Janette Sadik-Khan (born April 28, 1961) is a former commissioner of the

New York City Department of Transportation The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Departm ...

(2007–2013) and an advisor on transportation and urban issues. She works for Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy established by former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg that advises mayors around the world to improve the quality of life for their residents. She serves as chairperson for the

National Association of City Transportation Officials The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) is a coalition of the Departments of Transportation in North American cities. Founded in 1996, NACTO has participated in a number of research initiatives dealing with surface tran ...

(NACTO), a coalition of the transportation departments of 40 large cities nationwide.

Early life and education

Sadik-Khan was born in San Francisco, California, and moved to New York City as a child. She is the daughter of Orhan Idris Sadik-Khan (1929-2007), managing director of

UBS Paine Webber UBS Group AG (stylized simply as UBS) is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland, with headquarters in both Zurich and Basel. It holds a strong foothold in all major fina ...

, and his first wife Jane McCarthy, an environmental pioneer, one of the founders of Citizens for Clean Air in NYC, an urban preservationist, Chief Administrator Officer at the Municipal Art Society, and currently an advocate for criminal justice reform. Orhan Sadik-Khan was born in Finland, and grew up in Berlin and Cairo, son of Afghan (

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) parents; his father was the imam Alimjan Idris, and his mother a paediatrician. She holds a B.A. in political science from

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...

in Los Angeles, California, and a J.D. from

Columbia University School of Law Columbia Law School (CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The university is known for its legal scholarship dating ba ...

Career

Sadik-Khan worked in the

during the administration of

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. Dinkins was among the more than 20,000 Montford Point Marine Associa ...

and became the mayor's transportation advisor. Sadik-Khan subsequently worked as deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration at the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

in Washington, D.C. under President Bill Clinton, and she was a senior vice president at

Parsons Brinckerhoff WSP USA, formerly Parsons Brinckerhoff, is an American multinational engineering and design firm. The firm operates in the fields of strategic consulting, planning, engineering, construction management, energy, infrastructure and community plann ...

, an international transportation engineering firm.

NYC DOT

Sadik-Khan was appointed transportation commissioner by

New York City Mayor The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, ...

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

in 2007 and served in that role until 2013. During her tenure, she initialised significant changes to New York City streets and public spaces, including the conversion of road space into bike lanes and into pedestrian plazas, notably along Broadway at Times Square and Herald Square, and the creation of the car-free streets summer program called Summer Streets. Called a "bicycle visionary" by the New York Times, "equal parts

Jane Jacobs Jane Isabel Jacobs (''née'' Butzner; 4 May 1916 – 25 April 2006) was an American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Her book ''The Death and Life of Great American Ci ...

and

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...

," by New York magazine, and one of "The Most Innovative and Practical Thinkers of Our Time" by Slate, Sadik-Khan oversaw the building of nearly 400 miles of bike lanes and more than 60 pedestrian plazas in New York City, and she worked with the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...

to create seven rapid bus routes across the city. She led the creation of

Citi Bike Citi Bike is a privately owned public bicycle sharing system serving the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, as well as Jersey City, New Jersey, Jersey City and Hoboken, New Jersey. Named after lead sponsor Ci ...

, a bike share network of 6,000 bikes—the nation's largest—which has since been expanded to 12,000 bikes in three boroughs. Over her six and a half years in office, approximately 180 acres of former New York City road space for motor vehicles was converted to use by bicycles and pedestrians, and another 44 acres designated as bus-only lanes. Sadik-Khan's time in office was also marked by media controversy over her policies, and encountered sometimes vocal opposition. The transportation department was sued over the placement of bike lanes and bike share racks, and some projects were criticized in the news media. Despite the controversy, the bike lane, plaza and bike share programs that Sadik-Khan introduced were consistently supported in citywide polls by majorities of New Yorkers, and all lawsuits were ultimately dismissed or have yet to lead to the removal of any lane.

Bloomberg Associates

At Bloomberg Associates, she advises city mayors on transportation practices, including in Los Angeles, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Oakland and Athens, and she speaks at international forums.

Author

She is the author of the book "Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution," based on her experience as commissioner and her new role as global transportation advisor.

Awards

Personal life

She is married to Mark Geistfeld, a professor at

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

, with whom she has one child.

References

External links

*
Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution
written by Janette Sadik-Khan and Seth Sololomonow
Profile at Bloomberg Associates

Archived biography of Commissioner Sadik-Khan from NYC.gov
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sadik-Khan, Janette 1960 births American civil servants 21st-century American women civil servants American people of Afghan descent Columbia Law School alumni Commissioners of the New York City Department of Transportation Living people Occidental College alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Women in New York (state) politics Sustainable transport pioneers