navigate dangerous streets, filled with traffic and breathe unhealthy air while waiting for the city to act. We have had to grieve loved ones who should still be with us today.
We're proud to stand with you today to say this historic neglect ends now. Third Avenue will be safer for everyone.
It is with the deepest love for our community and in honor of the advocates and community members standing here today that we celebrate a safer Third Avenue.
Thank you, and together, let's make sure no more lives are taken on Third Avenue. And I'm going to close with this: This week, we celebrate Día de los Muertos. Today is the first day of Día de los Muertos, and today we receive the ones who have passed in tragedy.
Instead of me being home today, receiving my son with my family and loved ones, I'm here today because this is personal. I want every parent to be able to receive their kids when they come back from school. But I know Brian is here today with me, smiling and saying, "Esa es mi madre." So, thank you, everyone.
Commissioner Flynn: Thank you so much, Fabiola. Next, I'd like to invite Council Member Alexa Avilés.
Council Member Alexa Avilés: Hello, everyone. As you know, I'm Council Member Alexa Avilés - really proud to represent Sunset Park, which I have called home for several decades. Many of you may not know, but Third Avenue used to be the heart of Sunset Park. Before Robert Moses decided to put this racist infrastructure here, it was the center of Sunset Park.
And so, since the implementation of this infrastructure, for decades, Third Avenue has really been a source of tremendous fear and grief in our community. We have experienced devastating heartbreak and traffic violence, including the loss of so many community members that you heard our mayor announce earlier.
For many years, this community has been working toward a responsive plan for Third Avenue that made it clear that we would not turn a blind eye to the violence that we were experiencing. We wanted to see Third Avenue become a roadway for our community that it could take ownership [of] and not a fear.
We've had conceptual plans before, but we asked this DOT and we asked our mayor to be more aggressive - to center the areas that were most problematic, that no other plan had actually addressed.
And it is really important and worth saying: those plans were not very creative. And so, we pushed forward to make sure that we wanted a responsive plan that would be a major step in the right direction for street safety in Sunset Park. The redesign will start at the most problematic portion of the avenue, and that is important to underscore, because no other in several decades wanted to address where they knew the most conflicts and the most fatalities were coming out of.
And I want to underscore that because it says a lot about this administration, who is willing to put action behind words and do the hard thing first. And so, now that we will ensure that local students and families will be able to cross the street with ease of mind, this new plan also removes the barriers for businesses on Third Avenue.
We are an industrial manufacturing community, and we also want to understand the tensions and conflicts that the trucks create. But we have an obligation to our people, our businesses and [to] everyone.
And I am so proud that this plan took that into account and has reduced the impacts on the businesses by moving the protected bike lane closer to the median. And those were such important changes.
And so, I just want to thank the administration, thank DOT and its staff members for really taking to charge the complication that is this corridor, because it is not easy. It is quite complex.
And so, we know that these changes will balance safety, access and community needs. And so, we're so excited to see the full project come to fruition and grateful again to the mayor and to the DOT team for prioritizing our community and [for] aggressively committing to get it started soon - not on my great-grandchildren- but next year. And so, we look forward to continuing our work together.
And I have to thank the principals that are here with me today, Superintendent [and] Principal Demos, who guide our families through many, many challenges, but particularly the streetscape challenge.
Thank you for protecting our children, for working with our families. You are a gem, and we are so deeply appreciative of the work that you have done every single day. And so, I am taking up too much time. It's time for a safe Third Avenue. Let's make it happen, y'all. Thank you.
Commissioner Flynn: Thank you, Council member. Next, I'd like to invite up State Senator Andrew Gounardes.
New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes: Thank you. This is an emotional day, and every time I hear Fabiola speak, I always get overcome with emotion. And I've been to far too many vigils or memorials where we try to remember the lives of those we lost to traffic violence.
I think about my own grandmother, who lost her 12-year-old daughter to a car crash way before I was even a thought, and seeing and witnessing how that tragedy stayed with her for the rest of her life.
I'm thinking about - there's a Somalian hip-hop artist named K'naan - some of you may know him. And he writes about: "How come they fixed the bridge only after someone has fallen?"
