Founded in 1831, New York University is one of the largest private universities in the United States, with nearly 51,000 students. The University, which includes 14 schools and colleges, occupies six major centers in Manhattan.NYU is home to the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, which engages transportation issues through programs in Urban Planning, Public Management and Finance, and Negotiation and Conflict Resolution.

NYU is home to the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management. Its mission is to provide the tools for strengthening institutions and leadership within and across all modes of transportation, and for encouraging innovative thinking, discourse, and action on urban transportation policy, regionally, nationally, and internationally. It plays a central role in transportation training, policy dialogues, and public outreach in the region.

NYU also hosts the Institute for Civil Infrastructure Systems, which addresses issues of risk, homeland security, and environmental policy as they relate to public infrastructure.Since 2004, ICIS has engaged in research and associated educational activities funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through three university centers: the Center for Catastrophe Preparedness and Response (CCPR) at NYU, the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) at the University of Southern California, and the Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection (I3P) at Dartmouth.