Constantine "Connie" Sidamon-Eristoff, who served for nearly two decades as a Board Member and Secretary of the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, passed away over the recent holidays. Connie was a significant force for environmental progress in New York, and his legacy endures with our organization and many other environmental groups across the state.

Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff was a tremendous force for environmental progress in New York.Mr. Sidamon-Eristoff served as Regional Administrator for Region II of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the first Bush administration. He was for 15 years a Commissioner of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York (MTA). Before that he was New York City Highways Commissioner and Transportation Administrator under Mayor John Lindsay.

An attorney from New York City and Highland Falls, he was most recently of counsel at Lacher & Lovell & Lovell-Taylor. 

In the 1990s, Mr. Sidamon-Eristoff became chairman of Audubon New York, the first state office of the National Audubon Society and a catalyst for other state offices of this non-profit. Establishment of statewide offices allowed Audubon, which promotes the protection and management of birds, wildlife and their habitats, to become more locally oriented.

Mr. Sidamon-Eristoff also served as a Commissioner of the Orange County Planning Board and as a Director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. He was a member of the New York State Bar Association's Environmental Law Section and served on its Executive Committee and as Co-Chairman of its Standing Committee on International Environmental Law.

A memorial service for friends and family will be held in February.