How a Delta Air Lines Executive Spends His Sundays
Ryan Marzullo’s weekends have not been his own since construction started on the new Terminal C, one of the final components of La Guardia Airport’s $8 billion transformation.
Mr. Marzullo, a managing director with Delta Air Lines, is overseeing the development of the 1.3 million-square-foot, 37-gate terminal, which combines the areas of two old terminals into a new hub for all of Delta’s departures and arrivals.
But the project hasn’t been all hard hats and jackhammers. To add a dash of hometown flavor, Mr. Marzullo asked for the input of local artists. The airline partnered with the Queens Museum to bring six permanent commissions, including sculptures and murals reflecting the city’s diversity, to the terminal, where a new concourse is scheduled to open early next month.
Mr. Marzullo, 42, lives in Midtown West, a neighborhood he says is the perfect central spot for a transportation expert: “I chose it for the proximity to Penn Station so I could take the L.I.R.R. to J.F.K., as well as the E to La Guardia.”
OUT OF THE GATE Sunday morning is my time to run. I get up around 6:30 or 7, and I make breakfast and read The Times and The Financial Times. I either run in the gym in my building or, when it warms up like it’s starting to, by the Hudson River. I run three to four miles. It’s not that tough, but I’ve been slacking the last few weeks.
HEADPHONE CONCERTO The next thing I normally do is spend time practicing the piano, or actually teaching myself piano. I have an iPad that gives me lessons on how to decipher sheet music. It could be classical or rock or whatever. I just started doing it a few years ago, especially since the pandemic. It’s a digital piano; it looks and sounds like a piano, but the neighbors appreciate it because I put headphones on and nobody can hear me. It takes my mind completely off work, which is why I love doing it.
REROUTED TO LGA That’s what I normally do. But the last month or two I usually just work out and then go to work. I’ve fallen in love with this little great coffee shop, Culture Coffee, so I might head there then over to the site to spend a couple hours looking at the work that’s going on. I’ll meet with our team and whoever is our supervisor on the weekend. As I’m walking through I’ll talk to some of the workers. Not to tell them what to do. I’m just observing. Then I go to my office and catch up on my email and any pressing issues.
FLIGHT PATTERN Heading home, depending on who’s around and who wants to get together, I meet up with friends for a late lunch. We’ll pick a restaurant somewhere in the West Village, or we’ll go to Central Park with the football or a Frisbee. I love being there. It’s my favorite part of the city. If I’m by myself, I’ll just read. I read histories and biographies, those kinds of books.
SLOW DOWN I make dinner at home. Usually my girlfriend, Lindsay Kryzak, who lives in Cobble Hill, is with me. While I’m cooking I’ll talk to my mom, my dad and my sister on the phone. Of course they’re always inquisitive about my work, what’s going on and how I’m dealing with it. They know it’s stressful. They also know I enjoy it. With dinner, I try to make something I think Lindsay is going to like. Last week I ventured into Thai food, which was interesting. I had to follow a recipe. I take my time when I’m cooking. I don’t rush. I’ve got enough pressure on me. If it takes a couple hours, then it takes a couple hours.
TURBULENCE At some point she’ll go back to Brooklyn and I’ll shift into work mode, where I start mentally going through the battles I know I’m going to have coming up with contractors. I subscribe to Hulu and Netflix, but I don’t have time to watch them. I haven’t watched TV for years. At 10 I’m usually in bed. I fall asleep pretty easily, but I wake up a lot. I don’t sleep well through the night. I would say it’s because of stress.
