Oregon Public Broadcasting

One of Oregon's more powerful smart-growth advocates is leaving for New York City.

David Bragdon has resigned his post as Metro President as of next month. He's taken a job running environmental programs for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Bragdon says he'll be continuing the same kinds of efforts he led at Metro, as he starts working on Mayor Bloomberg's sustainability plan.

David Bragdon: "It involves improving the recycling rate, planting more trees, extending more bike lanes. There's a long to-do list that Mayor Bloomberg has assigned here, and a lot of it sounds familiar to people in Portland, probably."

Bragdon says he's looking forward to returning to New York, where he lived until he was 12.

The outgoing Metro president was going to finish his second – and final – term at the end of this year.