“In his 12 years at the MTA, including as Executive Director and CFO from 1986 to 1993, Mortimer Downey led the agency through one of the most important eras in New York City transit history – the subway system’s revival. That comeback – starting with investments in a new fleet of subway cars – was in large part made possible because Mort pioneered borrowing in tax exempt bond markets for the MTA to fund its first Capital Programs. Without his wizardry, fiscal and otherwise, all the improvements that followed wouldn’t have been possible."
“Mort later went on to be the longest-serving federal Deputy Secretary of Transportation in USDOT history, which is where I came to know him as a boss, and as a friend and mentor to all. In every role – including his service on the Boards of Amtrak, the Mineta Transportation Institute, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) – Mort brought the same brilliance and passion that made him the premier transportation professional of his generation.”