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FTA 01-04
Contact: Drucella Andersen
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Tel.: (202) 366-4040
Bernard Cohen Appointed Director, Lower Manhattan Recovery Office
Federal Transit Administrator Jennifer L. Dorn
announced today that Bernard Cohen has been selected Director of the Federal
Transit Administration’s (FTA) Lower Manhattan Recovery Office (LMRO) in New
York, effective January 26.
“Bernard brings nearly 20 years of experience in the public transportation
industry, where he has held senior management positions at three of the largest
transit systems in the country – the New York Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (MTA), the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), and the
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA),” Administrator Dorn
said. “His proven track record in leading large departments with complex
missions will serve the FTA well as we continue to fulfill the President’s
commitment to help New York City come back and come back strong.”
Cohen comes to the FTA from the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad
Company, where he served as Deputy Managing Director for Mobilization since
2003. In addition to his extensive public transportation experience, which
included management responsibilities for operations, capital planning and
construction, strategic business development, and long-range planning, Cohen
worked for 16 years as a journalist in New York and Boston. He has a degree
from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Since it opened in 2002, the FTA LMRO has managed the design and
implementation of a pioneering risk assessment system; negotiated an
environmental review process that will ensure good environmental stewardship
while expediting the project; and developed a model project development and
construction management agreement that will have application for future transit
capital projects throughout the country.
The FTA also has participated in a working group responsible for
identifying and prioritizing post-9/11 major transportation capital investment
projects in Lower Manhattan. The working group includes the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, the State of New York, the City of New York, the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.
In December 2003, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta announced
$2.85 billion in transit funding for Lower Manhattan, the first down payment on
the Bush administration’s commitment to restoring mass transit in Lower
Manhattan in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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