NYC Transit Names Demetrius Crichlow New President Amid Budget Concerns

NEW YORK (WABC) – The MTA announced Wednesday that Demetrius Crichlow is the newest president of New York City Transit.

The announcement comes amid a new report from the state comptroller’s office that concluded the MTA will likely face a shortage of at least $176 million next year.

Crichlow, a 27-year veteran of the MTA, has served as interim president since May, when Richard Davey left for a job in Massachusetts.

He is the tenth president of NYC Transit in the last 15 years.

“Unfortunately, when there is so much turnover in a short period of time, you can lose a lot of steam in between,” Crichlow said. “So I’m very happy to be able to provide the stability the organization needs moving forward.”

Crichlow takes control of the city’s subway and bus network at critical times. Since the pandemic, the transit system has lost about a million daily riders. Fare evasion is rampant and congestion pricing remains suspended.

Tolls on vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street were intended to raise a billion dollars a year for the MTA’s capital program.

Gov. Kathy Hochul put the plan on ice earlier this year. On Wednesday, she insisted to reporters that congestion pricing is not dead.

“First of all, this is a break,” she said. “Number two: $15 to institute congestion pricing was too high at a time when every day New Yorkers struggle with higher costs for everything, especially their groceries. We cannot be deaf to the impact these policies have on individuals.”

The governor is considering reviving congestion pricing — but at a lower rate, perhaps $9.

Danny Pearlstein of the Riders Alliance says he’ll believe it when he sees it.

“Passengers can’t trust our governor now, right. We thought we could and she betrayed us,” Pearlstein said. “Governor Hochul has stripped our subway and bus network from the strongest fiscal foundation it has had in a generation. And as a result, you know, we’re not just facing an indefinite delay in the accessible stations and reliable trains we deserve. We are also facing huge fare increases and deep service cuts that could set the city back.”

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