Giuliani Deputy Picked As Next MTA Chairman: Gov

Outgoing Chairman Jay Walder leaves Thursday

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has nominated former Deputy Mayor Joseph Lhota to be the next MTA chairman, and is recommending a 5 percent pay cut below the salary of the previous agency chief.

The pick is subject to confirmation by the state Senate. Officials said Lhota is expected to serve as interim CEO within the next month.

Outgoing Chairman Jay Walder, whose last day was Thursday, announced in July he was leaving after two years on the job for a position as CEO of MTR Corporation in Hong Kong. It operates rail services in Asia and Europe.

Walder earned $350,000. A 5 percent cut would bring the salary to $332,500.

Lhota was budget director and deputy mayor for operations under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Most recently he was an executive at Madison Square Garden.

The Harvard Business School graduate had also been a vice president at Cablevision.

"Throughout my career in both the public and private sectors, I have initiated reforms that are performance-based and that cut costs, and I look forward to bringing this same approach to the MTA," Lhota said in a statement.

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