Elliot "Lee" Sander

Rumor Mill: The MTA’s Next Chairman

Last night the Tri-State Transportation Campaign honored Elliot "Lee" Sander, at its annual gala. Sander was Commissioner of New York City's Department of Transportation for two years during the Giuliani administration, he is a vice president at DMJM Harris, co-chairman of the Empire State Transportation Alliance, and Director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management at NYU's Wagner School. A lot of the more progressive players and policy wonks I chatted with last night believe -- and hope -- that Sander will be the Metropolitan Transit Authority's next chairman.

By Aaron Naparstek

1:28 PM EDT on October 27, 2006

Last night the Tri-State Transportation Campaign honored Elliot “Lee” Sander, at its annual gala. Sander was Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Transportation for two years during the Giuliani administration, he is a vice president at DMJM Harris, co-chairman of the Empire State Transportation Alliance, and Director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management at NYU’s Wagner School. A lot of the more progressive players and policy wonks I chatted with last night believe — and hope — that Sander will be the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s next chairman.

Just imagine: A transportation policy expert running the region’s most important transportation agency rather than a Republican real estate mogul.

Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.