The last few weeks have seen a great number of changes on the MTA's Board of Directors, the main oversight and governing body for the region's transportation network. In addition to David Mack,
who was confirmed to the MTA Board back in February filling Nassau County's vacant seat, six new people have joined the MTA Board, including a new chairman and CEO, and a new occupant of Suffolk County's board seat.
The changes come as part of an overhaul of the MTA’s main governing body by Governor Andrew Cuomo, as some say, to give him a firmer grip over the agency's business and exert more control over day-to-day operation at the agency that has struggled significantly to deliver results in recent years.
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Patrick Foye has been
confirmed as the new chair and CEO of the MTA, after the
Governor put his name forward in late March, replacing Joe Lhota
who resigned back in November. Mr. Foye's nomination was confirmed by the NYS Senate
at 2:00a in the morning, following the passage of the FY 2020 state budget—while state officials had pledged more transparency and accountability from the MTA, confirming the new chair under the cover of darkness was certainly not starting that off on the wrong foot. Either way, Mr. Foye is not an unfamiliar choice for the agency's top executive—he was previously
named MTA President back in August 2017 (a newly created title), joining MTA Managing Director Veronique Hakim and Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber in a new "Office of the Chairman" led by then-chair and CEO Joe Lhota. Prior to coming to the MTA, Mr. Foye had been the Executive Director of PANYNJ and President of PATH since November 2011, and prior to that he served as Deputy Secretary for Economic Development under Governor Cuomo. He was also a MTA Board member from 2010 to 2012, while he served as Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano's deputy county executive for economic development. Mr. Foye lives in Port Washington and is a regular commuter on the LIRR's Port Washington Branch.
Kevin Law has also joined the MTA Board, on the recommendation of Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. Mr. Law, of St. James, is the president of the Long Island Association, a nonprofit business and planning group and co-chair of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council. Mr. Law has a long history of public service, including serving as trustee, chair, and then president and CEO of the Long Island Power Association, Suffolk County's Chief Deputy County Executive, the Director of Real Estate for the county's law department, and assistant county executive for Planning, Housing and Environmental Affairs. He was also a legislative assistant to the NYS Assembly's subcommittee on Long Island's economy, and is presently the chair of the Stony Brook Council, an oversight and advisory body to Stony Brook University's officers. He joins the MTA Board as the chair of the MTA Board's LIRR Committee.
Mr. Law replaces Mitchell Pally, who had served on the MTA Board for 14 years. Mr. Pally, CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute,
told Newsday it was Governor Cuomo’s choice to replace him.
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Sarah Feinberg joined the MTA Board in February, and is the new chair of the MTA Board's NYCT and Bus committee. No stranger to the US transportation industry, Ms. Feinberg was previously the administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, the chief regulatory body for the nation's railroads, including the LIRR and Metro-North. She was also a member of Amtrak's board of directors while at the FRA. Ms. Feinberg was appointed by Governor Cuomo and confirmed by the NYS Senate back in February. Prior being named FRA administrator, she served as the US DOT's chief of staff and special assistant to the president and senior advisor to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
Haeda Mihaltses joins the MTA Board after being recently confirmed in April. Ms. Mihaltses is currently the vice president of
external affairs for the New York Mets, being the main liaison between the team and city, state, and federal officials as well as overseeing relations with community stakeholders. She was previously the director for intergovernmental affairs under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and oversaw the city's Hurricane Sandy relief effort on Staten Island as Community Recovery Director. She has also worked in the NYC Council's Finance Division and is currently chair of the Queens Borough Public Library's Board of Trustees.
She is one of two new appointments
being made directly by Governor Andrew Cuomo, who chooses six of the board's members, including the chair.
Michael Lynton is also joining the MTA Board, also in one of the Governor's six board seats. Mr. Lynton, of Brooklyn, is the former CEO of Sony Entertainment, and is also the chair of Snap, Inc. (owner of Snapchat and Bitmoji), and is on the boards of Warner Music Group and Pearson.
Rhonda Herman, a member of the Metro-North commuter council since 2008, is also joining the MTA Board on the recommendation of the Westchester County Executive. Ms. Herman works at the Internal Revenue Service and has held various management positions in Information Systems, Small Business Self Employed and the Wage & Investment Divisions. Ms. Herman replaces Andrew Saul, who was first appointed to the MTA Board in June 2016.
Mitchell Pally and Charles Moerdler have been replaced by the new members. Both had been very vocal board members, standing up for LIRR riders on countless occasions, and will be missed. The new board members have very large shoes to fill, and hopefully they will not shy away from voicing their concerns and those of riders. Mr. Law did make a splash at his first MTA Board LIRR Committee meeting, pulling from the agenda a $3.1 million contract for signals and crossing gates due to be awarded to Siemens Mobility, one of the two Positive Train Control vendors that have been encountering a large number of issues as the LIRR and Metro-North are under significant pressure to have the safety technology installed before the end of 2020.
There are still four vacant seats on the MTA Board, including one to be recommended by the NYC Mayor, one by the Dutchess County Executive, one by the Rockland County Executive, as well as the non-voting seat for a representative from the LIRR Commuter Council.
The new composition of the MTA Board comes at a pivotal time for the agency,
as tremendous new revenues are being made available and riders grow tired of the agency's poor performance and slow rate of improvement. Hopefully the new members will put pressure on agency management deliver results and meaningful modernizations from the MTA, and right what some would call a sinking ship.
