Photo Courtesy of the Office of the Governor
Tom Prendergast
By Michael V. Cusenza
Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom Prendergast will retire from public service in early 2017, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday.
“Tom Prendergast has overseen the reimagining and modernization of the MTA and will be remembered for improving the commute, and the lives, of millions of New Yorkers who depend on our mass transit system,” Cuomo said. “The on-time completion of the Second Avenue Subway would have been impossible without Tom’s leadership and relentless commitment to meeting the goal and is an incredible way to end his long and successful career. Tom has been an incredibly effective chairman and CEO and among the finest public servants I have had the privilege of working with. I thank him for his hard work and dedication to the people of New York, and wish him and his family the best on this exciting new chapter.”
Prendergast arrived at the MTA in 1982 as assistant director of system safety for New York City Transit. By 1994 he was appointed president of the Long Island Rail Road.
Prendergast was named president of NYC Transit in November 2009 and served as interim executive director of the MTA from Jan. 1, 2013 until his appointment as chairman and chief executive officer was confirmed by the State Senate on June 20, 2013.
“It has truly been a privilege to have a hands-on Governor who is so invested in the MTA – both in supporting the largest Capital Program this agency has ever seen and by working so closely with us not only to fund it, but to implement that investment wisely,” Prendergast said. “Opening the Second Avenue Subway this weekend was a crowning achievement for the MTA and I’m proud to have been a part of such a historic moment. It has not only changed the daily commute for hundreds of thousands of customers, it has helped change the face of the MTA – showing the public we can meet the deadlines we set for ourselves.
“I’m also proud of the work we have done to integrate new technology into all aspects of our system to keep up with the growing needs of our riding public and of the way we recovered and fortified our assets from the devastating damage left behind by Hurricane Sandy,” he continued. “It’s never easy to leave an organization after 25 years of service, but I do so knowing that the MTA will continue to serve the public so well and that our Governor will ensure New York continues to have the most robust transportation system in the country.”
Monday’s news was met with plenty of praise for the outgoing agency head.
“Tom Prendergast is a good man and did a fine job overseeing the MTA,” tweeted City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park). “I wish him well.”
