2025 Theodore W. Kheel Lecture on Transportation Policy with Janno Lieber & Sam Schwartz

We are pleased and proud to present the annual Theodore Kheel Transportation Policy Lecture—one of the most important public policy events on the Roosevelt House calendar. Previous transportation policymakers to have appeared in the series have included Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton; former MTA Chairs Patrick J. Foye and Joseph Lhota; and former City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

This year, with public transportation much in the news, we present the MTA’s Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber in conversation with our 2025 Theodore Kheel Visiting Fellow Sam Schwartz. Marking the 111th anniversary of Mr. Kheel’s birth, this important one-on-one, in-depth discussion will address critical, urgent topics including the recent challenges posed to the MTA by the federal government, and the current condition of the MTA overall. Welcoming remarks by Roosevelt House Director Harold Holzer.

In running the largest transportation system in the nation, Janno Lieber is at center stage in numerous disputes with Washington over issues like congestion pricing, and on the central issue of federal funding in general. Lieber will share his thoughts on the state of the MTA, congestion pricing, and the numerous challenges facing riders in the future. He will outline the call for capital investment in the needs of the transit system, and the importance of those projects to the region and nation. In addition, he is expected to provide updates on the various lawsuits regarding congestion pricing and MTA operations.

The discussion with Mr. Lieber is a signature event of the Theodore Kheel Fellowship in Transportation Policy at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. The late Mr. Kheel (1914-2010) was a major advocate for public transit and saw transportation as a civil rights issue.

Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, May 12, 2025.