STEVEN POLAN

POLAN--Steven Marc. Steven M. Polan, a partner with the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, who previously served as NYC Sanitation Commissioner and General Counsel of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, died on March 17th of pancreatic cancer at his home in Crested Butte, Colorado. He was 72. Steve was able to end life on his own terms in Colorado through Medical Aid in Dying, a choice not yet available in New York State. This was a cause he supported long before his own illness. A graduate of Tufts University and NYU Law School, Steve joined the staff of newly elected City Council President Carol Bellamy in 1978 working on health and then transportation issues. He later moved to the MTA as counsel to Chairman Richard Ravitch; together they developed the agency's first five- year capital plan that helped the transit system recover from the declines of the 1970s. Appointed General Counsel in 1983 by then- Chairman Robert Kiley, he led negotiations for the largest purchase of subway cars in the agency's history and was the driving force to replace the token with modern fare collection, leading to MetroCard's introduction. In 1990, Mayor David Dinkins named him sanitation commissioner; under his leadership the city's first major recycling program was introduced. At Manatt, Steve built a national and global practice. He represented Amtrak in its purchase of Acela trains and the introduction of the nation's only highspeed rail service. He worked on subway expansion in Boston and Los Angeles, highspeed rail in Taiwan, and congestion pricing in London. He was outside counsel to New York State for the replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge. Steve Polan is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Roistacher, his son Theodore, and his sister Judith Polan. He is deeply mourned by family, friends, and colleagues, who loved and admired his wisdom, wit, decency, and generosity. Donations in Steve's memory may be made to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, End of Life Choices New York, or the maintenance fund for the Panorama at the Queens Museum.