New York Hotel Union Power Broker Peter Ward Is Retiring (1)

Peter Ward, a New York political power broker and one of the most powerful men in the U.S. hotel industry, is retiring, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Brooklyn-born Ward, who runs the New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council, started at the union as a teenager and climbed ranks to become a major force in local politics.

Peter Ward

Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

“Several years ago one of the major tabloids called Peter the most powerful union leader in NYC,” said David Sherwyn, a professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. “If you had said to someone 30 years ...