Sources Say…

1:41 PM EST on February 22, 2007

DOT Commissioner Kate Ascher: "It's not happening. It's not possible. That information is incorrect."

DOT Commissioner Joan McDonald: "It's a very complicated agency, a huge bureaucracy with lots of moving parts and serious work to be done. If they took someone who has been here before, already had knowledge of the agency and who has a flexible approach and is sympathetic to pedestrian, traffic-calming and livable streets issues, that'd be ideal. That's Joan."

DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan: "She'd be great and if it were offered and if she were really given a mandate, I bet she'd take the job, though, you've got to think it would be a serious pay cut."

DOT Commissioner Emily Lloyd: Sources aren't saying anything!

DOT Deputy Commissioner for Traffic Operations Michael Primeggia (above): "He still makes all of the decisions. You might disagree with some of them but he takes things seriously and works hard. He's not a bureaucrat."

Aaron Naparstek

AARON NAPARSTEK is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparsteks 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. Naparstek is the author of "Honku: The Zen Antidote for Road Rage" (Villard, 2003), a book of humorous haiku poetry inspired by the endless motorist sociopathy observed from his apartment window. Prior to launching Streetsblog, Naparstek worked as an interactive media producer, pioneering some of the Web's first music web sites, online communities, live webcasts and social networking services. Naparstek is currently in Cambridge with his wife and two young sons where he is enjoying a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. He has a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Naparstek is a co-founder of the Park Slope Neighbors community group and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition. You can find more of his work here: http://www.naparstek.com.

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