Top-Level Business, Political and Labor Leaders to Focus on Transportation Infrastructure Crisis

PR Log (Press Release) – Feb 09, 2010 – New Rochelle, NY (February  2010)  Top-level business, political and labor leaders including New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch; Rear Admiral Richard Larrabee, Director Port Commerce Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY, 8th District) and Joseph F. Marie, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation will address the crisis of the region’s outdated and deteriorating roads, bridges, rail lines, and other aspects of surface transportation infrastructure at the Third Annual Infrastructure Conference to be hosted by Iona College on April 8.

Also participating will be John Cooney, Jr., President, Tilcon, NY, a major provider of materials for the construction industry including highways in the New York metro area; Patrick Quinn, President, U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc., a leading transportation company; Frank McArdle, a well known consultant to the private and public sectors; Petra Todorovich, Director of America 2050, a national urban planning initiative to develop an infrastructure and growth strategy for the U.S.; Bart F. Livosi, Managing Director, Public Finance, Citigroup Inc.; the state transportation commissioners from New York and New Jersey and others.  

News 12, Westchester County Business Journal and Radio Station WHUD will be the media sponsors of the event which is expected to attract more than 300 attendees.

The conference—“CONFRONTING THE CRISIS: Solving Our Regional Surface Transportation Infrastructure Issues— will again bring together Iona College and presenting sponsor Terex Corporation,  one of the world’s leading manufacturers of construction equipment based in Westport, Connecticut.  Ronald DeFeo, Terex Chairman and CEO, is an Iona alumnus (’74).

Speakers and panelists will discuss practical solutions and funding needed to bring the regional transportation infrastructure up to grade. The urgency of the conference was recently underscored with the release of a report from NY State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli that cited the Tappan Zee Bridge as one of 93 bridges in the state with a safety rating below that given to the Lake Champlain Bridge which was closed and demolished.  The needs and demands of key transportation links in the region including the Tappan Zee Bridge will be examined during the opening panel discussion.

Brother James A. Liguori, President of Iona College, said:  “The nation’s transportation infrastructure is its economic lifeline.  While we rarely stop to think of the network of highways, railways, bridges, tunnels, waterways and airline terminals that serve us each and every day, let just one major component of the network go out of service and our dependence on these man-made wonders becomes painfully obvious.”

He added: “With the involvement and support of our presenting sponsor, Terex Corporation, and its President, Ron DeFeo, one of our many alumni who have achieved great success in business, we are very pleased to be hosting our third annual infrastructure conference.  We will bring many of the best and brightest minds together for what is certain to be a stimulating and thought-provoking look at this too often ignored, yet vital element in all of our lives.”          

Mr. DeFeo stated: “The future of the region’s economic vitality is tied directly to the actions that will need to be taken in the near future to repair the transportation infrastructure. It will require creative thinking by planners and policy makers as well as a concerted, collaborative and non-partisan effort among the municipal, regional, state and federal governments.  It will also require commitment and leadership if we are to succeed in improving the region’s economic competitiveness and quality of life for our citizens. Our hope is that the conference will not only help call attention to this urgent issue but will be instrumental in developing a long overdue regional plan of action.”  

The conference’s advisory board comprises leaders in infrastructure related sectors who are planning the day’s program. They include: Michael Bazinet, Director, Corporate Communications, Terex Corporation; John Cooney Jr., President, Tilcon NY; Alfred B. DelBello, Partner, DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr LLP; Marsha Gordon, President, Business Council of Westchester; Frank McArdle, consultant to private industry and the public sector; Caryn McBride, Executive Editor of the Westchester, Fairfield and Hudson Valley Business Journals; William Mooney, President, Westchester County Association and Ross Pepe, President, Construction Industry Council of Westchester and the Hudson Valley.

To register and for sponsorship information, visit www.iona.edu/terex.

Founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Edmund Rice Christian Brothers, Iona College is a private, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of American Catholic higher education.  Iona - currently listed in the top tier of US News and World Report's annual "America's Best Colleges 2010; The Princeton Review's Best Northeastern Colleges 2010 edition and Business Week's Top 25 Undergraduate Business Schools in the Northeast - offers undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science, and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and master of business administration degrees and numerous post-graduate certificate programs.

Terex Corporation is a diversified global manufacturer with operations in four business segments: Terex Aerial Work Platforms, Terex Construction, Terex Cranes and Terex Materials Processing and Mining. Terex manufactures a broad range of equipment for use in various industries, including the construction, infrastructure, quarrying, mining, shipping, transportation, energy, refining, and utility industries.

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