Gov. Andrew Cuomo has recommended Patrick J. Foye to become executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and has called for consolidation of the Moynihan Station Development Corp. and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. operations into PANYNJ. Foye currently serves as the governor’s deputy secretary of economic development and oversees the Empire State Development Corp. There is no fiscal impact to PANYNJ as a result of these actions, he says.
 
“Too many different agencies doing the same or closely related work makes little sense,” Gov. Cuomo said in a statement. “The Port Authority is best situated to oversee the development at Moynihan Station and the orderly wind down of the LMDC, and these changes will consolidate responsibility within the Authority.”

Foye will replace Chris Ward, who reportedly will resign by the end of the month. Foye’s nomination is subject to PANYNJ board approval. The governor says he also intends to nominate James Rubin and Rossana Rosado to the PANYNJ board, and Rubin as senior advisor for international competitiveness at the ESDC.
 
Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, commended Foye’s nomination. “We and others in the business community have worked with Pat and are confident that he will bring competent and practical management to the Port Authority’s vital role in maintaining and expanding our regional transportation assets and completing the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site,” LaBarbera said in a statement.