In the high-stakes world of New York transportation, three Indian American leaders have emerged as the architects of a more mobile and equitable state. Recognized in the City & State 2026 Trailblazers in Transportation list, Bhairavi Desai, State Sen. Jeremy Cooney, and Kovid Saxena are leveraging their unique backgrounds to overhaul everything from driver rights to high-speed rail.
Bhairavi Desai: The labor vanguard
Bhairavi Desai has spent over three decades as the most formidable defender of New York’s for-hire drivers. Born in Gujarat, India, Desai immigrated to New Jersey at age 6. The daughter of a lawyer who struggled to find legal work in the U.S., she grew up witnessing the indignities of the working class a perspective that led her to found the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) in 1998.
Desai’s latest victory is a legislative landmark: a City Council veto override in January that prevents ride-hailing platforms from deactivating drivers without due process. A longtime ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, she famously participated in a hunger strike that secured millions in medallion debt relief, humanizing a workforce that is overwhelmingly South Asian.
Jeremy Cooney: The policy trailblazer
State Sen. Jeremy Cooney, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, brings a story of global connection to Albany. Adopted from an orphanage in Kolkata, India, by a single mother from Rochester, Cooney was the first Asian American elected to state office from upstate New York.
His legislative fingerprints are across the state’s 2026 agenda. Cooney successfully secured $500,000 for a high-speed rail study and championed a 4.9% increase in public transit funding. Beyond heavy rail, he is modernizing the daily commute through bills that expand pre-tax benefits to include bicycle rentals and ride-hailing services.
Kovid Saxena: The infrastructure veteran
While policy is debated in chambers, Kovid Saxena is ensuring the physical foundations of New York hold firm. As Vice President for Mobility at Arcadis, Saxena is an industry veteran who received his early education in India before becoming a central figure in U.S. engineering.
Saxena’s current portfolio includes the massive Gateway Hudson River Tunnel and the Second Avenue Subway expansion. His fingerprints are on the city’s most complex puzzles, from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway’s triple cantilever to the rollout of curbside electric vehicle charging.
By bridging the gap between traditional engineering and future-tech mobility, Saxena is ensuring the state’s transit remains as resilient as the people who build it.