advertisement

---

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has nominated Thomas Prendergast to serve as chairman and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the governor's office announced Friday.

Prendergast has served more than three years as president of MTA New York City Transit (NYCT), which operates the city's subway and bus system, and has been the MTA's interim executive director since Jan. 1.

"Tom has vast experience in infrastructure and transportation, and has spent years managing commuter railroads, as well as New York City's subways and buses," Cuomo said in a prepared statement. "From the track bed to the budget to modernizing our system for the 21st Century, I can't imagine anyone having a better understanding of how the region's vast system operates and the challenges that it faces."

Prior to joining NYCT, Prendergast was CEO at TransLink in Vancouver, British Columbia. A native of Chicago, he began his career at the Chicago Transit Authority. Prendergast also worked for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

If his nomination is confirmed by the state Senate, Prendergast will succeed Joseph Lhota, who became MTA's chairman and CEO in January 2012 and resigned late last year.