RPA’s highest award for leadership in the metropolitan region is named after John E. Zuccotti, a long-serving member of the RPA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Presented each year at RPA’s annual Assembly, the award recognizes a leader who has made extraordinary contributions to the built environment of New York City and the metropolitan region. The 2017 inaugural John Zuccotti Award was presented to former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

We are very pleased to announce that the 2018 recipient of the John Zuccotti Award is Anthony Coscia, Chairman of the Board of Amtrak and Partner at Windels, Marx, Lane & Mittendorf. Tony’s career in public service spans three decades, and includes the Chairmanship of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. From restoring Lower Manhattan after 9/11 to building a new tunnel under the Hudson River, Tony has been a steady presence leading every almost every regional infrastructure project in our region in the 21st century.

“From the rebuilding of the World Trade Center to his unwavering efforts in advancing the construction of a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, Tony Coscia embodies the qualities of our late friend, John Zuccotti, as a stalwart leader and advocate for our New York and New Jersey region,” said Scott Rechler, Chairman Regional Plan Association Board of Directors. ​“I am incredibly honored to bestow the highest honor of the RPA to a former Port Authority Commissioner, a trusted colleague, and my friend, Tony Coscia.”

“Tony has been the quiet, persistent force making our region fairer, more sustainable and more prosperous for a quarter-century,” said Tom Wright, President of Regional Plan Association. From the NJ EDA to the Port Authority to Amtrak, he has shown leadership, courage, integrity and wisdom in each position. And perhaps never has he been so important to us as he is now, leading investments in the Northeast Corridor and the vital Gateway project. On behalf of the board and staff of RPA, and in memory of our friend John Zuccotti, I am delighted that he has accepted RPA’s highest honor.”

“On behalf of the RPA and the Zuccotti family, I am pleased to confer the John Zuccotti Award on Tony Coscia. Tony shares many of John’s unique qualities – unbridled optimism and resiliency in pursuit of the public good; a network of relationships, quiet power and trust with the authority to convene; and his resourcefulness and steady hand finding solutions,” said Howard Milstein, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of New York Private Bank & Trust. ​“John and Tony worked closely as colleagues, friends and champions of the city and region. We are proud to honor Tony with this award.”

In addition to the organizations and projects Tony has lead in the region, he is also deeply committed to giving back. He is a trustee of Georgetown University and the New Jersey Community Development Corporation, and is a member of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Council of Trustees, The Partnership for New York City, The Economic Club of New York and has been a longstanding member of the the Regional Plan Association board.

The award will be presented April 27, 2018 at RPA’s Assembly. Get your tickets or find out more about sponsorship opportunities at: http://assembly.rpa.org/