In the second part of our Bronx Week series, borough reporter Erin Clarke tells us that local mayors come in all ages.
At 30 years old, John Doyle is young, but he's certainly made an impact on City Island, his home for 25 years.
In this neighborhood that's more like a small town where everyone knows your name.
Doyle, a board member of the island's civic association has a hand in just about everything that happens, from calling on the city to scale back the original design for a new bridge, to advocating for a pocket park at the end of the island and everything in between.
"You just want to leave a better place than what you found," Doyle said.
Because of that reputation and the fact that Doyle has a knack for getting things done, people usually come to Doyle with their problems.
"I've been told I can be persistent and I've been told I can be a pest," he said.
"On my way to work usually I get stopped or on my way home from work I get stopped by somebody who's got some level of an issue," Doyle said. "If it's just a question of information I try to provide it, otherwise you just try to point them in the right direction."
"He's always out there trying to do the best for other people," said one City Island resident.
Doyle's has been acting as City Island's unofficial mayor for a few years now, but he also has some actual political experience.
He was Senator Jeff Klein's community affairs director for five years, and now some think he might be the right person to fill Jimmy Vacca's City Council seat when the term-limited legislator leaves office in 2017.
"I went to a few people to try to encourage them to run and I would help them," Doyle said. "I spoke to a very dear friend of mine and said to her 'You're great you should do this.' She goes 'Well I'm not going to so you need to find someone or you have to do it yourself.'"
Doyle has launched an exploratory committee and is raising money for a campaign, now thinking about well beyond City Island.