She’s NYC Transit prez – for a while
The MTA has found a replacement for Andy Byford — at least temporarily.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member Sarah Feinberg will take over as interim NYC Transit president, agency officials announced Tuesday.
The announcement comes four days after Byford officially left the MTA, taking his head of subway signals, Pete Tomlin, with him.
Feinberg, an ex-chief of the Federal Railroad Administration under former President Barack Obama, was nominated to the MTA board by Gov. Cuomo last year. She’s since taken a very hands-on approach at the agency, leading efforts to ban recidivist sex offenders from the subway system and to hire 500 additional MTA-employed police officers.
She said at a news conference Tuesday that she’ll step down from the MTA board in order to lead NYC Transit while officials continue their search for Byford’s permanent replacement.
“One of my top priorities is going to be finding and recruiting a person who can take on this role in a long-term capacity,” said Feinberg. “This is not something I can do in the long term.”
Feinberg joins NYC Transit as the MTA prepares to spend tens of billions through its latest capital plan, which includes upgrades to outdated subway signals on six key stretches of track across the city and the installation of elevators and wheelchair-accessible ramps at 66 subway stations.
She won’t be tasked with spending that money, though.
A state-mandated reorganization of the MTA last year consolidated all of the agency’s construction work under one department, and required the NYC Transit president to focus mostly on day-to-day operations.
Byford cited the agency’s reorganization — and the reduced role for the NYC Transit president that came with it — as a reason for his departure.
Some transit advocates are hopeful Feinberg will be able carry on with Byford’s progress, which included a framework to quickly upgrade the city’s long-neglected subway, bus and paratransit networks.
“She’s an experienced transit professional with a very high-level government background,” said Riders Alliance spokesman Danny Pearlstein. “As riders, we want to see her continue the work of the last few years to cut down delays, speed up trains and make buses work better for New Yorkers.”