Scenic Hudson Head Named to Leadership Post on MTA Sustainability Commission

HUDSON VALLEY -- As the president of Scenic Hudson -- which has a track record of developing innovative solutions to complex environmental and economic challenges -- Ned Sullivan has been tapped to lead one of four working groups that are part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) new Sustainability Commission. Created by MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot G. Sander, the blue-ribbon commission has representatives from throughout the authority’s 12-county service area and aims to develop a sustainability master plan for the MTA by Earth Day on April 22, 2008. Mr. Sullivan and Jonathan Drapkin, president and CEO of Pattern for Progress, are the two Hudson Valley representatives on the 18-member group.

Mr. Sander said the MTA, as the nation’s most powerful transportation agency, has an obligation in an era of climate change to do its part in reducing carbon emissions, saving energy, expanding recycling and launching other efforts to promote the region’s sustainability.

The panel will work on short- and long-term solutions in four key areas: carbon footprint/energy, waste/hazardous waste, water, and smart growth/transportation-oriented development.

Makes sense for Ned Sullivan to lead smart growth group

Mr. Sullivan has been appointed to head the panel’s Smart Growth/Transportation-Oriented Development Working Group. Throughout his career, he has pursued opportunities for increasing cooperation between industry, communities and environmental organizations. During his tenure as president of Scenic Hudson, Mr. Sullivan has served as a founding board member of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation. He is leading Scenic Hudson’s efforts to revitalize, both environmentally and economically, waterfront cities and town centers and to create a model “green” hotel/conference center on a 25-acre site along the Hudson in Beacon, Dutchess County. Scenic Hudson seeks to preserve open space and farmland while promoting appropriate development in established city and town centers.

Immediately before joining Scenic Hudson, Mr. Sullivan was commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and as a member of the governor’s cabinet, he helped attract new business to the state while ensuring the highest environmental standards. As a vice president and managing director at the Bank of Boston, he directed an initiative that helped government and corporate clients obtain funding for major capital projects, including developing legislation to finance the multibillion-dollar cleanup of Boston Harbor.

“Scenic Hudson is already helping locally with global climate change. The 40 parks we’ve created along the river are filled with forests and fields that cool our planet. We’re promoting public transportation when we advocate for healthy, appropriately sized developments along the Hudson. We’re working with a developer to build a sustainable hotel/conference center, which we hope will stand as a national model. Still, the chance to be part of a systemic change with something as far-reaching as the MTA is huge, and I’m really honored to be part of it,” said Mr. Sullivan.

MTA is major agency

With 6,000 subway cars, a similar number of commuter rail cars and several thousands buses, the MTA transports 9 million daily customers. The authority employs 66,000. The MTA, its sustainability and its efficiency are vitally important to the future of the state, New York City and the Hudson Valley.

Scenic Hudson works to protect and restore the Hudson River and its majestic landscape as an irreplaceable national treasure and a vital resource for residents and visitors. A crusader for the valley since 1963, we are credited with saving fabled Storm King Mountain from a destructive industrial project and launching the modern grass-roots environmental movement. Today with more than 10,000 ardent supporters, we are the largest environmental group focused on the Hudson River Valley. Our team of experts combines land acquisition, support for agriculture, citizen-based advocacy and sophisticated planning tools to create environmentally healthy communities, champion smart economic growth, open up riverfronts to the public and preserve the valley's inspiring beauty and natural resources. www.scenichudson.org

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