Mayor Zohran Mamdani is sending a prominent street fighter to the MTA in his push for fast and free buses.<\/p>\n
Janette Sadik-Khan, a former commissioner of the city’s Department of Transportation, is Mamdani\u2019s choice to fill one of two vacant seats on the MTA board. Sadik-Khan served in former Mayor Michael Bloomberg\u2019s administration and was a key architect of the city\u2019s bike lane network and current streetscape.<\/p>\n
His other pick is Melanie Hartzog, who served as deputy mayor for health and human services during the pandemic under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio.<\/p>\n
Board choices don\u2019t usually generate much controversy, but Sadik-Khan was a fierce fighter remembered for clashes with bike lane opponents, bringing Citi Bike to the city, and a pedestrian-friendly redesign of Times Square. Her book published in 2017, \u201cStreetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution,\u201d described her as a \u201cmodern-day Jane Jacobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sadik-Khan will be one of 17 board members who vote on major construction and labor contracts. She\u2019ll be in a position to draw attention to issues important to the mayor, like fast and free buses.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we enter a new transportation era, we need a transportation action plan that matches our ambitions,\u201d Sadik-Khan wrote in a statement sent by the mayor\u2019s office. \u201cI am grateful to Mayor Mamdani for the opportunity to serve on the MTA Board and to be a vote and a voice for all riders looking for affordable transportation and the access that our buses and rail provide to jobs, housing and opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sadik-Khan is currently a principal at Bloomberg Associates, the former mayor\u2019s philanthropic consulting firm.<\/p>\n
She led the DOT from 2007 to 2013 and is credited with transforming it from an agency that merely fills potholes and paves roads to one that reimagines streets. She added 400 miles of bike lanes, 60 public plazas and seven rapid bus lanes to the city.<\/p>\n
She said mayors around the world have since embraced many of the street redesigns she pioneered in New York City.<\/p>\n
She\u2019ll join the other two members of the board representing the city: David Jones, who created the Fair Fares program and was appointed by de Blasio a decade ago, and city planner Dan Garodnick, who was appointed by former Mayor Eric Adams.<\/p>\n
\u201cMelanie and Janette have dedicated their careers to delivering results for New Yorkers, and alongside Dan and David, they will help ensure that this city gets fast and free buses, and that riders have strong advocates at the table. I\u2019m grateful for their willingness to serve,\u201d Mamdani wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n