New Members – Daniel Garodnick, Meera Joshi, and Marc Herbst – to Join MTA Board
Samuel Chu and Michael Fleischer Reappointed to Another Term
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that the New York State Senate confirmed three new MTA Board members – Daniel Garodnick, Meera Joshi, and Marc Herbst – as well as reappointed existing members Samuel Chu and Michael Fleischer to another term. All new and existing Board members will join the full Board at its monthly meeting next Wednesday, March 27 at MTA Headquarters located at 2 Broadway in Downtown Manhattan.
“We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Daniel Garodnick, Meera Joshi, Marc Herbst, Samuel Chu, and Michael Fleischer on their appointments and reappointments to the MTA Board,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Today’s announcement is a significant moment for the MTA as we celebrate these esteemed professionals who not only represent geographic diversity across our service area but will also provide invaluable perspectives that will help shape and strengthen the future of the MTA for years to come.”
Daniel Garodnick currently serves as the Director of the New York City Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission. He was appointed to these positions by Mayor Eric Adams in February 2022. Prior to these appointments to the Adams administration, Garodnick served as the President and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization advocating for a six-mile park on Manhattan's West Side. Before that he represented the East Side of Manhattan in the New York City Council and was known as one of New York's most independent voices and effective legislators where he chaired the Planning and Economic Development Committees and served as a member of the Land Use Committee. Before getting into public service, Garodnick was a litigator at the New York law firm of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP.
Meera Joshi is New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations, overseeing infrastructure, public realm, and climate. Prior to joining Mayor Eric Adams’s administration, Joshi was President Joe Biden’s nominee for administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the agency responsible for regulation of interstate trucking. In this role, she led initiatives to improve roadway safety, the working conditions of truck drivers, and accountability mechanisms to integrate automation. Joshi was previously Chair and CEO of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission where she spearheaded Vision Zero campaigns, keeping high-risk drivers and unsafe vehicles off the road. In addition to her roles in transportation oversight, Joshi was previously the inspector general for the New York City Department of Correction and the First Deputy Executive Director of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, leading investigations of civilian allegations of police misconduct.
Marc Herbst is the Executive Director of the Long Island Contractors’ Association, a nationally regarded trade organization that advocates on behalf of a strengthened and robust infrastructure upon which rests the region’s future. He has been fighting for the interests of the heavy construction industry on behalf of its 170 members since 2006. Marc also serves as President of the New York Roadway and Infrastructure Coalition and is a past Chairman of the Council of State Executives for the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. Marc joined the contractors’ association after serving as Director of Transportation Planning and Environmental Services for the New York State Thruway Authority. Prior to that, he was a five-term New York State Assembly Member where he was the ranking member of the Assembly Transportation Committee. He also served as a member of the MTA’s Capital Review Board and as a member of the Long Island Commission on Critical Transportation Choices.
Samuel Chu and Michael Fleischer will remain on the Board for another term to provide their invaluable expertise and perspectives for the betterment of North America’s largest transportation network.