William John Ronan (November 8, 1912 – October 15, 2014) was an American public servant and academic who founded and served as the first chairman of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

, from 1968 to 1974. He subsequently served as chairman of the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...

from 1974 until 1977 and remained on the board of the Port Authority until 1990. Prior to entering state government as a key aide to Governor

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

of New York in 1958, he was a professor of government at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

and served as dean of NYU's graduate school of public service from 1953 to 1958.

Education

Ronan graduated from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in 1934, and earned a doctoral degree from

in international law and diplomacy. He became dean at NYU and helped establish the Wagner School of Public Service from 1953 to 1958.

Career

Ronan helped found the Tri-State Transportation Commission. In 1965, he was appointed the first Chairman of the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority by Governor

. The newly formed MCTA purchased the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

from the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

. On February 29, 1968, the MCTA published a 56-page report for Governor Rockefeller, and in it, proposed several subway and railroad improvements under the name " Metropolitan Transportation, a Program for Action". Chairman Ronan pushed for the MTA to pursue the Program for Action, saying, "We're making up for 30 years of do-nothingism". The next day, the MCTA dropped the word "Commuter" from its name and became the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The MTA took over the operations of the other New York City-area transit systems and Ronan became chairman of the MTA. During Ronan's tenure, the MTA oversaw the construction of three lines as part of the Program for Action: the 63rd Street Line, part of the

Second Avenue Subway The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...

, and, the Archer Avenue Line. The MTA also shut down the Third Avenue elevated line in the Bronx.

Later life

After stepping down from the Port Authority, Ronan left public life, retiring to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, became a widower after his wife of 57 years, the former Elena Vinadé, died in 1996. He died of natural causes at his house in

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

, Florida, on October 15, 2014, at the age of 101.

References

1912 births 2014 deaths New York University faculty American centenarians Men centenarians Syracuse University alumni New York University School of Law alumni Executives of Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York) Chairmen of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey {{US-gov-bio-stub

Education

Career

Later life

See also

References