Policy Makers and Other Experts to Debate Tough Decisions Facing the Future of the New York Region; U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, NYC First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris to Deliver Keynote Speeches

Speakers Include Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy; Ford Foundation President Darren Walker; New York Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen; Former Bloomberg CEO Dan Doctoroff; Amtrak Chairman Anthony Coscia

NEW YORK— Regional Plan Association announced the speakers and complete schedule for the organization’s annual Assembly on Friday, April 24, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and New York City First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris will deliver keynote speeches at the event. Other speakers include Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy; Ford Foundation President Darren Walker; New York City Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen; Amtrak Chairman Anthony Coscia; Dan Doctoroff, former president and CEO of Bloomberg L.P.; Steven Fulop, Mayor of Jersey City; Ruben Diaz Jr., Bronx Borough President; Kyle Kimball, President of the New York Economic Development Corporation, and many more.

The 2015 conference, ​“Tough Decisions for the Future of the New York Metropolitan Region,” will feature a series of debates with leading policy makers and innovative thinkers on difficult policy choices, including gentrification and housing affordability; coastal retreat in the face of climate change; and the role of new vehicle technologies like ride-sharing and driverless cars in the tri-state area.

The Assembly debates cover a range of issues RPA is exploring in its work on the Fourth Regional Plan. International, national and local experts will weigh in on questions surrounding whether government should offer public subsidies for corporate relocations; the future of manufacturing in the New York metropolitan region; and what New York can do to catch up to its global peers.

RPA also will present an update on the progress of the Fourth Regional Plan, a multiyear initiative to plot the course for the region’s shared prosperity, sustainability and good governance.

“We are honored to have U.S. Attorney Bharara, First Deputy Mayor Shorris, Governor Malloy and many other distinguished speakers join us as we debate the key issues facing the region,” said Tom Wright, president of Regional Plan Association. ​“These individuals have taken on extremely difficult challenges, from promoting resiliency in the face of rising sea levels and natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy to addressing the region’s high cost of living to ensuring the good governance of our public institutions. RPA hopes to learn from the tough decisions these leaders have made as we plot a course for the future of the region in the Fourth Regional Plan.”

RPA’s Assembly is the premier forum for civic and business leaders to discuss approaches the tri-state region should take to expand economic opportunity and prosperity, make our government institutions more responsive and improve our infrastructure and quality of life.

View the full program at assembly.rpa.org.

For additional information, please contact Wendy Pollack at wpollack@rpa.org or Emily Thenhaus at ethenhaus@rpa.org.