MTA boss Janno Lieber’s $400K pay — more than the US president’s salary — slammed amid congestion toll fight
New Yorkers who oppose congestion pricing say they need relief — from MTA boss Janno Lieber’s fat salary.
Lieber raked in $400,999 last year from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, more than the US president and almost as much as Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams were paid combined, according to payroll records compiled by See Through NY.
“The MTA may be the most profligate agency in America, and it starts with Janno Lieber’s exorbitant salary,” said Joshua Bienstock of Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free.
“He’d be fired from any private sector position for the billions of dollars he and the MTA have wasted in recent years,” said Bienstock.
“If this agency were run even half competently, transit fares would be lower and New York drivers wouldn’t be facing a small-business-killing congestion pricing tax. The MTA is an absolute disgrace.”
It’s the appointees of the governor and mayor on the MTA board who set the agency CEO’s salary, which was done in 2022.
By comparison, President Biden’s salary is $400,000, while Hochul is paid $250,000 and Adams $258,700, records show.
Lieber’s juicy salary is now a target for opponents of the looming $15 congestion toll to enter the Midtown business district south of 60th Street, planned to take effect June 30.
Lieber, 62, has become the face of the congestion pricing program, which polls show is deeply unpopular among every demographic in New York.
He is merely implementing a law that was approved by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Democratic-led state legislature in 2019, and the pricing scheme continues to be championed by Hochul.
The congestion plan imposes a $15 toll on cars traveling anywhere below 60th Street between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. It drops to $3.75 off-peak.
Small trucks will pay $24 during peak hours and large trucks, $36.
The agency said the new tolling will generate $1 billion annually to pay for new subway trains, signal overhauls, a new expansion of the Second Avenue subway into East Harlem and other major projects, while reducing Midtown congestion.
Critics argue the toll will divert traffic and pollution elsewhere — and have mounted court battles in a last-ditch attempt to stop it.
According to the Empire Center for Public Policy’s See Through NY payroll records, Lieber’s compensation in 2023 included a base pay of $386,999 plus $14,000 in other payouts.
An MTA spokesman said Lieber’s annual compensation is $365,000.
“That is unchanged since he was confirmed by the State Senate in early 2022. See Through NY appears to add retroactive pay and some other non-salary items,” the rep said.
Lieber runs by far the largest transit system in the country, which includes NYC Transit, the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad.
The MTA points out he makes less than the $485,000 paid to Washington DC Metro Area CEO Randy Clarke, and the $458,923 paid to Jacksonville Transportation Authority CEO Nathaniel Ford.
Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner makes $735,129 and Transport Workers Union International President, who reps New York City transit workers, is paid $384,075.
