David Mack returns to MTA Board, filling Nassau seat

David Mack was confirmed to the MTA Board in February, restoring a voice for Nassau County residents on the agency's board of directors.  Mr. Mack takes the place of John Molloy, who stepped down from the position last spring.

(Photo: MTA)

Last December, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran submitted three names to the governor's office for appointment to the seat (the other two being Nora Haagenson, the mayor of the Village of Baxter Estates, and JP Morgan financial adviser Todd Richman).  All MTA Board members are appointed by the Governor, some on the recommendation of the Mayor and other County Executives in the MTA region, and are subject to the confirmation of the NYS Senate.

Mr. Mack, a real estate developer by trade, has a long history of public service, including as a member of the NYS Legislative Commission on Expenditure and Review, the assistant police commissioner for the Nassau County Police Department, the first deputy commissioner for the City of Long Beach Police, deputy superintendent of the NY State Police, and a member of the Judicial Screening Committee for County of Nassau Judges.  He also served as a board member of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

This is not his first tour of duty on the MTA Board...  Mr. Mack, 77, of Kings Park, was previously a member of the MTA Board as well as, for a period, the agency's vice chair, from December 1993 until he resigned from the MTA and PANYNJ boards in 2009 over a spat with then-NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo related to his time as NYS Police deputy superintendent.  Asked why he wanted to rejoin the board, he said “I really have a fine relationship with the existing board members and the bureaucrats that run the MTA."

Mr. Mack's appointment comes at a time when Long Islanders have been left short representation on the agency's board of directors.  John Molloy left the MTA Board last spring, and some political missteps regarding the appointment of his replacement meant that nobody was confirmed by the time the legislative session ended last June.  Ira Greenberg, a non-voting member representing the voice of the LIRR Commuter Council, left the board at the end of last year upon becoming a civil court judge in Queens, and Scott Rechler of Old Brookville, chair and CEO of Uniondale-based RXR Reality, stepped down from the MTA Board in February to join the redevelopment of Grand Central's Grand Hyatt hotel.

Mr. Mack joins Mitchell Pally of Stony Brook, CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute, who has been doing double duty as a voice for Long Islanders in recent months, and has served as the representative for Suffolk County since June 2005.  The seat for the representative from the LIRR Commuter Council remains vacant.