About DOT

Chief of Staff

Margaret Newman, FAIA, LEED BD+C

Margaret Newman was appointed Chief of Staff to Commissioner Sadik-Khan at the New York City Department of Transportation in 2007. Ms. Newman provides design overview, project direction and coordination for the agency with direct supervision for the Urban Design & Art unit. With the agency team, Ms. Newman developed the Street Design Manual which was instrumental in setting consistent design standards for the city’s streets. Additional projects include the development of the agency’s LED streetlighting pilot program, the capital construction plan for Times Square, and contributions to the agency’s key policy documents including Sustainable Streets, Green Light and World Class Streets. As a certified LEED professional, she works closely with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and DOT’s Traffic & Planning division to develop agency-wide standards for the use of sustainable materials and appropriate guidelines for the City’s Green Infrastructure initiatives. Ms. Newman serves as the agency’s liaison to the Mayor’s Office for Operations and the Mayor’s Office for Economic Development.

Her office provides direction for special projects and events including the NACTO Designing Cities Conference in October 2012, and an exhibition at the Municipal Arts Society in conjunction with the launch of Sustainable Streets, the agency’s first strategic plan. Ms. Newman provided design direction for the agency’s Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) pavilion for the World Congress at the Javits Center in 2008 and for the relocation of DOT’s headquarters to 55 Water Street.

Prior to joining DOT, Ms. Newman was a partner in Marren and Newman Architects, a multidisciplinary architecture and design firm located in New York City. Ms. Newman has taught architecture and design at the New York Institute of Technology, The New School, and New York University. She has lectured on design and served on numerous panels and design juries including Columbia University, Syracuse University, the Center for Architecture, and the Municipal Art Society. Ms. Newman received a BA from Bennington College and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University. She is licensed to practice architecture in New York State, and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.