Philip Mark Plotch, PhD is the Principal Researcher at the Eno Center for Transportation. In this role, he conducts timely policy research and expert analysis across a broad spectrum of projects; he is also a critical sounding board on Eno work products.

Dr. Plotch has played a leading role in improving the New York metropolitan area’s infrastructure. As the director of World Trade Center Redevelopment and Special Projects at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, he helped lead the nation’s effort to rebuild Lower Manhattan after the attacks of September 11, 2001. In his previous positions as manager of planning and manager of policy at the headquarters of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, he planned multibillion-dollar projects, developed emergency response procedures, and created strategic business plans. More recently, he was a professor of political science and the director of a master of public administration program at Saint Peter’s University, as well as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor at Sogang University in South Korea.

Dr. Plotch’s research into the planning of large transportation projects has explored the obstacles that lead to lengthy delays and the steps that can be taken to overcome them. He is the author of three highly acclaimed books: Politics Across the Hudson: The Tappan Zee Megaproject (published by Rutgers University Press), Last Subway: The Long Wait for the Next Train in New York (published by Cornell University Press), and Mobilizing the Metropolis: How the Port Authority Built New York (published by University of Michigan Press).

Dr. Plotch received his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany, master’s degree in urban planning from Hunter College, and PhD in public and urban policy from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at the New School for Public Engagement.

Eno Transportation Weekly Articles

Success Factors in Private Contracting for Public Transportation

October 4, 2024 - Last week, Eno held a webinar with representatives of two transit agencies and the North American Transit Alliance, to expand upon Eno’s recently released report, “Success Factors in Private Contracting for...

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881): The Great Railroad Strike

July 19, 2024 - After serving as a major general for the Union Army, a member of Congress, and governor of Ohio – Rutherford B. Hayes accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president in 1876,...

Media Mentions & Commentary

NJ Spotlight News|June 19, 2024

Murphy Slams Latest NJ Transit Disruption as ‘Unacceptable’

"Philip Plotch, principal researcher with the Eno Center for Transportation, said NJ Transit trains on the Northeast Corridor run reliably only 86% of the time. While aging tunnels cause problems, decrepit signal and electrical wiring...

The New York Times|June 16, 2024

Congestion Pricing Delay in New York Ripples Across the Country

“'Kathy Hochul didn’t just kill congestion pricing in New York, she killed it across the country for a long time,” said Philip Plotch, the lead researcher for the Eno Center for Transportation, a think tank...