BARBARA KENNY

SUPERINTENDENT AT DEPARTMENT OF BUSES

Barbara Kenny has to keep her eyes trained on the flow of buses as a manager at the MTA’s Department of Buses.

But on a drizzly afternoon in April, one observation that stuck with her helped a nursing home find a wayward patient. While stationed in Staten Island at a desolate bus stop around the Goethals Bridge, Kenny, 59, saw an older man standing around, letting a bus go by — perhaps to wait for his ride, Kenny recalled.

But soon she got a so-called “tell all” alert from her command center about a missing person. “It had the gentleman’s picture on it,” she said. She called in her tip to report his whereabouts, helping the nursing home track down the man, who had walked off from a lunch event at a restaurant.

“I think it’s instinct and that gut feeling — that gut feeling you get when something’s right, something’s not right,” Kenny said.

Subway riders may think the Lost and Found is probably a lost cause, but they have not met Chean Lee.

Riders who have momentarily parted with prized possessions in the subway have written to the MTA praising Lee’s dedication to reuniting them with their lost items.

Lee, 45, who has been with the lost property unit since 2008, recalled the kind words a woman gave him after helping her track down a cherished photograph of her late husband.

He talked to her to gather details that would help him track down this sentimental item. The extra effort produced a detail for Lee — it was a framed photo left in a shopping bag — that allowed him to successfully retrieve it. “You’re a godsend, honey,” she told Lee, he recalled. Other riders have gone out of their way to let the MTA know how much they appreciate Lee’s attention.

Lee, however, is modest about his work sifting through boxes and racks at the lost property unit. But he’ll still take a compliment.

“It’s always nice to feel appreciated,” the Forest Hills resident said.