Far too often, when it comes to our streets, we respond after the fact. We respond after a tragedy occurs. We have to stop doing that. We have to stop waiting for someone to die before we take a problem seriously enough to prevent it in the first place.
That is the whole premise of what Vision Zero is all about. That is the whole premise behind all of the laws we pass up in Albany with my colleagues here and when the mayor was in the Assembly, around speed cameras and red-light cameras and the Super Speeders Act that DOT is going to be implementing later this year.
We want to prevent these things from happening in the first place. And yes, we've lost far too many neighbors here on Third Avenue - and it's too late for them and their loved ones - but make no mistake about it. What is being announced here today and what is going to happen in this community in the coming weeks and months and years will save more lives, and what a gift that is.
What an absolute - look, there is so much that sometimes government can't do. I'm sure the mayor experiences this every single day. We try to solve every problem. We try to fix everything that people are dealing with, and we try our best, but some things we just can't fix.
But when you have the opportunity to do something that you know is going to save even one life, what a gift that is. And for us not to grab that opportunity and run with it with as much gusto as we can would be criminal.
And so, I'm so deeply thankful to the mayor, to the commissioner, to this whole administration for their laser focus on Vision Zero Reimagined, for honoring a commitment they are making to this community - that they have made to this community and that they are reaffirming to this community today. - And to everyone standing behind me for the countless hours of meetings and Zooms and agonizing and pleading and head-scratching that led us to this moment. We would not be here without each and every one of you, and you have made this possible. So, thank you very much, everyone.
And I, as a parent myself - who every time my sons are on their scooters, the pit in my stomach gets heavier and heavier. Every time I try to cross a street with a stroller, and I have to wonder, "Will that car stop at the red light?"
This is personal, because it's not only in the crashes that we should evaluate street safety. And it's not only in the serious injuries and - God forbid - the fatalities. It's the number of near misses. It's the number of times you have to jump back when you're already on the curb because a car is speeding recklessly. Plans like this will make that better. So, thank you, everyone.
Commissioner Flynn: Thank you, senator. Next up, very happy to introduce Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes.
Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes: Good afternoon, everyone. Today is an important moment for Sunset Park. After years of organizing, speaking out, attending meetings and demanding action, the city is finally moving forward with a plan to make Third Avenue safer.
This is a victory for our community, and it is a reminder of what happens when residents refuse to give up on the changes their neighborhoods deserve.
For far too long, Third Avenue has put pedestrians, cyclists, workers, families and our neighbors at risk. Crossing the street should never feel like a matter of life or death. Yet, our community has experienced far too many preventable tragedies. These losses are not inevitable. We know that safer street designs can save lives, and our community has been demanding those changes for years.
Today's announcement did not happen on its own. It came because Sunset Park residents, local organizations, business owners, workers and advocates continue to show up, share their experience and push the city to do better. Their voices mattered, their advocacy mattered, and their help made it impossible to ignore the urgent need for change.
We welcome the city's commitment to moving forward with protected bike lanes, shorter pedestrian crossings and other improvements that prioritize the safety of everyone who uses this corridor.
But we also know that the announcement is only the beginning. We need to see these plans implemented and continued communication with the community that fought so hard to make that happen.
As your Assembly member, I will continue standing with Sunset Park residents to ensure pedestrian safety remains a priority and our community has a voice in shaping those changes. Our neighbors deserve streets where they can walk to school, get to work, visit local businesses and come home safely to their families.
Today, we celebrate this progress, we remember those we have lost and we honor the community members who never stopped fighting for safer streets.
I'd like to thank the Community Board; CB 7 Transportation Committee Chair Katie Walsh; Transportation Alternatives; my colleagues; Senator Gounardes, Council Member Alexa Avilés; the DOT commissioner; and, of course, our mayor.
Sunset Park spoke up, and the city is moving. Now we must make sure the progress leads to real change and safer streets for everyone. Thank you.
Question: How are you, mayor? So, you have long said, and Commissioner Flynn has long said, that the principal danger to pedestrians on the roads of New York are cars and truck drivers. And you mentioned it again today.
