"I've always had fine relations with him."

Governor Cuomo downplayed any notion that he and outgoing Transit Chief Andy Byford had a personality clash. He did acknowledge, however, that Byford's job will be changing at the MTA, which is the principal reason Byford says he is leaving.
 

"I think Andy Byford is a good man. I think he has done a lot of good during his two years. I think fundamentally the way the MTA operates is with a very strong team. And the team has even gotten stronger," said Cuomo.
 

Cuomo effectively controls the MTA. And sources say he would sometimes micromanage the transit agency, making it difficult for the professionals to do their jobs. Cuomo blew up a plan at the 11th hour to shut down the L Train tunnel into Manhattan in favor of a brand new solution. And some believe that was a major source of tension between Byford and the governor. The two men also recently clashed over a long-term plan to fix the signaling system.

"I am not going to say to the people of this state, ‘It's going to take us seven years to put in a new signal system. And there is nobody on the planet that can do it faster,’ Which, by the way, I don't believe."

Then there was the media attention. Byford often put himself out in front of television cameras to cheerlead for the transit system. He also sat for an interview on "60 Minutes," which was said to have rankled the governor. Cuomo says he barely had any contact with Byford.

"I don't think there is any truth to the fact that he couldn't get along with me. As I said, most of my dealings were with Pat Foye. But I've had a fine relationship with Andy," said Cuomo.

Brooklyn Assemblyman Robert Carroll is going to introduce a bill that would take the subways and busses out of the MTA and give that control back to the City of New York. Governor Cuomo said that will be very difficult to do feasibly, but he did not rule it out.