Interim Head of MTA to Be Named Agency Leader

Sarah Feinberg, who has served as the MTA’s interim leader since March 2020, is expected to be appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo to chair the transit agency.

She would be the first woman to head the county’s largest transit agency.

Her nomination would have to be approved by the New York State Senate, the Wall Street Journal reported. Cuomo first appointed her to the MTA board in 2019, and she previously served as the the administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration from 2015 to 2017.

If approved, Feinberg would replace MTA Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Foye. Foye is expected to be appointed as interim president and CEO at Empire State Development, the state’s economic development public corporations.

Foye served as both Chairman and CEO, but Cuomo will split the role into two and appoint Janno Lieber, who is currently the MTA’s chief development officer, as CEO of daily operations and spending.

Feinberg, who started her role as interim chair just as the pandemic began, will oversee the troubled transit agency as it seeks to recover the ridership and income it lost during the coronavirus. The MTA is in dire economic straits, and is relying on $15 billion on federal aid.

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smarcus@hamodia.com