Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good morning, Manhattan. It is a pleasure to be here with our DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Council Member Chris Marte, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Assembly Member Grace Lee, Trans Alt Director Ben Furnas, Bike New York Head Ken Podziba, Open Plans Head Sara Lind, and our World Cup Czar Maya Handa. We are here to answer one question: what makes New York City the envy of America? It's not our $9 lattes. It's not our incredible pizza. It's not our iconic rat population, who also [has] an appreciation for that same pizza that few others share. It's that when those rats want to enjoy a slice of pizza, they can bring it onto the most comprehensive transit system in America. And we are not just talking about buses. We're not just talking about trains.
We're also talking about all the ways that people get where they need to go. That includes pedestrian walkways and bike lanes. These are critical to not just maintaining a healthy transit system, but, frankly, a healthy city. And so, we are proud to gather here today to announce with DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn that DOT will immediately begin work on a critical redesign of the Brooklyn Bridge entrance in Manhattan, making it easier and safer for pedestrian and bike traffic to get on and off [the bridge]. This means that for the 30,000 pedestrians and the more than 5,600 cyclists who cross this bridge every day, that that will be a journey that will be that little bit more seamless.
Now, while DOT's installation of dedicated bike lanes in 2021 transformed the experience of crossing the bridge, what we see is that pedestrians and cyclists are still forced into a chaotic bottleneck at the Manhattan entrance. And as we look forward in just a few months, as a massive number of tourists and visitors come to our city for the iconic World Cup, this disorder at the base of this bridge [will] only grow worse. This is an opportunity to rectify something that should have been done a long time ago and also to have a lasting impact that will extend beyond the World Cup final, which we are so excited to be hosting. This redesign will build on the success of protected bike lanes, create fully separated bike and pedestrian access for the first time, and it will be ready in June before the World Cup begins.
This is an experience, frankly, that too many New Yorkers have had when they're looking to take the healthiest way to cross this bridge; it's one that comes at the expense of their peace of mind, of their sanity, and sometimes even of their safety. And today marks a day when we are meeting that challenge and delivering for New Yorkers to ensure that this continues to be a bridge that we can not only take in as a stunning view but also one that we can easily and seamlessly cross. With that being said, I'm going to pass it over to our DOT Commissioner, Mike Flynn.
Commissioner Mike Flynn, Department of Transportation: Thank you so much, Mayor Mamdani. Good morning, everybody. The Brooklyn Bridge shows what happens when we go big with an idea that just makes sense. When we built a dedicated bike path, cycling more than doubled without pulling riders from other bridges. This shows that when we invest in safe, high-quality bike infrastructure, more people use it. It's that simple. And it didn't just benefit cyclists. It created more room and a better experience for the millions of pedestrians who cross the bridge every year, many of them tourists who support our economy.
But today, the Manhattan approach is crowded, confusing, and forces pedestrians and cyclists to compete for space. So, we're redesigning it pronto. We're giving pedestrians and cyclists each the space they need, creating a safer, more comfortable approach for everyone. And we're doing it ahead of the World Cup, when even more visitors will be here, as the mayor said. Historian David McCullough once called the Brooklyn Bridge "America's Eiffel Tower."
As one of the most iconic bridges in the world, its entrance should be worthy of that status. Visiting the bridge can and should be a source of joy, not stressful to navigate. I want to thank Mayor Mamdani for his vision [and] leadership, and [for] helping DOT deliver the excellence in government that New Yorkers deserve. Now I'd like to call up Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal: Thank you, commissioner. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. What an honor to be here today to announce this improvement of cycling infrastructure that's going to benefit pedestrians, too. The statistics are really heartening that the number of cyclists have nearly tripled over the last decade. And that is making New York City the best city in the world to take a bike on a drive.
And that's something we can all be proud of. And I want to thank the mayor, because my office, Mr. Mayor, is just adjacent to that entrance onto the Brooklyn Bridge. And it is harrowing as you stand there and try to cross, as well as confusing for both cyclists and pedestrians alike.
