TRANSIT: NY MTA architect William J. Ronan has died

Ronan was the "face" of the MTA in its earliest iteration.

Oct. 17, 2014

According to the New York Times, William J. Ronan, the architect and first chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, died on Wednesday, Oct. 15, at his home in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was 101.

A former dean of New York University, Ronan was instrumental in the 1968 creation of the MTA, and in fact served as the agency’s “face” during its early, rough years, when commuter frustration hit a peak and he was called to bear down under public scrutiny.

In 1966, Ronan had resigned his position as secretary to then-New York governor Nelson A. Rockefeller to spearhead the fledgling MTA, then called the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority, remaining with the agency as board member until 1990.

Two daughters, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren survive him.