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M.T.A. Chairman, Tasked to Fix New York’s Subway Problems, Resigns M.T.A. Chairman, Tasked to Fix New York’s Subway Problems, Resigns
(about 3 hours later)
The chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which controls New York City’s troubled subway, has resigned after the election of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to a third term, a state official said on Friday. As New York City continues to grapple with a subway crisis, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo must now look for a new leader to turn around the system.
The chairman, Joseph J. Lhota, had returned to the agency last year to oversee the transit system after the subway descended into crisis. He had run the agency during an earlier stint in the job and helped the subway rebound after it was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy. Three days after Mr. Cuomo was elected to a third term, he announced that the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was stepping down. The chairman, Joseph J. Lhota, had returned to the agency just last year to help improve the subway amid rising delays and a series of derailments.
Mr. Lhota has faced questions over potential conflicts of interests and outside jobs in an investigation this year by The New York Times. When Mr. Lhota returned as chairman, he held on to his job at N.Y.U. Langone Health and joined the board of Madison Square Garden, another prominent institution that is involved in negotiations with the M.T.A. about the future of Pennsylvania Station, which sits below the garden. Subway officials have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into repairs, and there are some signs of improvement. But the subway is still regularly upended by disruptions, and service is far from reliable.
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat who oversees the subway, had named Mr. Lhota to run the system last June. The news of Mr. Lhota’s departure came as a surprise because Mr. Lhota told reporters last month that he was not leaving the agency and his term was scheduled to end in 2021. Now the governor has to pick a new leader to fix the system and modernize its aging infrastructure — an enormous undertaking that could cost more than $40 billion. For Mr. Cuomo, who is often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2020, the ability to deliver better service will be a major test of his leadership.
“The chairman’s job is important, but the person who will really determine the future of public transit was just re-elected on Tuesday,” said John Raskin, the executive director of the Riders Alliance, an advocacy group. He called on Mr. Cuomo to secure new funding during the next legislative session.
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat who faced a torrent of criticism over his management of the subway as he ran for re-election, named Mr. Lhota to run the authority last June. Mr. Lhota had previously run the agency and won praise for helping the subway rebound after it was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy.
But during his second stint as chairman, Mr. Lhota repeatedly faced questions over potential conflicts of interests and outside jobs, including an investigation this year by The New York Times. Mr. Lhota kept his job at N.Y.U. Langone Health and joined the board of Madison Square Garden, which is involved in negotiations with the M.T.A. about the future of Pennsylvania Station, which sits below the arena.
The news of Mr. Lhota’s departure came as a surprise because Mr. Lhota told reporters last month that he had not considered resigning. Asked how much longer he would stay at the authority, Mr. Lhota said: “My term ends on June 10, 2021.”
Mr. Cuomo thanked Mr. Lhota on Friday and said he had been the “right person for the job.”
“He stabilized the subway system, appointed a new leadership structure to completely overhaul the M.T.A., and led with a steady hand during some of the agency’s most challenging moments,” Mr. Cuomo said in a statement.
The authority’s vice chairman, Fernando Ferrer, will serve as acting chairman until Mr. Cuomo names a replacement. The State Senate, which will return to Albany in January, must confirm his pick.
Mr. Lhota did not respond to requests for comment about why he was leaving. In a statement, Mr. Lhota said that he had returned to the agency to halt the decline in service and argued that it had improved, pointing to a drop in train delays.
“There is still a long way to go to achieve the performance that New Yorkers demand and deserve,” Mr. Lhota said in a statement.
Mr. Cuomo has called on state lawmakers to approve congestion pricing, a proposal to toll drivers entering the busiest parts of Manhattan, to pay for subway repairs. Mayor Bill de Blasio favors a tax on wealthy New Yorkers.
After Democrats won the State Senate this week, the party controls both legislative branches. They are expected to consider subway funding during the next session. The subway’s leader, Andy Byford, has proposed a sweeping overhaul plan that could cost $40 billion over 10 years. Congestion pricing is unlikely to cover the full costs of the plan and other sources might be needed.
The last M.T.A. chairman, Thomas F. Prendergast, stepped down in January 2017, shortly after the opening of the Second Avenue subway on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Mr. Prendergast, a highly respected executive who was named to the post in 2013, served longer than other recent leaders.
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