Statement from Senator Lee M. Zeldin RE: Senate approval of MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast

“Today, I join my colleagues in approving Thomas Prendergast, the Governors nominee to be the Chairman of the MTA.

As a member of the Senate standing Committee on Transportation, I had the opportunity to discuss with the New MTA Chairman my concerns with the way the MTA currently operates, and some suggestions on how to address those concerns including: enacting cost cutting measures, re-negotiating collective bargaining agreements, measuring the fiscal impact of the real estate transfer tax collections, selling off excess real estate holdings, reducing the cash and investment float and lowering the excessive number of managers and supervisors, just to name a few.

A top priority as an elected official is to ensure that the MTA is accountable and efficient. The public relies on the Legislature and the Governor to push the MTA to improve its finances without dramatically cutting services or drastically increasing fares.

I wish incoming Chairman Prendergast good luck and hope he can deliver some much needed reforms within the MTA. I look forward to working with him.”