Cuomo Will Use Panel to Help Pick Next MTA Chief

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has taken an unusual step of creating a search panel to help choose the next chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.     

He says the next MTA chairman has to be responsible to the straphangers and other New Yorkers using the system.     

Governors usually consider such high-profile appointments privately and then simply announce their choice.     

Cuomo says he wants an international search to find the next head of the mass transit authority that runs the trains, tunnels and bridges in and around New York City.     

Cuomo said the state has also contracted with an executive recruitment firm.     

The Democrat's choice must be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate.     

Jay Walder left the $350,000-a-year job last month to purse a more lucrative private-sector job.