"It's one thing to desegregate housing and quite another to integrate it," said Roger Starr, a former New York City housing commissioner.

Born in Manhattan on April 16, 1918, Roger Starr was ahead of his time at an early age, when his mother started his schooling at second grade.

Previous Executive Directors have included Roger Starr and Clarence Stein.

Ever since he became a protégé of Roger Starr, an outspoken city housing official who later became an editorial writer for The New York Times.

One of them, a former New York City housing administrator named Roger Starr, said, "What a dear, sweet character she isn't."

Reminded of that, Ms. Jacobs retorted, "I won't say what I think about Roger Starr."

Roger Starr, a restless bear of a man, brimmed with expertise.

In an interview after his appointment, Mr. Appleby disagreed with one of the most controversial statements made by his predecessor, Roger Starr.

"Construction must conform to complex rules of safety, which the city is properly unwilling to compromise," said Roger Starr, a housing specialist with the Manhattan Institute.

In 1976, Roger Starr, the housing and development administrator, proposed a policy of "planned shrinkage" to encourage citizens to leave New York's most beleaguered neighborhoods.