Saeed, of Journal News, new face of Tappan Zee project

The Journal News transportation reporter Khurram Saeed is taking over as the director of communication for the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project.

Saeed”™s first day will be Dec. 31.

The appointment, which was announced in an email naming multiple appointees from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo”™s office Dec. 21, comes shortly after another journalist, former News 12 anchor Brian Conybeare, resigned as the Tappan Zee Bridge project”™s special adviser to the governor in October.

A spokeswoman for the state Thruway Authority said Saeed”™s title will be different from Conybeare”™s because the nature of the position has changed as the project has evolved.

Conybeare, who is now working as a reporter for CBS2 in New York City, oversaw early community outreach for the nearly $4 billion project and through the first half of its construction. The bridge is slated to be finished and opened in 2018.

Saeed declined request for comment, citing the fact that he is still employed with the Gannett Co. Inc.-owned newspaper where he has worked since June 2000.

Before joining The Journal news, Saeed worked for The Bellingham Herald in Washington state where he covered city hall as a reporter. He was also the publisher and editor-in-chief for Aaj Magazine, a publication in Vancouver that covered the city”™s South Asian population. Saeed earned a bachelor”™s degree in journalism from Pace University.