Robert Yaro is retiring from the Regional Plan Association. Thomas Wright, the nonprofit organization’s executive director, will succeed Yaro as president. The association was founded 92 years ago with the goal of creating a plan for the region, which at the time saw a large immigrant population.
Queens native Yaro was called “an oracle for the industry” by the city’s former transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, who is also a former Regional Plan Association board member.
Some of Yaro’s accomplishments include ratcheting up the association’s influence with mayors and other elected officials on policies, including the building of a new neighborhood on the Far West Side and the Second Avenue subway line.
Yaro, 64, joined the group in 1989 and became president in 2001. After assuming the top role at the association, he was immediately involved in helping shape the plans for the rebuilding of lower Manhattan following the terrorist attacks of September 11. [WSJ] — Claire Moses