The New York State Senate late Thursday confirmed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's appointment of Thomas Prendergast to serve as chairman and chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Prendergast, 60, had served as the MTA's interim chief since Jan. 1, when he succeeded Joseph Lhota, who resigned to run for New York City mayor.
Prendergast for more than three years was president of MTA New York City Transit, which runs the subway and bus system in the city, and for six years was president of the Long Island Rail Road.
He oversees an agency that sustained $5 billion of damage from Hurricane Sandy. The MTA, whose annual budget is roughly $13 billion, has $32 billion in outstanding debt, making it one of the largest issuers in the municipal marketplace.
Prendergast also served as chief executive of TransLink in Vancouver, British Columbia.
