More than 20 public interest groups called upon the State Senate to hold public confirmation hearings for the vacant MTA Board and Chairman/CEO positions. The groups also thanked Senate Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins for the hearings that the Senate is currently conducting on the effectiveness of New York State’s transit systems, ensuring more robust legislative oversight of the MTA, the first oversight hearings on the MTA in 5 years by the Senate.
Since the resignation of Chairman/CEO Joe Lhota in November, the Chairman/CEO position has remained vacant. Additionally, there are four vacant seats on the MTA Board, and a fifth board member is resigning at the end of February. Former Chairman Lhota was confirmed by the State Senate in 2017 at 9:30pm at night following a 20 minute Skype interview.
The groups also provided in their letter to Senate Temporary President and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins a list of questions that could asked of appointees to determine qualifications for office, and whether they have any conflicts of interest.