Bridges and Tunnels President Daniel F. DeCrescenzo Jr. Retiring After 33 Years of MTA Service
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chair and CEO Janno Lieber today announced that he has appointed Catherine Sheridan to serve as Interim President of MTA Bridges and Tunnels, effective March 4, 2023. Sheridan succeeds Daniel F. DeCrescenzo Jr., who is retiring after four years as Bridges and Tunnels President and 33 years at the MTA.
An engineer and transportation leader with extensive experience at the MTA, the New York State Canal Corporation, and the New York State Thruway Authority, Catherine T. Sheridan, P.E. joined the MTA in 2019 and has served as Chief of Staff at MTA Construction & Development since October 2021. During her time at the MTA, Sheridan has led day-to-day agency operations for the MTA’s historic $55 billion 2020-2024 capital program. Prior to the MTA, Sheridan served as the Chief Engineer at the New York State Canal Corporation and Chief Engineer at the New York State Thruway Authority, where in addition to being responsible for its multi-billion-dollar capital program, she was an executive advisor for the $3.9 billion Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge project. Sheridan also served in the United States Army as a Combat Engineer from 1989 to 1997, reaching the rank of Captain.
"Catherine Sheridan has immense experience in transportation and successfully executing large projects, including during the past four years at the MTA,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “I look forward to seeing her thrive in this new role. I also want to pay tribute to the decades of service that Daniel DeCrescenzo has given to the MTA and to congratulate him on his retirement. Daniel leaves behind a legacy of success at Bridges and Tunnels, which is the first MTA service to completely recover to pre-Covid levels, and I am confident that Catherine will build on this success into the future.”
"I want to thank Janno for the confidence he is showing in me to serve in this new role,” said MTA Bridges and Tunnels Acting President Catherine Sheridan. “Every day, nearly one million vehicles cross the MTA’s bridges and tunnels, helping to move the region and provide critical revenue for the sustainability of B&T facilities as well as mass transit. I am honored to be offered this opportunity to serve the largest bridge and tunnel authority in the nation.”
DeCrescenzo joined the MTA as a Bridge and Tunnel Officer in 1990 and moved through the ranks, ultimately serving as the President of the agency. Throughout his tenure he held numerous positions in the Operations Department overseeing the day-to-day operations of B&T’s seven bridges and two tunnels. He played pivotal roles during such events as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and major weather events such as Superstorm Sandy. He managed Operations through the agency’s biggest transformation since its inception, with the implementation of Open Road Tolling in 2017. Most recently as President he led the agency through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am very proud of what Bridges and Tunnels—the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority—has achieved throughout the years,” said Daniel F. DeCrescenzo Jr. “I have seen our employees come together time and again during crises and challenges. They make a difficult job look easy, and together we are better today than yesterday. It’s the people that make this organization best in class, and I will remember the people the most.”
In addition, Chair and CEO Lieber today announced the appointment of Allison L. C. de Cerreño, Ph.D., as MTA Bridges and Tunnels Chief Operating Officer. Currently MTA Deputy Chief Operating Officer, she is an experienced transportation professional with over 20 years in the field, including 15 years of public sector experience, including previously serving as Senior Vice President of TBTA. As Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Dr. C. de Cerreño has led the MTA’s Central Business District Tolling Program and has overseen the team responsible for the design, development, and implementation of OMNY, the MTA’s new contactless fare payment system. Before joining the MTA, she spent nearly ten years at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in a variety of roles, including the Assistant Director of Tunnels, Bridges, and Terminals, as well as the Deputy General Manager for the Port Authority Bus Terminal and General Manager, Special Projects.
"I am excited to be rejoining MTA Bridges and Tunnels in this new role, working together with Catherine to keep moving this agency forward into the future," said Allison L. C. de Cerreño, Ph.D. "In the last several years at the MTA, I am proud to have advanced several complex and ambitious projects, which will make the experience of MTA customers better for years to come. I look forward to working with the team at Bridges and Tunnels to move hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers every day safely and reliably, while generating revenues essential to supporting mass transit for the whole region."