Neil David Levin

Levin’s name is located on Panel N-65 of the National September 11 Memorial’s North Pool.

Neil David Levin (c. 1954^[1][2] – September 11, 2001) was an American businessman and political figure who was executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from April 2001 until his death in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center later that year.^[1]

Early life[]

Neil David Levin was a native of Brooklyn.^[1]

Career[]

In 1995, Levin was appointed by New York Gov. George Pataki to serve as the state's Superintendent of Banks. In this role, Levin was the state's chief banking regulator, head of the Department of Banking, and Chairman of the State Banking Board. In 1997, Pataki named Levin as the state Superintendent of Insurance, which made him the state's chief insurance regulator. Pataki also named him the Chairman of the Commission on the Recovery of Holocaust Victims' Assets, which arranged for the return of assets to families in New York.^[3]

In early 2001, Pataki and then New Jersey Gov. Donald DiFrancesco named Levin as the Executive Director of the Port Authority.^[4] In this role he was the chief executive officer of the agency which runs the World Trade Center, various bridges and tunnels around New York City, the three airports in the New York City area, the seaports in New York and New Jersey, and various international trade programs. Levin was executive director for five months before his death.^[1]

Levin worked in a corner office on the 67th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower. On September 11, 2001, Levin was at the Windows on the World restaurant at the top of the North Tower, where he was speaking on the phone with his executive adviser, Karen Eastman. She later related that when American Airlines Flight 11 hit the tower, "Our reaction was 'What was that?' It hit on the opposite side so we just felt the impact and the building kept shaking and swaying for a long time."^[1]

Personal life and legacy[]

Levin lived in Manhattan.^[2]

At the National 9/11 Memorial, Levin is memorialized at the North Pool, on Panel N-65.^[5] He is buried at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Glendale, Queens, New York.^{[citation needed]}

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Neil David Levin.

• "Suny Levin Institute". August 2, 2012. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012.
• Neil David Levin at Find a Grave