But the NYPD has decreased its Vision Zero moving violations issued to car drivers by 41 percent since 2021. And instead, it's increasing its focus on cyclists, and I'm reading this from the NYPD, as they put it to, quote, "address the lethal challenge of new e-mobility devices."
So, given what you've said about the lethal challenge of cars and truck drivers, why is your police department carrying out policies that seem to be contrary to your own statements?
Mayor Mamdani: So, our conversations are always continuing when it comes to the NYPD's traffic enforcement. One of the things that we were proud to do early on in our tenure was to change the different ways in which we were treating infractions by drivers as well as cyclists, creating a consistent level of parity there.
The other aspect of this is that we are looking more and more to expand all the tools of enforcement that we have. You heard the state senator say it briefly in his remarks, but we are incredibly appreciative of the tools that champions like those on this stage have helped to deliver to the city. Including, those of red-light cameras, because they have been found to be effective not only in catching those who are committing those traffic infractions but - more importantly - in driving down the number of those infractions.
We've also seen this with ABLE, or what is now known as ACE - the effective impact that it is having on those very areas.
Separate from enforcement, I do also want to say that it is critically important for us to be pursuing infrastructure changes - transforming the streetscape - because so much of the streetscape also incentivizes certain infractions.
We want to make sure that what we are incentivizing is safety and that we are expecting there to be a mistake every now and then from someone who is operating their bicycle or their car or whatever it may be, and that that mistake doesn't cost somebody's life.
And so, I want to really appreciate the work of our commissioner and the entire DOT in ensuring that this is a plan that takes seriously the concerns that businesses put forward about conflict at the curb and did not use it as a justification to reduce safety for cyclists or pedestrians - instead using it as an opportunity for imagination of reciting those same bike lanes toward the median.
Question: [Inaudible.] Are they prioritizing the right type of enforcement?
Mayor Mamdani: That is a continued conversation. The goal is always to protect every New Yorker, no matter their mode of transit.
Question: Hi, Commissioner. Joe Torres from Channel 7. Congratulations, first of all, on doing these necessary changes. In the process of getting this done and approved, did you run into any jurisdictional challenges or obstacles with the New York State DOT in terms of making it happen? And if so, what were they, and how did you overcome them?
Commissioner Flynn: Thanks for that question. No, we have a great partnership and working relationship with our state partners, including State DOT. The fact that they need to be able to have access to maintain the structure was absolutely one of our design considerations. And so, we made sure that we coordinated with them on that.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: Midterms [are] less than a week away. The president [is] barnstorming the country, AOC [is] barnstorming the country. Do you plan on barnstorming the country, and do you have any predictions for these upcoming elections? Will Democrats take the House and Senate, and will you support - I know it's like a triple-loaded question - will you support Hakeem Jeffries for speaker? You have considerable influence with many predicted new incoming members of the House.
Mayor Mamdani: Yes, to your third question. To your second question, I'm hopeful. I'm hoping and praying that Democrats take back the House and that we win the Senate as well.
And this is always that time where hope and anxiety meet, and it is a question of who prevails. What I would always say to others is that hope will not win the election. However, the action that comes from hope can.
And this is really a moment where there are a lot of elections that are very, very close and could really be decided over the next week or so.
In terms of barnstorming, my plan is to barnstorm New York City. It's been a real pleasure to be going alongside Governor Hochul and canvassing for her reelection. People are excited by a track record of delivering universal childcare for 2-year-olds for the first time in our city's history. That is something that would not have been possible without her support.
They are shocked by her opponent's insistence that if he were to win, he would cancel that program and his labeling of the parents who benefit from it as lazy and sitting at home and watching "The View."
And finally, we've also been having a lot of conversations around artificial intelligence, and one thing that I've really appreciated about the governor is the moratorium that she put in place for the construction of large-scale data centers.
And what you've also heard from her opponent is a continued insistence that data centers are something that should be a key part of what the immediate, medium-term and long-term future of the state is. And it is completely out of step with that of the people of the state, two-thirds of whom are in opposition to the construction of those data centers.
Question: Just to clarify the travel piece of it - just New York City? You won't be going up to, like, NY-17 or even NY-21 or any in-state travel?
