[4] Previously he was an associate professor of political science and the director of the master of public administration program at Saint Peter's University.
[6] He is the author of the book, Last Subway: The Long Wait for the Next Train in New York City (published by Cornell University Press[7] in 2020.)
He also wrote the book, Politics Across the Hudson: The Tappan Zee Megaproject (published by Rutgers University Press[8] in 2015 with an updated version in 2018).
[24] Previous winners have included Kate Ascher, Brendan Gill, Paul Goldberger, Ken Jackson, and Elizabeth Kolbert.
[25][26] As director of World Trade Center redevelopment and special projects at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, after the September 11 attacks, Plotch developed new transportation programs, oversaw the design and construction of Lower Manhattan open spaces, and administered programs to rebuild structures.