Mayor Zohran Mamdani recommended former Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and former Deputy Mayor Melanie Hartzog to fill two vacancies on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board on June 2, 2026, casting both as allies in his campaign to make city buses faster and, eventually, free. The picks require confirmation by the state Senate.

Who they are

Sadik-Khan is the headline name. As Bloomberg’s DOT commissioner from 2007 to 2013, she built out the city’s modern bike-lane network, launched the MTA’s first Select Bus Service routes, and pushed through hundreds of street and intersection redesigns — a record that made her a national figure in the street-redesign movement and, at the time, a lightning rod. Her return to public service after more than a decade in the private sector signals where Mamdani wants the board’s attention: bus speed, dedicated lanes, and street priority.

Hartzog brings budget and management experience. She is currently CEO of The New York Foundling and previously served as deputy mayor for health and human services and as budget director under Mayor Bill de Blasio. On a board where the central fights are over a roughly $68 billion capital plan and operating finances, her fiscal background is the complement to Sadik-Khan’s street-design credentials.

The math of the board

The appointments do not hand Mamdani the MTA. The authority’s board has 23 members in total, but 17 of them vote on the decisions that matter most — budgets, the capital program, and major contracts. With Sadik-Khan and Hartzog seated alongside sitting mayoral appointees Dan Garodnick, the city-planning commissioner under Adams, and David Jones, president of the Community Service Society, the mayor would command four of those 17 votes.

That is roughly a quarter of the voting power — enough to advance ideas and force debate, not enough to set policy. The governor, who appoints the chair and a larger share of seats, and the rest of the board still hold the balance. Mamdani has been candid that his four appointees are advocates “at the table” rather than a controlling bloc.

In his statement, the mayor said the four “will help ensure that this city gets fast and free buses, and that riders have strong advocates at the table,” naming Sadik-Khan and Hartzog alongside Garodnick and Jones.

Why it matters for free buses

The structural reality behind the appointments is that the MTA, not City Hall, operates the buses. That is why Mamdani’s signature fare-free pledge has slipped: it cannot be delivered by mayoral fiat. His first executive budget, released in May 2026, deferred citywide free buses and steered money instead toward bus infrastructure, while state lawmakers floated reviving the $15 million five-borough fare-free pilot Mamdani sponsored as an assemblymember.

Seating allies on the MTA board is the other half of that strategy — building influence inside the agency that actually controls the fareboxes and the bus lanes. The June 2 picks, if confirmed by the state Senate, put a street-redesign veteran and a former budget chief in two of those seats. Whether four votes can move a 17-member board toward faster and free buses is the open question the appointments set up.

Verification

Frequently Asked Questions

Whom did Mamdani name to the MTA board?
On June 2, 2026, he recommended Janette Sadik-Khan, the DOT commissioner under Mayor Michael Bloomberg from 2007 to 2013, and Melanie Hartzog, currently CEO of The New York Foundling and a former de Blasio deputy mayor and budget director.
How many MTA board votes does the mayor control?
Four of the 17 voting members. The MTA board has 23 members total, but 17 vote on budgets, capital plans, and major contracts. Mamdani's four appointees — Sadik-Khan, Hartzog, Dan Garodnick, and David Jones — are about a quarter of that voting bloc.
Do the appointments take effect immediately?
No. Both Sadik-Khan and Hartzog require confirmation by the state Senate before they can be seated.
Why does this matter for free buses?
The MTA, not the city, runs the buses, so Mamdani's fare-free pledge depends on the MTA board and Albany. Stacking the board with allies is the mayor's lever, but four of 17 votes is not enough to set policy on its own.