Chris Ward
Ward: If the M.T.A. withers, so will Manhattan and the whole regional economy
Without adequate investment in the M.T.A., Chris Ward says, Manhattan won't drive the economy anymore. More
April 26, 2012 9:12 am
New Jersey legislators want a bigger cut of Chris Christie's Port Authority racket
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The governors of New York and New Jersey, who appoint the authority's leaders, have historically used it as a patronage mill when they weren't using it as a diversionary punching bag.
Governor Chris Christie has managed to do both at the same time. More
(1)March 9, 2012 10:25 am
Foye and the Bloomberg administration talk, but the September 11 museum is still just sitting there
In a media scrum following a transportation panel last week, Pat Foye, the Port Authority’s recently minted executive director, talked of making strides at One World Trade Center, the $3.8 billion skyscraper formerly known as the Freedom Tower.
”Progress continues,” said Foye. “[The] building is over 50 percent leased, and we’re working on the 92nd and 93rd floors as we speak.” More
March 6, 2012 1:12 pm
Port Authority officials answer questions on a Christie-Cuomo audit, but say little
A special committee charged by Governors Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie with auditing the Port Authority released its findings on Tuesday, and declined an opportunity to explain those findings today.
The governors ordered the audit as they were engaged in a dispute with the authority's outgoing executive director, Chris Ward, who was generally well-respected but was clearly viewed as a political nuisance by Cuomo and Christie. Even before the special committee began its work, a report leaked that the audit would discover massive overspending by the authority under Ward's leadership, particularly on the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. More
(1)February 9, 2012 2:15 pm
With Chris Christie under scrutiny for patronage, the P.A. releases a long-touted audit quietly
With New Jersey governor Chris Christie under scrutiny for what appear to be dozens of patronage appointments to the Port Authority, his and Governor Cuomo's long-anticipated audit of the agency was released quietly on Tuesday at 4:30 pm, following a briefing with reporters a half hour earlier. More
(1)February 7, 2012 8:27 pm
Former P.A. head Chris Ward on the withering of New York transit and the bad politics of infrastructure funding
On the eve of what has long promised to be a scathing audit of his management of the Port Authority, Chris Ward issued a series of dire pronouncements on the state of New York infrastructure and transit system. More
(4)February 2, 2012 6:00 am
Christie blasts a former Port Authority head for offenses the authority knows very little about
This week, Chris Christie denounced former Port Authority executive director Christopher Ward by name. The New Jersey governor was angry, he explained, because he had just discovered that costs incurred at the World Trade Center construction site on Ward's watch were more than he had been led to expect. More
December 9, 2011 5:44 pm
Former P.A. boss says the state must stabilize the M.T.A. to keep the city from failing
Former Port Authority executive director Chris Ward called on Governor Andrew Cuomo to focus on the finances of the M.T.A., which is facing a galling $9.9 billion gap in its five-year capital plan.
The authority, which is responsible for New York City’s subways, buses and trains, relies on revenue that fluctuates with the economy. It’s now planning on borrowing an estimated $14.8 billion in debt to pay for the maintenance and modernization of the system, and for the completion of projects like the Second Avenue subway and the East Side Access project, which would in future years result in the debt-service consuming ever greater portions of the M.T.A.'s already limited funding streams. More
(1)November 21, 2011 11:25 am
Andrew Cuomo and the Bloomberg way of choosing leaders
Andrew Cuomo may not have the most cordial relationship with Michael Bloomberg. But when it comes to the philosophy he employs in making appointments, the governor does seem to be following the mayor's lead.
In particular, the governor’s recent selection of two men with substantial private-sector accomplishments, and far less transportation-and-infrastructure experience than their predecessors, to lead the MTA and the Port Authority follows the Bloombergian pattern of business-savvy non-specialists for top, highly specialized public positions. More
October 26, 2011 2:30 pm
The beginning of the era of Andrew Cuomo's involvement in transportation and infrastructure
Andrew Cuomo appointed a new head of the Port Authority today, effectively marking the beginning of new phase of his governorship in which he will be judged on the state of transportation and infrastructure in New York.
His desire to replace Chris Ward as the Port Authority's executive editor has been plain for some time. His distaste for Ward, a well-regarded but not paticularly loyal Paterson appointee, was underscored by the leaked news that an ongoing audit of the authority's spending under Ward was going to show that it had overspent on Ground Zero. Ward's replacement will be former ESDC head Patrick Foye. More
October 19, 2011 6:06 pm
Cuomo chips away at Chris Ward's pedestal by leaking news of an audit, but Bloomberg isn't having it
This morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg pushed back against an apparent effort by the Cuomo administration to muddy the legacy of outgoing Port Authority executive director Chris Ward, who is leaving at the end of the month and who does not have a good working relationship with the governor. More
October 17, 2011 2:35 pm
Chris Ward pre-empts Andrew Cuomo's ax by leaving the Port Authority, inconveniently
About a week ago, Port Authority executive director Chris Ward met with secretary-to-the-governor Larry Schwartz to tell him he was leaving, and to discuss how to coordinate their schedules and their press, according to a Port Authority source.
Ward waited a week to hear back from him, according to the source. Schwartz blew him off. Yesterday, the story got out. The administration went ballistic. More
September 29, 2011 1:10 pm
Cuomo's schedule doesn't indicate a lot of time spent on issues related to the MTA or Port Authority
According to the information about Andrew Cuomo's schedule available on his new website, CitizenConnects, the governor has had little to no facetime with either Port Authority executive director Chris Ward or outgoing MTA chairman and CEO Jay Walder, who is leaving his post, and the New York area, for the sunnier environs of Hong Kong, possibly because of the governor's lack of any obvious interest in him or his job. Ward's relationship with Cuomo is also said to be virtually nonexistent. More
September 23, 2011 11:29 am
The problem with Port Authority boss Chris Ward is that he doesn't owe Andrew Cuomo a thing
When the New York Post reported in late May that Governor Cuomo was planning to can Port Authority executive director Christopher Ward, the man widely credited with transforming the symbol of public-private incompetence known as Ground Zero into a functional development site, the cries of disapproval were near instantaneous. More
August 1, 2011 1:19 pm
Writers
