It is with great sadness that we learned of the unexpected passing of our friend and colleague William (Bill) Wheeler over the past weekend. Bill has been an integral part of planning the transit system and has touched the life of every transit rider in New York City, whether they knew it – or him.
If you’ve ever used a MetroCard, you met Bill.
If you’ve taken the subway to the new Fulton Transit Center or Atlantic Terminal, or ridden the long-awaited Second Avenue Subway line, you’ve benefited from Bill’s planning acumen.
If you’ve seen system improvements or resilience projects following SuperStorm Sandy – coming along slowly, but surely – you’ve seen the behind-the-scenes work that Bill undertook to make sure that critical federal funding was delivered to projects that need it.
Bill was a transit visionary, and an all-around good guy. His legacy is a transit system that will be in better shape than he found it. He will be sorely missed by those of us who had the privilege of knowing and working with him.