LIPA chairman resigns in wake of Sandy criticism

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published December 1, 2012 at 4:00 AM EST

Another LIPA official steps down... WAMC's Dave Lucas reports.

Long Island Power Authority chairman Howard Steinberg has resigned from the board of directors.

His exit Friday is the latest in a string of departures following criticism of LIPA's performance in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

Newsday reports that Steinberg resigned in a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He said his work as a private-sector attorney precludes him from devoting the time to address challenges facing LIPA. Steinberg was appointed by Gov. George Pataki in 1999.

His resignation follows those of three other top LIPA officials.

The utility is being investigated for its performance after Sandy. More than a million customers lost power, and some remained in the dark for more than two weeks.

New York News

Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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