BrightLine (NY) interview questions

I received a phone interview for the position, which went well. They said my qualifications were perfect for the position. I was then given a task to make a graphic design of what an example interface would look like, which I did. I had good feedback for the design, and they gave me the impression I was as good as hired once my skills were confirmed as legitimate. But, they then left me hanging and refused to respond to my emails wondering whether I was hired or not, despite telling me "we will respond once it is reviewed". Extremely unprofessional behavior after I spent a long time preparing and editing a design based on their own feedback across three weeks. I can understand if they don't want to say what I did wrong, but they just dropped me like a hot potato when they decided not to hire me, which is why I am giving it a negative.

A friend of mine who held a high profile position at Brightline recommended me for an open Experience Design position. I was briefly screened over the phone, offered an interview and asked to put a proposal together about how a large brand would utilize a television experience. It wasn't easy, but I did my best. I was able to sit with my friend before my interview. He assured me that the team was so impressed with my background that I was pretty much in. That was all based on what he was told. I wasn't confident about the interview because I was nervous. However, my friend was given the impression afterwards that I was very well received and most likely hired. I met several pairs of people. Everyone I met with was young. Half were younger than me and definitely not far out of school. Some were warmer than others, but I asked them all though questions. The biggest red flags I heard were about low pay and long hours. However, in reading between the lines, the fact that most of the workforce was so young and inexperience seemed to make for chaos. People were quickly promoted to high-level positions despite being 22 years old. At the close of my interview, I was told that they a few more interviews were scheduled, but a decision would be made by the end of the week. Again, my friend was given the impression that the job was mine if I wanted it. When I didn't hear from Brightline, I followed up with an email, but was informed days later that they had already hired someone else a few days prior to. I told my friend about this and he was utterly shocked and disappointed. They didn't even give him a straight answer as to what happened. I was upset with the unprofessional way the end of the interview process was handled, specifically why my friend was given a false impression. To me, that is a huge indicator the internal environment and for that reason, I would stay clear.