Philip Plotch

Philip Mark Plotch is an associate professor of political science and the director of the master of public administration program at Saint Peter's University.[1] He previously taught as an adjunct in the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College.[2]

He is the author of the book, Last Subway: The Long Wait for the Next Train in New York City (published by Cornell University Press[3] in 2020.) He also wrote the book, Politics Across the Hudson: The Tappan Zee Megaproject (published by Rutgers University Press[4] in 2015 with an updated version in 2018).

Plotch writes articles and op-eds about economic development, politics, and transportation issues that have been published in numerous academic and general publications including: Articulo – Journal of Urban Research[5], The Atlantic,[6] Crain's New York,[7] Daily News[8], Gotham Gazette[9], Governing[10], Journal News,[11] Journal of Planning History[12], Journal of Planning Literature,[13] Newsday,[14] The Record[15], Star Ledger,[16] Streetsblog,[17] and the Wall Street Journal.[18]

Plotch received the American Planning Association’s 2015 New York Metro Chapter journalism award for his in-depth research and hard hitting analysis behind the planning and politics of New York's transportation system.[19] Previous winners have included Kate Ascher, Brendan Gill, Paul Goldberger, Ken Jackson, and Elizabeth Kolbert.[20][21]

As director of World Trade Center redevelopment and special projects at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Plotch developed new transportation programs, oversaw the design and construction of Lower Manhattan open spaces, and administered programs to rebuild structures.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

Between 1992 and 2005, as the manager of policy and planning at the headquarters of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Plotch led planning improvements for the New York metropolitan area's transportation system including the 7 Subway Extension to the Hudson Yards, the Second Avenue Subway, and intelligent transportation systems.[30][31]