So, as we prepare for the World Cup, this is going to make New York's cycling infrastructure and the cycling and pedestrian experience all the better. And Mr. Mayor, one more thing: as the Manhattan borough president, one of my most awesome responsibilities is to erect a welcome sign into Manhattan. And we've done that, thanks to the commissioner, on the Brooklyn Bridge. And I'd like to give you a memento of that, which says, "Welcome to Manhattan - Hello gorgeous."
Commissioner Flynn: Thank you, borough president. Next, let's hear from Council Member Christopher Marte.
Council Member Christopher Marte: Good morning. I want to thank the mayor, the DOT commissioner, all the elected officials, especially my co-Councilor who shares the bridge with me, Council Member Lincoln Restler, who's here with his bike helmet, too. We all have friends that do a semester in Barcelona, who go to Copenhagen, go to Paris for a weekend, come back as semi-urban planners, talk about their bike lanes, the human scale of development, [and] just the overall quality of life. This summer, we have the opportunity where the world is going to come to New York. And instead of just talking about their experience at the arena, [or] at the stadium, they're going to be talking to their friends about how they got there and how they traveled around our city.
And this improvement that's been in the works for over two years is going to really change people's commitment to cycling. We always have a conversation in my office that says one block that doesn't have a bike lane or that makes it hard can stop someone from cycling an hour, 30 minutes to work [and] 30 minutes to visit their friends. And this is a crucial step to make sure that cycling culture changes, but we have the infrastructure to support people who want to get on their bikes.
And so, I want to thank everyone that's here. I want to thank all the future fans of Cristiano Ronaldo when he wins the World Cup or Júnior from Brazil. But thank you again, mayor. I know you took those words to heart, but I'm glad that you're doing this, and I'm glad that the world is going to be able to talk about New York City in a different light.
Commissioner Flynn: Thanks so much, council member. Next up, I'd like to welcome Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives.
Ben Furnas, Executive Director, Transportation Alternatives: Good morning, everyone. Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Good morning, Commissioner Flynn. Good morning, elected officials and all of our amazing partners in the livable streets and bicycle community. We are very, very, very excited about this. You know, the Brooklyn Bridge is not just a world destination, an icon, [or] the Paris of America. I've also heard of Times Square in the sky. Ten million people from all around the world visit every day, [and] over a million cyclists' bicycle over it.
It's a critical transportation link between Brooklyn and Manhattan. As has been said, when the dedicated bike lane was installed on the bridge, cycling doubled. This is a great example of how building a high-quality bike network can make New York City a world-class bicycle city. It's also so heartening to see all of New York City mobilizing to make our streets truly the envy of the world in advance of the World Cup. It's extremely exciting for all of us. It's a beautiful day in Manhattan. Thank you all for being here, and we look forward to riding over the bridge. Thanks.
Mayor Mamdani: Brother, could I steal your DOT hat just for the Q&A portion?
[Crosstalk.]
Question: I wanted to ask you something about the QueensLink, which is a project that you've said is near and dear to your heart. You've been at rallies for it. Your budget right now has money for a piece of the QueensWay, the park, the linear park that would go in the same place. Advocates for the QueensLink have said that they have a slightly tweaked design for that park, that they would be able to do it, and it would still be able to put transit there, whereas the design happening right now would preclude that from ever happening without just ripping up the entire park.
And they've said, we need the mayor to make everybody sit down. We want to meet with him. We want to get this idea in front of him, so he at least gives it a shot. Are you willing to meet with them, talk it out, [and] see what they have going on with this so that there's a possibility of putting a train from Rockaway all the way up to Middle Village?
Mayor Mamdani: I'll definitely have my administration follow up on that. Thank you for flagging that.
Question: Two-part question. Firstly, I know a lot of other cities have announced quite detailed transit plans, other than this, for buses to stadiums and things like that. I wonder if you or the World Cup Czar could speak to other plans that you've got. And then secondly, following on from the council member's comments, [do] you have any predictions for the World Cup that you'd like to share?
Mayor Mamdani: Let me start with the first question, and then I'll go into my predictions. As an obsessed soccer fan, I was at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and I was born in Uganda in East Africa; was rooting for Ghana as they played Uruguay in the quarterfinals. I was at the game. It would be the first time that an African nation had ever reached the semifinals. And beyond Luis Suárez's violations of the laws of the game, the most difficult thing was not just crying in that stadium.
