The DOT POD

This episode was recorded in the Science and Industry Building at the Great New York State Fair where the New York State Department of Transportation was giving visitors a chance to experience something they may or may not think about every day: what it's like to navigate an intersection from someone else's perspective.

One of DOT's displays is all about empathy at intersections and it invites people to step outside their own experiences and see transportation as someone with different abilities or needs. With vision goggles, a wheelchair, and other interactive elements, visitors can get a better understanding of the challenges people may face while simply getting across the street.

Joining Josh and Anya were Lynn Godek, Landscape Architect 1 with DOT's Office of Environment, Landscape Architecture Bureau, and Karen Lorf, Landscape Architect 2 with the Department's Office of Policy, Planning, and Performance.

Every summer, hundreds of thousands of people make their way to the Great New York State Fair. They come for the food, music, and rides, and if you've ever walked through the Science and Industry building, you've probably noticed one of the Fair's most interactive exhibits: the New York State Department of Transportation display.

But what visitors don't see is the incredible amount of planning that goes into creating an experience that's fun, educational, and maybe even life saving. Our DOT exhibit gives visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the work that keeps New York moving every day.

Josh and Anya are joined by two of the multitude of people who help create these displays, DOT's Director of Marketing and Multimedia Operations, Carol Breen, and Communications Specialist for DOT's Syracuse region and the I-81 Viaduct Project, Sabrina Betts.

New York's transportation network is one of the largest and most complex in the nation, connecting communities, supporting businesses, and helping millions of New Yorkers get where they need to go.

And the investments we make today determine how that system will look tomorrow. From historic infrastructure funding, to workforce investments that keep our roads, and the people who build and maintain them, safe, Governor Kathy Hochul's Fiscal Year 2027 budget is helping DOT shape the future of transportation across New York.

In this episode, Josh and Anya are breaking it all down with someone who knows this work inside and out, New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez.

Every day at DOT, thousands of employees are solving problems. Maintaining our roads and bridges, responding to emergencies, designing projects, and keeping New Yorkers moving.
But as a new generation of employees steps forward, and many longtime employees prepare for retirement, how do we make sure all their knowledge doesn't leave with them? The answer is mentorship.
Today we're talking about DOT's Mentorship Program, an effort that's connecting employees across the department to build an even stronger future.
Josh and Anya welcome in Melissa Hardiman with DOT's Learning and Development Team, and Lee Gottfried, Assistant Director with the Office of Fleet Administration and Support to discuss the program.
Current employees interested in being a part of the community can find out more information here.

The world's biggest sporting event is going on right now - the World Cup. Behind the scenes, months and years of planning have gone into making sure fans can get to where they need to go safely and efficiently...and DOT has played a major role in making that happen.

In this episode of the DOT POD, Josh and Anya are joined by Ken Bibbins, DOT's Assistant Commissioner for Operations, and Matt Vasilow, Director of the department's Emergency Transportation Operations and Security Programs Bureau, to give us an insiders look into how DOT helped plan for this historic event, how we coordinated with various agencies, and what we learned from previous large scale events.