Celebrating a 25-year career in public service.
Last week, Patty Clark retired as Chief Strategy Officer in the Aviation Department at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, ending a distinguished 25-year career in public service. She has also worked closely with Regional Plan Association in our efforts to promote modernization and expansion of the region’s airports and improved rail transportation to these facilities. We couldn’t let her go without sharing our appreciation and admiration for all her tremendous work.
We first partnered with Patty back in 1995, when she left Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s staff to lead efforts to build the JFK AirTrain. RPA staff collaborated with her and others at the Port Authority to address concerns from neighborhood residents, airlines, and other stakeholders. At the time this seemed an impossible task, but Patty’s relentless enthusiasm helped the project overcome opposition and eventually built the AirTrain connecting JFK and Jamaica, Queens – one of the first transit expansion projects in the region in many decades.
On 9/11, Patty was one of the last people to escape from the World Trade Center after climbing down 82 flights of stairs from the Port Authority’s offices. She returned from this traumatic experience more determined than ever to rebuild and improve our infrastructure.
In her long career Patty has epitomized the high level of expertise and dedication of the Port Authority’s professional staff. It is hard for many of us to imagine a Port Authority without Patty. She has left an extraordinary legacy, and we wish her the very best upon her well-earned retirement
