Transit boss Byford quit, but then backtracked
New York City transit boss Andy Byford resigned from his position last week amid frustrations with Gov. Cuomo — and then changed his mind, the MTA confirmed Friday.
Politico New York first reported Friday afternoon that Byford had submitted a letter of resignation to MTA Manager Director Ronnie Hakim, but then he had second thoughts.
Hours later, the MTA, which initially refused to confirm the resignation, said the letter had been rescinded.
“I’m not going anywhere and I remain laser-focused on improving day-to-day service for millions of New Yorkers and delivering a transformed transit network,” Byford (above) said in a statement.
The news came as tensions with Cuomo appeared to have calmed down. Mostly recently, Cuomo praised the Britishborn rail exec during a Sept. 20 appearance in New York City.
“Andy has the New York mojo and he has the New York aggressiveness,” Cuomo said at the time. “He’s a get-it-done guy.”
But Byford remains disheartened with the potential of service cuts as well as Cuomo’s frequent MTA-related media events, which Byford sees as a distraction, according to Politico.
In his statement Friday, Byford said he and Cuomo “are on exactly the same page about the need to dramatically improve the transit system.”
Still, Byford has had good reason to be frustrated, Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s Nick Sifuentes told The Post.
“He’s been stymied by legislators resistant to transit improvements, overbearing leadership in Albany and the difficulties inside the MTA itself,” Sifuentes said. “It’d be a huge loss if he goes. If Andy leaves, who’s ever going to want this job again?”