Putnam Resident Named to MTA Board

from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that two new members are joining the MTA Board.

Neal Zuckerman of the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council will take the non-voting seat formerly occupied by the Council’s Jim Blair. 

New York City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg will assume the seat formerly occupied by former New York City Budget Director Mark Page. 

Trottenberg and Zuckerman were confirmed to their positions by the New York Senate after being nominated recently by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. Trottenberg had been recommended to Governor Cuomo by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Zuckerman had been recommended by the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council to the MTA. The Senate today also re-confirmed two existing Board members, Andrew Albert and Ira Greenberg.

“Polly Trottenberg and I already have a great working relationship through her leadership of the New York City Department of Transportation,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast in a press release. "I have the utmost respect for the work of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Council to the MTA and its constituent organizations including the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council. In that vein, I welcome Neal Zuckerman to our board and look forward to working with him on a more regular basis going forward."

Neal Zuckerman is a Partner and Managing Director in the New York office of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm and advisor on business strategy with 81 offices in 45 countries. Neal’s professional advisory work is centered on media and entertainment companies, with a particular focus on supporting the transformation of media companies into sustainable, digitally-oriented businesses through growth strategies, business development and large-scale change. Prior to BCG, Zuckerman served in related roles at Time Warner and McKinsey & Company. 

Zuckerman is a resident of Garrison, NY (the station from which he commutes on Metro-North), and was appointed as Putnam County's representative to the Metro North Railroad Commuter Council (MNRCC) in 2010 by Governor Paterson and nominated by then County Executive Bob Bondi. The Metro North Railroad Commuter Council, an arm of the Permanent Citizens' Advisory Council to the MTA, is a statutory entity that serves as a source of timely advice to the MTA about its finance, operations, management, planning and service. In addition to his role on the MNRCC, Zuckerman serves in a variety of community-based roles, to include as a member of the Philipstown Planning Board, a Trustee of the Desmond-Fish Library, and a former President and Trustee of the Putnam County Historical Society. He is also the former chair of the New York Public Radio Community Board of Advisors. 

Prior to his business career, Zuckerman was a Captain in the U.S. Army, having served as a helicopter pilot and in various staff roles. He holds a B.S. in History from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. 

The Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council was created by the New York State Legislature in 1981 to represent the official voice of Metro-North riders. It’s eleven volunteer members are appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the Westchester, Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, and Rockland County Executives, and the Bronx Borough President. 

The MTA Board is comprised of 23 members. Seventeen voting members cast 14 votes, and six members are non-voting. All members, including the Chairman, are nominated by the Governor of the State of New York and confirmed by the New York State Senate. Before being nominated, four of the voting members are recommended by the Mayor of the City of New York and seven are recommended by the executives of the seven suburban counties in New York State that are served by the MTA. The six non-voting members are recommended by organizations that represent organized labor or MTA customers.