Neil David Levin

Neil David Levin (died September 11, 2001) was the Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He was killed during the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.[1]

Neil David Levin
Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
In office April 2001[1] – September 11, 2001
Nominated by	George Pataki[1]
Succeeded by	Ronald Shiftan[1]

Levin’s name is located on Panel N-65 of the National September 11 Memorial’s North Pool.

Early life

Neil David Levin was a native of Brooklyn, New York.[1]

Career

Levin was a businessman and political leader in New York State. He was an aide to former U.S. Sen. Al D'Amato and to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in Washington in the 1980s. He later moved back to New York to become a vice president at Goldman Sachs. He held a bachelor's degree from Lafayette College, a master's degree from Long Island University and a law degree from Hofstra University.

He spent seven years as the Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Farmer Mac and a member of the Freddie Mac Advisory Committee. He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Trustee of Hofstra University.

In 1995, Levin was appointed by New York Gov. George Pataki to serve as the state's Superintendent of Banks. In this role, Levin was the state's chief banking regulator, head of the Department of Banking, and Chairman of the State Banking Board. In 1997, Pataki named Levin as the state Superintendent of Insurance, which made him the state's chief insurance regulator. Pataki also named him the Chairman of the Commission on the Recovery of Holocaust Victims' Assets, which arranged for the return of assets to families in New York.[2]

In early 2001, Pataki and then New Jersey Gov. Donald DiFrancesco named Levin as the Executive Director of the Port Authority. In this role he was the chief executive officer of the agency which runs the World Trade Center, various bridges and tunnels around New York City, the three airports in the New York City area, the seaports in New York and New Jersey, and various international trade programs. Levin was executive director for five months before his death.[1]

Levin worked in a corner office on the 67th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower. On September 11, 2001, Levin was Windows on the World restaurant at the top of the North Tower, where he was speaking on the phone with his executive adviser, Karen Eastman. She later related that when American Airlines Flight 11 hit the tower, "Our reaction was 'What was that?' It hit on the opposite side so we just felt the impact and the building kept shaking and swaying for a long time."[1]

Personal life and legacy

Levin lived in Manhattan.[3]

Levin was married to broadcast journalist Christy Ferer, who later served as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's liaison to 9/11 families and has been named by Pataki to the Port Authority Board of Commissioners.

Pataki announced that the 65th institution in the State University of New York system would be named the Neil D. Levin Graduate Institute of International Relations and Commerce.

At the National 9/11 Memorial, Levin is memorialized at the North Pool, on Panel N-65.[4] He is buried at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Glendale, Queens, New York.

References

1. "Neil D. Levin, 47, P.A. executive director". NJ.com. August 15, 2011. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
2. "NEIL D. LEVIN: World Trade Center: A Consensus Builder". Legacy.com.
3. Wyatt, Edward (September 22, 2001). "Neil Levin, Executive Director Of Bistate Port Authority, 46". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2009.
4. "North Pool: Panel N-65 – Neil David Levin". National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2011.

External links

• "Suny Levin Institute". August 2, 2012. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012.
• Neil David Levin at Find a Grave