Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Andrew Cuomo

After 102 Days, Cuomo Finally Names Tom Prendergast MTA Chief

Today Governor Andrew Cuomo named Tom Prendergast Chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Prendergast had been serving as interim executive director of the agency for more than three months, since Joseph Lhota departed at the end of last year to run for mayor. Prendergast, like previous MTA chiefs Lee Sander and Jay Walder, brings deep experience in transit management to the job.

Tom Prendergast. Photo: ##http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hop-mta-restores-old-bus-routes-lost-cuts-extends-article-1.1232790##Daily News##

Prendergast has a long career at the MTA, where he worked in various positions from 1982 to 2000, before departing for Parsons Brinckerhoff and, eventually, the top position at TransLink, the regional transportation agency in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2009, he returned to the MTA, where he has run the city's subway and bus systems as head of New York City Transit.

His tenure at the MTA has some advocates hopeful that Prendergast, who will be the fourth MTA leader in as many years, will end the instability atop the agency. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, in a statement applauding the appointment, expressed hope that Prendergast "remains in the role longer than two years."

Calling it "long overdue," Transportation Alternatives also welcomed the announcement, noting Prendergast's role in launching recent Select Bus Service routes. Prendergast was also the force behind Fastrack, which began the practice of weeklong nightly closures on subway lines to expedite maintenance.

The appointment was not a surprise to transit advocates, many of whom had quietly expressed their support for Prendergast. What remains notable is that Governor Cuomo took 102 days before making an announcement about the vacancy. After the departure of Jay Walder in 2011, the governor formed a search committee and the Senate confirmed Lhota three months after the vacancy opened.

After Senate confirmation, Prendergast is expected to resume contract negotiations with Transport Workers Union Local 100, which have stalled since Lhota's departure, and he will have to soon tackle the formation of the MTA's next five-year capital plan for maintenance and expansion.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

More Tantrums: City Halts 34th Street Busway After Threat from Trump DOT

The feds threatened to cut city and state funding if New York doesn't halt all work on the 34th Street busway so the FHWA can review the project.

October 17, 2025

READY, AIM, ‘MISFIRE’: NYPD’s Bike Speed-Limit Effort Only Adds Confusion in Central Park

Two slowly ambling pedestrians were clocked at 19 miles per hour. So what's the point of this, exactly?

October 17, 2025

Friday Video: Drool Over This London School Street

That's cricket! Check out how London transformed a roadway around a big stadium into a play street.

October 17, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Queen James Edition

State Attorney General Letitia James gave our national security desk reporters Dave Colon and David Meyer the ultimate hat tip. Plus other news.

October 17, 2025

Judge Orders Trump to Restore $34M in Security Funding to MTA

DHS overstepped its authority when it attempted to tie money from the Transit Security Grant Program to the Trump administration's efforts to deport immigrants, Judge Lewis Kaplan said.

October 16, 2025
See all posts