It was the two-hour wait after the game while I cried outside of the stadium, waiting for the bus to get back. And so, what we want to ensure in this city is that when a soccer fan is in despair, they can still get to where they're going. And one of our major focuses is, how do we use this opportunity to also make investments in city infrastructure that will last far longer than the World Cup?
You know, I was taken by something, actually a former colleague, Michael Asher, when he came back from the - I think it was the Paris Olympics; he wrote this op-ed about the ways in which they had used that Olympics as an opportunity to make significant transportation investments across the city. And while we don't have the luxury of time before the World Cup, we still do have at least a few months. And so, we're looking to make these kinds of investments.
And also, I'll just pass it over to both our World Cup Czar and our DOT commissioner, looking to make the kinds of changes to ensure that transit continues to be reliable and also meets the needs of fans who are going to be coming here. Because too often we see in cities across the world that it's as if city government is taken by surprise when fans show up for a game and that they want to get there and that they want to get back.
Maya Handa, World Cup Czar: Thank you for the question. I really want to assure folks that we are well aware of the issues that folks have faced getting to MetLife in the past for big events, and that coordination has been ongoing for almost two years, both regionally and interagency, with our partners at New Jersey Transit, Port Authority, and so forth, to both develop dedicated transit plans, but also backup plans in case of contingency situations.
Mayor Mamdani: You know, it's not going to be Portugal.
Question: Last week, Janno Lieber was asked about the idea of making buses free during the World Cup. And, you know, I know that's not a plan that you publicly said you were considering, but there were reports that you were considering it. And basically, you said, like, "Oh, I haven't had any conversations about that." So, do you have a reaction to that?
Mayor Mamdani: I'll just say that we continue to believe in the importance of making buses fast and free in this city, and we are heartened by the fact that that is a call that many New Yorkers support, including elected officials at the state level. In both the Assembly and the Senate One-Houses, there was support for the introduction of making a number of buses free. And here we are in New York City, ensuring that we also make buses fast.
And so together we can deliver on this. Those conversations in the budget, they continue. We're heartened by them because we see the necessity of delivering a kind of public transit system here in New York City, one that has so often been forgotten in terms of our bus network and making it the focus of many of our efforts here.
Question: Good morning. [I have] a question about the City Council's legislature bills passing yesterday on the buffer zone. Just wondering if you've spoken to Speaker Menin since those bills were voted on and then also if you have plans of signing them or vetoes.
Mayor Mamdani: So, the Speaker and I are in regular conversation. I'll say that when it comes to this legislation, I'm aware of the serious concerns that New Yorkers have raised regarding these bills limiting New Yorkers' constitutional rights, and I will consider those concerns in my decision-making.
I'm always looking forward to charting a course in this city that protects the right to prayer and the right to protest. And these are pieces of legislation that have had significant amendments from the time in which they were initially proposed to when they were passed, and I look forward to now reviewing the final version of both of these bills.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Mamdani: By the legal timeline that I have to.
Question: A couple big rallies this weekend. We know you're not going to the one on Sunday with Bernie Sanders, but there's also the No Kings rally tomorrow. Some of your colleagues up here, I think, are going to be doing demonstrations, going to rallies before it and participating in that rally. Do you think that's an effective way to push back against aspects of the Trump administration, and what are you doing tomorrow? Are you going to be participating?
Mayor Mamdani: I'll be honest. I often don't even know what I'm doing in 15 minutes, so I will get back to what exactly I'm doing tomorrow. I think that rallies are an incredibly effective way for New Yorkers to both organize together and make it clear what their vision is for this city, for this state, [and] for this country. And I think that what we've seen is that there's an attempt to make many in our city feel as if they are alone when they believe that ICE has no place in our city.
When they believe that every single New Yorker who lives in this city belongs in this city and should be made to feel as such. And these rallies are also an opportunity to realize that you are not in the minority when you have those beliefs. You are, in fact, a part of a growing coalition of people who want to see a shred of decency, dignity, and humanity come back to our city and our country's politics.