Mayor Mamdani: As of now, my focus is on the five boroughs. That's where it's tended to be. I'm excited for it.
Question: I have a couple of questions. Did the NYPD commissioners sign off on you using the NYPD Police Academy gym in Queens to play late-night basketball? And if not, who told your office that it was an OK use of the space? And then secondly, who have you been playing these games with?
Mayor Mamdani: Five people who are better than me at basketball, which is also not very difficult. What I will say is there are a lot of people who have come away from that article thinking that I'm much better at basketball than I am.
But when it comes to your question, I'd always been told that late-night pickup at this facility would be of no disruption to recruits, and I would never want to interfere with training at the Academy. And if my use of the facility were to ever cause a disruption, then I would find somewhere else to play.
Question: Two quick ones about horse carriages. That was passed by the City Council last week. Will your administration pursue offering some form of compensation for those in the industry?
And secondly, as you know, the legislation leaves a lot of the technical issues in terms of what's next in your court for your administration to figure out. Was that your preference and something you had requested in conversations to be able to take the lead on figuring out different jobs for horse carriage drivers?
Mayor Mamdani: I think to your first question: yes. To your second question: our preference throughout all of the conversations was how to sunset this industry while protecting the livelihoods of the workers who have built their lives around this industry.
And so, that is what a lot of the focus is of our internal-facing conversations - is how to fulfill that for every single one of those who've been building their lives around this.
Question: What might that compensation look like?
Mayor Mamdani: I think that's the subject of the conversation, but it is one that we want to be real and tangible.
Question: Edric Robinson with News 12. Just about the intersection here - were the lights considered? Because some of the neighbors are telling me the timing of the lights was an issue. More than anything else, they felt like it was too fast. Was that considered when the plan went in place to redesign this Third Avenue?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, with that, I'm going to ask if the DOT commissioner is still present, that he can come and speak to you about the specificity of the lights. No, I think he's off to continue the work of DOT. We'll get back to you on the question of the lights. Actually, before we go to that, I've just heard from the esteemed council member that, yes, that was a part of the consideration. That is a part of the plan.
Question: Hello, Mr. Mayor. It's Elijah Westbrook from CBS News New York. So, this question is actually on behalf of Marcia Kramer, who couldn't be here today. I'm just going to read it verbatim. She wants to know why you are looking to replace Ms. Linda Tigani from the Commission on Racial [Equity]? There are reports that you had a tumultuous relationship with her. Can you talk about that?
Mayor Mamdani: Absolutely. You know, Linda has served a full term of three years in this position, and even though that term has come to an end, we all owe her a debt of gratitude for the work that she has done to advance racial equity across the city.
And alongside the City Council, we have agreed to extend her term to next summer. And, we're excited to work with the same Council to put forward Christopher Alexander as the next commissioner, to pick up the mantle that Linda is going to leave behind and to continue to provide the steadfast leadership that the commission deserves, as well as that New Yorkers deserve.
And just a little bit about Christopher: He's someone who has spent his career advancing this very cause of racial equity, someone who has been leading the NAACP New York State Conference, as well as the work that he did to implement the legalization of cannabis across the state. And I'm confident in his abilities to advance this work, as well as his ability and capacity to hold us accountable should we waver in it.
Question: I wanted to ask you about the CURB Act that's causing some controversy in the City Council. This is something that you've been after when it comes to the SRG and disbanding them.
I wanted to know your position on that bill. Many of your allies in the Council are pushing for this. I mean, do you think that this bill should come up for at least a hearing in the Council? Do you support the bill? And where do you stand as of today on disbanding the SRG?
Mayor Mamdani: So, I continue to be where I've been in support of disbanding the SRG, in support of decoupling our city's response from terrorism threats from its response to First Amendment activity.
And that continues to be the subject of internal conversations and a commitment that we will fulfill for New Yorkers to protect their First Amendment rights while also keeping them safe.
And when it comes to Council Member Ossé's legislation, it is one that we are in support of in spirit. And we've been having conversations around specific language, but we're excited to see the work that he's been doing and the work the Council members have been doing to that end.
Thank you so much.
