New York City Department of Transportation

The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York CityNew York City Charter § 2901; "There shall be a department of transportation, the head of which shall be the commissioner of transportation." responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. The NYCDOT established in 1977 under Mayor Abraham Beame through the consolidation of other city agencies, including the former Transportation Administration. Mike Flynn is the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, and was appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani on January 1, 2026. The agency has a training center in eastern Queens.

Responsibilities The Department of Transportation's responsibilities include day-to-day maintenance of the city's streets, highways, bridges, sidewalks, street signs, traffic signals, and street lights. DOT supervises street resurfacing, pothole repair, parking meter installation and maintenance, and municipal parking facility management. DOT also operates the Staten Island Ferry. DOT is the exclusive provider of day-to-day operations and maintenance on state-maintained roads and highways in city limits, while major repairs and capital improvements on state-owned roads are performed by the State DOT (NYSDOT). Both DOT and NYSDOT reserve the right to install signage, signals, and other roadway features on state highways, which then become maintained on a daily basis by DOT. DOT sets the speed limit on all roads and highways in the city, including those owned by NYSDOT.

DOT is also responsible for oversight of transportation-related issues, such as authorizing jitney van services and permits for street construction. DOT also advocates for transportation safety issues, including promotion of pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Its regulations are compiled in title 34 of the New York City Rules.

Traffic and street lights The first traffic lights in New York City originated from traffic towers installed along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in the 1910s. The first such towers were installed in 1920 and were replaced in 1929 by bronze traffic signals. , the DOT oversaw 12,460 intersections citywide with traffic lights. By 2017, the DOT controlled nearly 13,000 signalized intersections, almost all of which had pedestrian signals; of these, over half (7,507) had countdown timers for pedestrians. In addition, 635 signalized intersections under the DOT's control had exclusive pedestrian phases .

, the DOT maintained 548 accessible pedestrian signals for blind and visually impaired pedestrians. The first such signals were installed in 1957, but few accessible signals were added for the next half-century. In 2021, a federal judge ruled that the DOT had to install accessible signals at 9,000 intersections; the DOT plans to install these signals through 2031. All remaining intersections are planned to have accessible signals by 2036.

The DOT maintains 250,000 streetlamps . Most of them are LED lamps, installed between 2013 and 2018.

One of the larger groups of traffic restrictions implemented by the DOT is in Midtown Manhattan, where the DOT maintains a system of "thru streets" and split traffic-signal phases to prevent congestion on west–east streets.

Organization

The agency is organized as follows:

Commissioner First Deputy Commissioner Sidewalks & Inspection Management Staten Island Ferry Bridges Roadway Repair & Maintenance Transportation Planning & Management Traffic Operations Permit Management & Construction Control Fleet Services Borough Commissioners Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Manhattan Borough Commissioner Bronx Borough Commissioner Queens Borough Commissioner Staten Island Borough Commissioner Executive Deputy Commissioner Human Resources & Facilities Management Technology Budget & Capital Program Management Grants & Fiscal Management Chief Strategy Officer Communications Policy Intergovernmental & Community Affairs

Management and budget As of 2017, DOT had the budget and staff as follows:FY 2017 City Budget, page 334E, New York City Office of Management and Budget

DivisionNumber of EmployeesBudget (millions)Executive598$116.8 Highway Operations1492$277.8Transit Operations694$91.8Traffic Operations1418$353.3Bureau of Bridges858$106.3Total5060$943.3

Bridges The DOT operates 794 roadway and pedestrian bridges throughout New York City, including 25 movable bridges. The agency's portfolio includes most of the East River and Harlem River bridges, as well as smaller bridges throughout the city. DOT operates two retractable bridges (the Borden Avenue and Carroll Street bridges). Other agencies that operate road bridges in New York include the MTA, the PANYNJ, and the NYSDOT.

East River bridges: Brooklyn Bridge Manhattan Bridge Williamsburg Bridge Queensboro Bridge Roosevelt Island Bridge Wards Island Bridge

Harlem River bridges: Willis Avenue Bridge Third Avenue Bridge Madison Avenue Bridge 145th Street Bridge Macombs Dam Bridge Washington Bridge University Heights Bridge Broadway Bridge

Commissioners The current Commissioner Mike Flynn was appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani in January 2026. Other former Commissioners include:

Commissioner Term Appointed by References Anthony Ameruso 1978–1986 Ed Koch Ross Sandler 1986–1990 Ed Koch Lucius J. Riccio 1990–1993 David Dinkins Elliot G. Sander 1994–1996 Rudy Giuliani Christopher R. Lynn 1996–1997 Rudy Giuliani Wilbur L. Chapman 1998–2000 Rudy Giuliani Iris Weinshall 2000–2007 Rudy GiulianiMichael Bloomberg Janette Sadik-Khan 2007–2013 Michael Bloomberg Polly Trottenberg 2014–2020 Bill de Blasio Margaret Forgione (Acting) 2020–2021 Bill de Blasio Hank Gutman 2021 Bill de Blasio Ydanis Rodríguez 2022–2025 Eric Adams

New York City Department of Transportation

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