Richard Ravitch

Richard Ravitch, a politically savvy, civic-minded developer and public citizen who helped rescue New York City from the brink of bankruptcy and its decaying subways from fiscal collapse, died on Sunday June 25 2023 in Manhattan. He was 89. His wife Kathleen M. Doyle confirmed his death. Ravitch became famous for helping New York City avoid default in the 1970's. Richard Ravitch is an attorney, businessman and public official, engaged in both private and public enterprise for more than 50 years. He began his career as a principal of the HRH Construction Corporation, where he supervised the development, financing and construction of over 45,000 units of affordable housing in New York, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and other locations. In 1975, he was appointed Chairman of the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) by Governor Hugh Carey. The UDC, a “moral obligation” financing and development agency with 30,000 dwelling units under construction, had become insolvent and faced the first municipal bankruptcy since the 1930’s. From 1975 to 1976, Mr. Ravitch assisted New York City and State officials in resolving the City’s defaults. In 1979, he was appointed Chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), where he recruited operating officials from the private sector with experience in marketing as well as management and operations, and developed a long-term capital plan, budget and financing for a system-wide upgrade of operating equipment, roadbed and signal capabilities. For his MTA work, he was awarded the American Public Transit Association’s Individual of the Year Award in 1982. Following his MTA service, Mr. Ravitch led the effort to recapitalize The Bowery Savings Bank, once the nation’s largest mutual savings bank, arranging for its acquisition from FDIC by an investor group and serving as Chairman and CEO. Subsequently, Mr. Ravitch was retained by the owners of the Major League Baseball clubs to serve as President of the Player Relations Committee and oversee the creation of a revenue sharing plan and proposal for players. In 1999, Mr. Ravitch was appointed Co-Chair of the Millennial Housing Commission to examine the federal government’s role in meeting the nation’s growing affordable housing challenges. He more recently served as Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York, and is now Co-Chair of the State Budget Crisis Task Force with former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul A. Volcker. Richard Ravitch was born in Manhattan on July 7, 1933. His father, Saul, the son of a Jewish immigrant from Russia who manufactured manhole covers, was a builder. His family company, HRH Construction, would redefine the city skyline with majestic structures that included the Beresford and San Remo apartment buildings. His mother, Sylvia (Lerner) Ravitch, was an accomplished sculptor. Mr. Ravitch was 1955 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Columbia College and received his LLB from Yale University School of Law in 1958. In Houston in 1960, he married Diane Silvers, who went on to become a prominent education historian and policy analyst. They divorced in 1986. His marriage to Betsy F. Perry, in 1994, also ended in divorce. In 2005, he married Ms. Doyle, the chairwoman of William Doyle Galleries. She survives him as do two sons, Joseph and Michael, from his first marriage (another son, Steven, died in 1966); three stepdaughters, Carrie and Laura Doyle and Liz Doyle Carey, from his marriage to Ms. Doyle; and 13 grandchildren.