Charles J. Maikish

Executive Director of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center
Charles J. Maikish

Charles J. Maikish is executive director of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, appointed by the Governor of the State of New York and Mayor of the City of New York. Mr. Maikish is accountable directly to the Governor and Mayor for coordinating all public and private construction in Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street, from river to river. He will oversee construction of the Fulton Street Transit Center, the permanent PATH Terminal, and the World Trade Center site, among numerous other residential and commercial developments. The Command Center, established by the governor and mayor, is charged with assuring that the dozens of projects planned for Lower Manhattan are completed on schedule while minimizing their impact on businesses and residents.

Before becoming executive director of the Command Center, Mr. Maikish was executive vice president of Global Real Estate Business Services (REBS) at JP Morgan Chase. While there, he had responsibility for managing the firm’s worldwide real estate and client services, physical facilities, strategic space planning, and security services. He also oversaw financial services and distribution and support services.
Prior to JP Morgan Chase, Mr. Maikish was in charge of facilities management at Columbia University and had responsibility for property acquisition, leasing, planning, and operations. His specific focus was implementing a $650 million five-year capital program for new construction and infrastructure improvements.

Before joining Columbia University, Mr. Maikish spent 28 years in various capacities as a lawyer, engineer, and real estate executive with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In 1990, he became director of the World Trade Department with overall responsibility for the World Trade Center including operations, marketing, leasing, capital investment, and redevelopment of the complex. Mr. Maikish was appointed by the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority as the senior executive in charge of the recovery, reconstruction, and repositioning of the World Trade Center after the February 1993 bombing.

Mr. Maikish holds a J.D. degree from New York Law School and a B.S. from St. Joseph’s College and Seminary and studied engineering at Manhattan College. He currently serves on numerous boards in both the real estate and civic community including the Regional Planning Association, the New York Building Congress, several business improvement district boards, cultural councils, and college boards.
He is the recipient of numerous awards from various civic groups and institutions including the recently awarded 2006 De La Salle Medal from Manhattan College. He currently resides in New City, NY..