NEW YORK CITY — Patrick Foye, who led the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey during one of its most turbulent periods, is stepping down as the agency’s executive director early next year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In a memo Thursday to the agency’s staff, Foye said he would withdraw from consideration to become the authority’s new CEO, a position created in the aftermath of the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal of September 2013, the report said.

Port Authority officials had said they hoped to appoint a chief by year’s end. But they said Thursday that they would extend and broaden their search given recent progress on efforts to overhaul the Port Authority Bus Terminal and dig new Hudson River rail tunnels, according to The Wall Street Journal.

For the full story, click here.