WHAT’S NEW & WHO’S NEWS
MTA Appoints Crichlow President of NYC Transit
NEW YORK—Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair and CEO Janno Lieber recently named three officials to senior strategic roles, including Demetrius Crichlow as the 12th permanent president of New York City Transit.
Mr. Crichlow takes the role after serving over four months in an interim capacity and after a decades long career at the MTA. As president, Mr. Crichlow will oversee the 50,000-person workforce, including operations for New York City subways, buses, paratransit services and the Staten Island Railway
Mr. Crichlow is the 12th permanent president of New York City Transit since the agency adopted its current leadership structure in 1973. (Previously the New York City Transit Authority had been led by a multi-member board in keeping with tradition established in 1924 by its predecessor, the New York City Board of Transportation, which unified three competing subway systems and a larger number of bus companies in 1940.)
Mr. Crichlow led NYCT’s Department of Subways as its senior vice president for over three years, a period where the subway maintained the best on-time performance in at least a decade and recorded improving customer satisfaction. He is a lifelong New Yorker who started his career with the MTA in 1997 as an assistant signal maintainer at the Long Island Rail Road, rising through the ranks at the LIRR to become Train Movement Supervisor overseeing operations at Penn Station Central Control. In 2007 he transferred to MTA Headquarters to become Special Assistant for Operations for then-Executive Director Elliot G. “Lee” Sander.
As senior vice president for the Department of Subways, he led efforts for across-the-board service improvements and steered the department out of the pandemic years with sustained ridership growth. This included working intimately on the implementation of communications-based train control and its current expansion in the system, making vast upgrades to the customer environment, and rebuilding its 29,000-person workforce post pandemic.
The MTA also reported that Tim Mulligan, currently deputy chief development officer at MTA Construction and Development, was appointed to a newly created role, Chief of Rolling Stock Program, and Mersida Ibric was named as the Chief People Officer after serving six months in an acting capacity.
Each brings key leadership experience that will forward the MTA’s mission of delivering reliable, safe and fast service and join the most diverse senior leadership team the MTA has ever assembled – of the Chair and CEO’s direct reports, 50% are women and 40% are people of color.
Mr. Mulligan reports to MTA Chief Administrative Officer Lisette Camilo after serving as the Deputy Chief Development Officer at MTA C&D. In this role he will ensure the MTA is a reliable and engaged business partner as it looks to execute the largest rolling stock replacement in the history of the MTA, a major priority of the 2025 – 2029 Capital Plan which calls for 2,000 new railcars.
Ms. Ibric brings more than16 years of experience in the public sector and will oversee and execute the authority’s people management strategy and report directly to Ms. Camilo. Ms. Ibric joined the MTA in January 2022 as its Deputy Chief Administrative Officer following time at the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Diversity Officer. She previously worked at the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services as Deputy Director for Research and IT where she was responsible for maintaining and developing procurement data analytics and reporting, along with planning and developing mayoral procurement initiatives.
“We’re talking about commitment, pride in the system, its legacy and its importance to New York, which is why I am really proud to announce these appointments today,” said MTA Chair and CEO Lieber. “Today’s the day for celebrating and getting to work delivering for New Yorkers and I know we are going to be able to because you are the right people.”
LeChase Begins NY-Presbyterian Hospital Project in Bronxville
BRONXVILLE, NY—LeChase Construction Services announced on Nov. 14 it had begun renovations on the lobby and adjacent spaces of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Westchester in Bronxville, N.Y., while taking care to accommodate the flow of visitors and staff in the main entrance.
The project – at the former Lawrence Hospital location at 55 Palmer Ave. – covers replacement of the hospital’s large revolving door as well as renovations to the lobby, security desk and back-of-house spaces including several offices and conference rooms. Temporary bathrooms and a roadside air-conditioning unit will serve the space while lobby bathrooms and ductwork are upgraded.
Work in the 11,000-square-foot space began in early September and will be carried out in four major stages to preserve the smooth flow of visitors to the 288-bed healthcare center.
To achieve that goal, LeChase will employ techniques and materials it has pioneered in building or renovating areas that are heavily trafficked, or where medical care and procedures continue during construction. Crews place solid, permanent-looking walls to block the project space and much of the work-related noise from surrounding areas. In addition, they use negative air pressure to prevent dust and other contamination from escaping the construction site, company officials tated.
“Having broad experience in projects in and around active healthcare facilities, we are skilled in isolating construction operations to avoid disrupting normal activity at the site,” said LeChase Vice President David Campbell. “When we finish our work in Bronxville, the hospital’s patients, visitors and staff will experience a fresher, more pleasant environment when they enter the lobby area.”
LeChase expects to complete the project in the first quarter of 2026.