Demetrius Crichlow at a power control room in New York.
Photographer: Sabrina Santiago/BloombergNYC’s Newest Transit Leader Builds a Worker-Driven Strategy
Demetrius Crichlow, the first African American to lead the city’s subways and buses, is using his connections as a 27-year veteran to tackle transformational change.
Over the past twelve years, as New York City’s mass transit system has been roiled by the challenges of aging infrastructure and a pandemic, the agency that oversees it has churned through eight presidents.
New York City Transit’s new leader, Demetrius Crichlow, says he plans to stick around to see big projects through. Overseeing the city’s subways and buses is personal for Crichlow, a third-generation transit employee who worked his way up the ranks from an assistant signal maintainer over a 27-year career. Crichlow, the first African American to serve in the role, intends to lean on the relationships he’s built at all levels of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as he works to ensure reliable service while preparing the agency for transformational change.