Janno Lieber
Lieber in August 2022
15th Chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Assumed office
July 29, 2021 – January 20, 2022 (acting)[1]
January 20, 2022[2]
GovernorAndrew Cuomo
Kathy Hochul
Preceded byPat Foye
Personal details
Born
John Nathan Lieber

(1961-09-19) September 19, 1961 (age 62)
EducationHarvard University (BA)
New York University (JD)

John Nathan "Janno" Lieber (born September 19, 1961)[3] is the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York. He was appointed acting chair and CEO in July 2021 and confirmed permanently in January 2022.

Early life and career

Lieber was born on September 19, 1961, to Charles and Mimi Levin Lieber.[citation needed] Charles was a president of the Hebrew Publishing Company and Mimi was a member of the New York State Board of Regents.[4][5]

In the 1980s, Lieber was a journalist at The New Republic.[1]

He worked as a transportation policy advisor during New York City Mayor Ed Koch's administration.[1] Later Lieber served as an acting assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Transportation during the Clinton administration.[1]

In 2003, he joined Silverstein Properties, where he would later become the president of their World Trade Center Properties division, working on the rebuilding after the September 11 attacks.[6][7] In a 2015 interview with The New York Times, he described himself as "a jack-of-all-trades," saying, "I do everything from financing to the legal to the design and construction to the P.R. and government relations."

Metropolitan Transportation Authority

In 2017, then-governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Lieber to be the MTA's chief development officer.[1] In this role of chief development officer, Lieber oversaw a range of capital initiatives including the long-delayed completion of the extension of the Second Avenue Subway line on the East Side of Manhattan.[8]

In July 2021, Cuomo nominated Lieber to serve as acting chair and CEO, following the retirement of Pat Foye.[1] In November 2021, governor Kathy Hochul said she wanted to nominate him for those roles permanently.[6] He was formally nominated by Hochul and subsequently confirmed by the New York State Senate in January 2022.[2][9]

On January 25, 2023, Lieber rode with Hochul on the first train to the new Grand Central Madison station, part of the East Side Access project.[10]

In early 2024, there were two train derailments in the subway system.[11] Investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board have begun into the entire MTA system as a result.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f McDonough, Annie (July 29, 2021). "5 things to know about Janno Lieber". City & State NY. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Governor Hochul Announces Nominations to MTA Board". Governor Kathy Hochul. January 8, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  3. ^ The 1975 edition of The Dutchman, the Collegiate School yearbook, lists him as an eighth grader
  4. ^ Keys, Lisa (January 21, 2022). "Janno Lieber of prominent Jewish family nominated for NYC transit chief". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  5. ^ "WEDDINGS; Amy Glosser, Janno Lieber". The New York Times. June 21, 1998. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Duggan, Kevin (November 18, 2021). "Hochul wants to make MTA acting chief Janno Lieber permanent". AM New York Metro. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  7. ^ Marino, Vivian (September 1, 2015). "A Conversation With Janno Lieber". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Keys, Lisa (January 11, 2022). "Janno Lieber of prominent Jewish family nominated for NYC transit chief". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  9. ^ Kaske, Michelle (January 20, 2022). "New York MTA Gets a New Chief as Lieber Is Approved by State Senate". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  10. ^ "Governor Hochul Rides Inaugural LIRR Train to Grand Central Madison". Governor Kathy Hochul. January 25, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  11. ^ https://gothamist.com/news/train-derails-in-brooklyn-marking-second-mta-derailment-of-2024
  12. ^ https://apnews.com/article/subway-derailment-new-york-city-54c6365987dd2e6a1b72e8e2961f1710
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