MTA Chairman and CEO Jay Walder abruptly resigned yesterday after less than two years at the helm, ditching the beleaguered transit agency for a private-sector job in Hong Kong.
Walder (right) is leaving to become the CEO of MTR, a massive, publicly traded company that operates rail services in Asia and Europe.
“We brought stability and credibility to the MTA by making every dollar count, by delivering long-overdue improvements and by refusing to settle for business as usual,” Walder said in a statement.
The Harvard grad, who grew up in the Rockaways, is credited with tens of millions of dollars in savings. But he also oversaw a fare hike and some of the deepest service cuts in history.
Gov. Cuomo made “no effort” to push him out, according to sources.
Walder will step down on Oct. 21, just as the agency begins grueling contract talks with its largest union.
“Transit workers won’t miss Jay Walder . . . He has been antagonistic to the union and the workers from his first day,” TWU President John Samuelsen said.
Walder leaves before fulfilling some of his key goals, including bringing countdown clocks to every station.
Additional reporting by Fredric U. Dicker