ALBANY — Richard Ravitch, who played a critical role in saving New York City and its public transit system from financial ruin starting in the 1970s, before helping to politically save state government in 2009 as Lt. governor, he is dead.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday that Ravitch, 89, left “an indelible mark on our state.”
The hard-working, husky-voiced business owner was repeatedly drawn into state crises by governors seeking his help with seemingly intractable problems. These included the near-bankruptcy of the city and the near-collapse of the Metropolitan Transport Authority.
“He was the president of the MTA at perhaps the lowest point in the history of at least the subway system and certainly the public transportation system in New York,” said MTA President and CEO, Janno Lieber, in a statement. “… And in many ways, he’s one of the fathers of the public transportation system we have today, which we celebrate in so many different ways and try to continue to improve in his spirit.”
In short, Ravitch was among the most influential New Yorkers unknown to many residents.
“Dick Ravitch was a titan of the New York civic world,” Hochul said in a statement. “From leading the MTA at a critical time to serving as lieutenant governor, he was a consistent, intelligent and brilliant leader and public servant in the truest sense of the term.
“As governor, I greatly appreciated Dick’s wisdom and thoughtful advice, and I know that all New Yorkers have benefited from his contributions,” he added.
In 2009, then-Gov. David A. Paterson appointed Ravitch as lieutenant governor. The move allowed him to cast the deciding vote in a state Senate that had been paralyzed by a coup by a small group of Democrats who tried to win a tiebreaker in the evenly divided chamber.
In later years, Ravitch was part of a bipartisan group that had tried to unite Americans and close the divide in partisan politics.
Paterson, in an interview with Newsday on Monday, called Ravitch a throwback figure in a sharply partisan political world.
When Paterson nominated Ravitch, even Republican leaders praised the choice, although they challenged Paterson’s power to appoint a lieutenant governor, given that Paterson took over as governor when Eliot Spitzer resigned. The state Court of Appeals later sided with Paterson, setting an important precedent.
“It was his worldview that I was looking for,” Paterson said. “He would listen to everyone, try to take everyone’s problems into account and then try to solve them.”
Paterson said Ravitch spoke from time to time about his role as a witness to history, including having dinner with Martin Luther King Jr. in his visits to the city in the sixties.
“He was about what was right to do, rather than what was easy,” Paterson said.
“I feel like it’s the end of an era,” Stephanie Miner, a close friend and former mayor of Syracuse, said of Ravitch.
“He was one of those people in American history: a wise man who was willing to devote his energies and thoughts not to himself, but only to civic enrichment,” Miner said.
“I just wanted good government for everybody,” said Miner, who teaches at Colgate University in Hamilton.
Ravitch’s grandfather emigrated from Russia at age 17 to escape the pogroms. He made a living making log covers and helped the family prosper for generations.
“Many of my friends,” Ravitch declared in his autobiography “So Much to Do,” “say they’re jealous of the different lives I’ve led … what’s been constant is the gratification of being able to match my good luck. with contributions to the community, although New York has been so generous to five generations of Ravitches that there’s no way I could have given as much as I received.”
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.
