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CityAndStateNY.com
October 17, 2016
Christopher M. Lee SENIOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS MANAGER, THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY Birthday: 10/25
Where did you go to college? Bachelor’s Degree, Rutgers University; Master’s Degree, New York University
If you didn’t work in politics/ government, what would you do? Songwriter/guitar player
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ET’S BE HONEST: Having for mer Por t Aut hor it y employees on t r ia l for creating a traffic jam at its premier bridge can be tough. Christopher Lee can admit that. “But the reality is, (the Port Authority is) 7,000 employees … who are dedicated people, who come every day and they move people and goods through the most complex, important city in the world,” he says. “It really works well.” Lee is a perfect fit at t he Port Authority, having grown up in northern New Jersey before moving to Staten Island, where he now lives near his favorite bridge, the Goethals. “It’s a really important bridge for Staten Islanders. It’s their way out into the rest of the country,” he says. L ee i s eloquent when t a l k i n g about infrastructure, as it’s his job to communicate the authority’s updates. Some are good, like LaGuardia airport construction updates; others are bad, like temporarily closing the Bayonne Bridge. “Sometimes people get inconvenienced,” Lee says. “Explaining the reason why to people isn’t always pleasant, but it’s necessary.” Lee’s civic experience goes beyond the Port Authority. He serves on the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, and is finishing up a master’s of public administration at NYU – on top of raising two children with his wife. After years working in government on both sides of the Hudson, Lee puts his attachment to public service simply: “I like the idea of spending time contributing to making things a little better.”