Question: I wanted to follow up about the No Kings [rally]. You know, this week ICE acknowledged in court papers that they were not supposed to be arresting people at 26 Federal Plaza. I'm wondering, have you reached out to President Trump or texted him about that, how to get him out of there, [or] what the changes are there? And then I know earlier this week you announced a small list of savings when it comes to the budget, but those were already - I believe, my understanding is - baked into the preliminary budget you already announced. So, I'm wondering, does that mean that we're going - is it safe to expect more cuts then? Because the $5.4 billion gap is still there, and the $1.7 billion you announced didn't go towards that. So, I'm just wondering how you plan to get the $5 billion down.
Mayor Mamdani: So, in the preliminary budget, we allocated $1.7 billion in savings. We provided a directive to each agency and department to find with a lens towards efficiency and cutting waste and any instance of fraud. And so, the examples that we provided to New Yorkers are just some of the few that have resulted from those chief savings officers doing those investigations. That is to achieve that mandate of $1.7 billion. The $5.4 billion is the current gap that we face between where we are and what we need to balance the budget.
We continue to be hopeful about the nature of the conversations we're having with our partners in Albany to ensure that we not only eliminate that budget gap, but [also] do it in a manner that meets a structural crisis with structural solutions. And that is something that will continue that conversation over the next weeks and months. I've long said that I believe that the form of that solution should be raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, the most profitable corporations who can afford to pay that little bit more, and ending the drain that has long characterized the city's relationship with the state.
Question: [Inaudible] ICE at 26 Federal Plaza. Have you had any conversations with President Trump about getting them out of there? What's the situation there? It seems that constitutionally, they can't be arresting people here. I mean, what is the city doing?
Mayor Mamdani: I think first and foremost, we're making clear that no one is above the law in this city, that everyone has to follow the rule of law. And I have made clear to the president, both in our private conversations and our public conversations, about the fact that I believe that ICE is a rogue agency. It's a reckless one. It's one that delivers nothing towards the furthering of the cause of public safety. And I've also been public about my belief that ICE is an entity that should be abolished.
And that is critically important in our city, where we've seen too many New Yorkers living in fear of even going to what would otherwise be routine immigration check-ins. And I was actually standing next to former Comptroller Brad Lander just a few nights ago, where he was speaking about this new finding and the fact that it has taken so much activism from so many New Yorkers to even get to this place. And what we've had in the interim is a federal entity that has been operating with a level of impunity. And that has to come to an end.
Question: I have two quick questions, a budget one and then a very off-topic one. So, on the budget. The governor's considering making changes to the Tier 6 pension, you know, system. It would have an effect on city workers when they retire and sort of [have a] fewer budget and head count. Are you - is this on your radar at all? Are you talking to the governor and her team about anything you would like to see done? And then separately, I want to go back to some comments you made earlier this month about self-determination, just sort of generally speaking. And I was wondering, how would you overlay that worldview with the case of Staten Island? And would you support a referendum if they wanted to secede?
[Crosstalk.]
Mayor Mamdani: Let me go with your first question, and then I'll go to your second question. On the first question, I've long said that I think there need to be changes to Tier 6 because we need to make it as easy as possible for New Yorkers to enter a life of public service. And we're looking forward to seeing what those changes are and their proposal. And we believe we can do these kinds of things as long as we're - and we can do them in tandem with everything else that we're pursuing in Albany, which also means putting our city back on firm financial footing.
Look, I am someone who loves the fact that we're a city of five boroughs. I love the fact that Staten Island is a part of this city and it's not just one part of the city. It's in many ways a glimmer of what draws so many to this city. As a city where we are now the most expensive in the United States of America, Staten Island has for some time been one of the last places where New Yorkers can dream of being homeowners. It's the shining example of what free public transit can look like.
It is the home to one of the greatest rap groups in American history. It is also a place where you can get the best Sri Lankan food in New York City. It is so many different things. And I would love to continue to be the mayor of five boroughs, not four boroughs. And I know that, you know, there will be disagreements when it comes to politics and policies. One thing that I will never lose sight of, though, is what makes this such a beautiful city is every single one of the people that calls it home. And I'm so proud that I get to be the mayor of a city that also has Staten Island as one of those parts. Thank you.
