New York's financial world is remembering Felix Rohatyn as the driving force behind the city's recovery from near-bankruptcy in the 1970s.
Rohatyn died Saturday at age 91, his son, Nicolas, told the New York Times. No cause was given.
Rohatyn, a longtime managing director at Lazard, Frères & Co. — now Lazard Ltd. — chaired the nine-member Municipal Assistance Corp. in 1975. Gov. Hugh Carey and the state legislature authorized MAC to sell New York's bonds to repay creditors and firm up the city's cash flow after Wall Street said it would no longer underwrite city bonds and notes.
Rohatyn advised Carey during negotiations over the creation of the MAC. Also involved were other government and corporate leaders that included former federal judge Simon Rifkind; Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. chairman Richard Shinn; and AT&T chief executive William Ellinghaus.
"None of them had any previous exposure to the city's budget and fiscal issues. But they were fast learners, and their credibility was crucial to gaining widespread acceptance of the recommendations that Carey hoped could emerge from their discussions," longtime public finance power broker Richard Ravitch wrote in his book, "So Much to Do."
"Rohatyn became the group's most active and forceful participant," Ravitch wrote.
Early in 1976, Carey also named Rohatyn to the state’s Emergency Financial Control Board, which had to sign off on city spending. Rohatyn chaired MAC until 1993.
"Although not elected, he goes down in history as one of the great 20th-century leaders of New York City," said Jonathan Ballan, who chaired MAC for its final eight years.
Ballan, now co-chair of public and project finance for law firm Cozen O'Connor, recalled meeting Mr. Rohatyn after his appointment in 2001.
"He had maintained a keen interest in MAC and wanted to meet the new, young chairman, and I wanted to meet the legend himself. Discussing the history of New York City finances with Mr. Rohatyn was memorable for me and I think he enjoyed telling some of the stories as well."
MAC dissolved in 2008 when its debt was paid in full.
"During my tenure, MAC had a flurry of activity spurred by the unexpected need by the city for revenue to avoid being thrown into a control period following the horrific terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001," Ballan said. "But later, after eight years as chairman, I had the privilege of closing down MAC. Imagine that — a government agency shutting down! But MAC had served its function well, beginning with Mr. Rohatyn’s leadership through the ‘70s fiscal crisis and ending under my chairmanship."
The watchdog Citizens Budget Commission has named an annual award in Mr. Rohatyn's honor. Rohatyn himself in 2017 was the first recipient, earmarked for "legendary champions of New York." Ravitch, who worked with Rohatyn during the city's recovery, will be the 2020 recipient.
"Felix was a giant whose contributions to the city are countless," CBC president Andrew Rein said. "He lived and voiced the values of civic commitment, repeatedly heeding the call to bring stakeholders together to solve problems in ways that would benefit all New Yorkers. Without him, New York would not be the city we enjoy today."
Rohatyn was also a U.S. ambassador to France from 1997 to 2000 under President Clinton. He withdrew from consideration for vice chairman of the Federal Reserve in 1996 because of Republican opposition in the Senate.
Speaking at that awards dinner in Manhattan in 2017, Eugene Keilin, who chaired the MAC and CBC in separate tenures, recalled Rohatyn’s troubleshooting.
“In 1975, New York City was a one-car crash, largely of its own making,” Keilin said. “There was no playbook, no emergency manual, no safety net. Fortunately, a small group of New Yorkers grabbed the wheel and pulled the car away from the cliff.
“They will tell you that Felix Rohatyn was the man who brought them all together.”
Born in Vienna in 1928, Rohatyn left Austria for France in 1935, then fled Nazi occupation five years later, finally arriving in the U.S. in 1942.
"His skills as a financial engineer were well-known," Ravitch wrote. "Less well-known but at least as important was the fact that he was a refugee. ... His commitment to the success of the country's democratic processes ran deep."
Rohatyn wrote several books including “Bold Endeavors: How Our Government Built America, and Why It Must Rebuild Now,” and “Dealings: A Political and Financial Life,” published in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
In 2012, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo named him co-chairman of an infrastructure resilience panel after Hurricane Sandy struck.
Robert Linn, New York City's labor commissioner and a Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member, invoked Rohatyn on Monday when he said he would vote against the MTA's operating budget for calendar 2020 and four-year financial plan.
Linn said new, unbudgeted expenses raised too many red flags.
"When I read the wonderful statements about Felix Rohatyn and the work he did in the 1970s and 1980s, I think we ought to look at the work of Felix Rohatyn," Linn said. "I'm not sure he would even have allowed the MAC board a budget and financial plan like the one we're looking at."
