Austin Joseph Tobin (May 25, 1903 - February 8, 1978) served as the executive director of the Port of New York Authority, the precursor to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, from 1942 until 1972. Tobin was educated at College of the Holy Cross and Fordham Law School.
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Born to an Irish-American family in Brooklyn, Austin Tobin was educated at the College of the Holy Cross and joined the Port Authority in 1927, where he served the first 15 years of his career in the law department. He started out as a law clerk, and was promoted to assistant general counsel in 1935.[1] In 1942, he was appointed as executive director of the Port Authority.[1] During his thirty years in the post, he oversaw the development of the World Trade Center, as well as the Lincoln Tunnel, Newark Liberty International Airport, the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Tobin also sought control of LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airport.
In 1966, Tobin received The Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York."
He died on February 8, 1978.[2]
After Tobin died in 1978, the Port Authority named the outdoor plaza at the World Trade Center, in his honor, as the Austin J. Tobin Plaza. The plaza was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
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