Patrick Foye

Before Gov. Andrew Cuomo named Patrick Foye executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2011, he played an important role in New York State’s economic recovery following the Great Recession, and dutifully served Nassau County residents as deputy county executive under Ed Mangano. Foye was the logical pick to oversee the region’s bridges, tunnels, airports and the 16-acre World Trade Center site—which includes One World Trade Center, the soaring skyscraper dubbed “The Freedom Tower.” Foye, who previously practiced law in New York, Brussels, Budapest, and Moscow, displayed a keen ability to get things done while serving as the governor’s deputy secretary of Economic Development, a position that allowed him to manage the state’s recovery from near economic calamity. Foye may have made his name as a senior member of the management team of a S&P 500 REIT and as partner at Skadden Arps prior to joining the Port Authority, but it’s his dedication to the Island and the entire state that has drawn long overdue praise. Foye also had a stint on the board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority and for three years was at the helm of the United Way of Long Island. Ask anyone who had worked with him and they’ll tell you that Foye will be missed when he leaves the Port Authority once a successor is put in place. Whoever he or she is, they’ll have big shoes to fill.