Charles J. Maikish, A Dedicated New Yorker Charged With Lower Manhattan’s Post 9/11 Comeback, Receives Leadership Award

Maikish is executive director of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, whose ties to the World Trade Center date back to its inception.

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Manhattan College has presented Charles J. Maikish, executive director of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, with the De La Salle Medal at the College’s annual benefit dinner held on Wednesday, January 18 at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City. The annual dinner is the College’s premium fund-raising event to benefit scholarships and academic programs.

It is perfectly fitting that Maikish was appointed executive director in 2005 of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center. His involvement with the World Trade Center has come full circle, having been present during the structure’s establishment in the 1960s, and again after the 1993 terrorist bombings. Now, he’s charged with what is probably New York City’s most critical and carefully watched development: the rebuilding efforts of not only the World Trade Center site but also a major business and residential hub.

At the dinner, where esteemed guests such as Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and the Honorable John Cahill were in attendance, Maikish underscored the importance of the rebuilding efforts of downtown Manhattan and his role in this historical moment.

“I have the incredible opportunity to have a hand in shaping the physical expression of history,” he said. “The reconstruction and revitalization of lower Manhattan is an opportunity for those in government and the private sector, planners and builders, engineers, architects and business professionals to realize the greatest urban infrastructure project this country – if not this world – has ever seen.”

As executive director of the command center, Maikish is coordinating all public and private construction in lower Manhattan south of Canal Street. He will also oversee the Fulton Street Transit Center, the permanent PATH Terminal and the World Trade Center site construction, among numerous other residential and commercial developments.

Maikish, who has worked as an attorney, engineer and senior executive, brings to this post more than 30 years of experience in all facets of construction and real estate and transportation development. Prior to his work at J.P. Morgan Chase, where he was executive vice president of global real estate business services, Maikish served as director of the World Trade

Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In this role, he spearheaded the reconstruction of the World Trade Center after the 1993 bombings and was responsible for the management of the World Trade Center and other Port Authority properties. He holds a J.D. degree from New York Law School, a B.S. from St. Joseph’s College and Seminary and studied engineering at Manhattan College.

The De La Salle Medal is given yearly to honor individuals who exemplify the principles of excellence and corporate leadership. To date, the medal has been awarded to an impressive crop of corporate leaders. Past recipients include New York Life Insurance Chief Executive Sy Sternberg, former Mayor of New York City Rudolph W. Giuliani ’65 and Con Edison Chairman Eugene R. McGrath ’63.

The Medal Dinner was established in 1951 in honor of John Baptist de La Salle, founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and one of the world’s great educators. The program included remarks by dinner hosts Peter J. Davoren, president and chief executive officer at Turner Construction Co.; Jim Ryan ’60, anchor of CBS 2 News This Morning; Brother Thomas Scanlan, president of Manhattan College; and Thomas O’Malley, chairman of the College’s board of trustees.

Proceeds from the $750-per-plate fund-raiser will be applied to academic and cocurricular programs, scholarship assistance and library resources.

Manhattan College is an independent, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher learning offering more than 40 major programs of study in the areas of arts, business, education, engineering and science, along with graduate programs in education and engineering.