MTA’s first chairman dies at 101

William Ronan, the MTA’s first chairman, has died at the age of 101.

Ronan was appointed chairman of the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1965, according to the New York Post.

Just two years later, the agency was renamed the MTA and came to encompass different transportation authorities and railroads – including the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, which was run by Robert Moses.

During his tenure, he helped launch construction of the Second Avenue Subway, created Metro-North and bought the Long Island Rail Road.

“He was a wonderful man,” said his daughter Moncia Ronan. “Growing up was very special. It was exciting, it was very different.” [NYP] – Christopher Cameron