Pat Foye, the Port Authority’s outgoing executive director, will become MTA president, a source familiar with the situation said Wednesday.
Foye will assume the newly created executive role at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, working with chairman Joe Lhota, the source said. The MTA’s acting executive director, Veronique Hakim, is also expected to stay on in a leadership role.
The news was welcomed by a leader of a commuter watchdog group.
“With Pat Foye and Veronique Hakim’s appointments, Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo has assembled a strong team to lead the MTA,” said Nick Sifuentes, deputy director of the Riders Alliance, in a statement. “Ultimately, though, it will be up to the governor to ensure the MTA leadership team has the resources it needs to fix our subways — including a dedicated funding source for the improvements riders desperately need.”
The governor’s office declined to comment on the situation.
Foye had served the Port Authority since 2011 and played a key role in blowing the whistle on the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, known as Bridgegate, which took place over the course of four days in September 2013. His tenure also saw the completion of the controversial $4 billion Oculus transit hub in Manhattan, which critics have derided as a waste of money.
Foye’s departure at the Port Authority came amid sweeping leadership changes at the bi-state agency on Tuesday. Govs. Cuomo and Chris Christie of New Jersey announced that both Foye and Port Authority Chairman John Degnan would be replaced this week.
Rick Cotton, special counsel to Cuomo, has been named the agency’s new executive director. Kevin O’Toole, a former Republican state senator from New Jersey, has been tapped to serve as chairman.
With Alfonso A. Castillo
